NeuroLogic® by Lakeside

When your classroom is stressed, but no one is interested in belly breathing, try this brain break. It’s a simple one. The paced breathing and movement are regulating to the midbrain and brainstem, and help students get in the right brain state for learning. Save this video for the next time you need a calming brain break. #classroommanagement #traumainformed #educationleadership #studentsupport

Teachers, your classroom environment and your caring presence can literally change the wiring in students' brains. You probably know that teaching content creates new neural pathways. But did you know that providing a calm space with safe relationships helps create healthy neural networks for kids too? These neural connections then help students build healthy social-emotional skills and develop positive relationships. #studentsupport #brainbased #socialemotionallearning

3 Winter Break Project Ideas for Stressed Students: Try one of these three projects with your class: 1. Young students: pet rock painting with writing prompt of “a day in the life of my pet rock.” This can give students who are experiencing uncertainty at home a sense of autonomy and control. It also promotes imagination and creativity. 2. Older students: scatterplot of emotions. This is a great math or science project and allows students to see trends over time, building self-awareness which is key for self-regulation. 3. Older students: emotions journal. This project could work well for English or history class and provides the same benefits as the scatterplot does, with the added bonus of giving students space to process their experiences in words.   Let your students know that you’ll set aside some time after break to read what they created. This can build relational connections, which are one of the most regulating factors for students.   #traumainformed #educationmatters #studentsupport

3 practical ways to help students navigate winter break: 1. Give students a journal or handout to take home and have them write or draw thoughts for you to read after the break. 2. Holiday pen pals: pair students up and encourage them to email each other on the school email or connect through your class’s online platform. 3. Verbally remind students that you’ll be there for them at school after the break. (This one is so simple, but helpful!) For some students, school is the safest place they know, and the winter break brings anxiety. These small relational connection activities can provide support for students facing stressful situations. In addition, relational activities like these help develop limbic connections and build interpersonal skills, which benefits all students involved.

If you walked past Becky Moreno’s classroom, you might just hear little voices singing a sweet traditional melody, but with new lyrics. Today, on Some Good School News, we’re celebrating the creativity and impact of this beloved Pre-K teacher from Alabama. As a teacher with 24 years of experience, Becky has had a lot of opportunities to work with different students. And she noticed over time that putting things into song helps kids remember content and supports the process of learning to read. Becky takes the melodies from hymns and adds new Pre-K specific lyrics, and then sings them with her students.   We especially loved hearing Becky’s story because of how she is developing children’s limbic systems (relational connections) through her interactive group singing times, as well as the way she incorporates music and rhythm into her classroom (both of which can be regulating).   If you or someone you know has Some Good School News to share, send it our way! We’d love to feature your story.   #traumainformed #neurologicbylakeside #neurologic #educationmatters #teachers #teachersmatter #teachingmethods #teachertrainings #educationleadership #studentsupport

If you were in school before 2007 (when the first iPhone came out), you’re familiar with an environment that today’s students don’t have. Schools were naturally cell-phone free. Of course, phones can be an excellent academic tool. However, many students are struggling with the stresses of social media and the pull of all the non-academic interactions on their phones. Some students (and parents) are using the “everyone else is doing it” argument for keeping phones in the classroom. But more and more schools are taking intentional steps towards providing cell-phone free environments, based on research like the articles below. (Hear more about them in the video.) Monsell, S. (2003). Task switching. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 7(3), 134–140. https://lnkd.in/excQx3JV Lepp, A., Barkley, J. E., & Karpinski, A. C. (2014). The relationship between cell phone use, academic performance, anxiety, and Satisfaction with Life in college students. Computers in Human Behavior, 31(1), 343–350. https://lnkd.in/ezMXR3uR Duncan, D. K., Hoekstra, A. R., & Wilcox, B. R. (2012). Digital Devices, Distraction, and Student Performance: Does In-Class Cell Phone Use Reduce Learning? Astronomy Education Review, 11(1). https://lnkd.in/e4jZ9duW #traumainformed #neurologicbylakeside #neurologic #educationmatters #teachers #teachersmatter #teachingmethods #teachertrainings #educationleadership #studentsupport

Teaching at a cyber school comes with a unique set of challenges. Here are three brain breaks that you can use with your students when they start to get distracted or disengaged. 1) Scavenger hunt – give students two to five minutes to collect a small number of items and bring them back to show the class. 2) Pet show and tell – ask students to share their pets with the class. If they don’t have a pet, they can talk about what type of pet they’d like to have. 3) “Would you rather” questions – these can provide a fun break from material that’s even faster than the first two brain breaks. Just ask students a question and let them respond in the chat. What other brain breaks do you do with your online learners? #traumainformed #neurologicbylakeside #neurologic #educationmatters #teachers #teachersmatter #teachingmethods #teachertrainings #educationleadership #studentsupport

We often talk about the importance of relational connections for students, but we don’t always share the other side of the coin. Quality teacher-student relationships also help teachers! A study published in 2020 that looked at 64 classrooms found that teachers who report positive relationships with their students also report lower experiences of #burnout and increased sense of personal accomplishment. (Gentrup et. al, 2020) Gentrup, S., Lorenz, G., Kristen, C., & Kogan, I. (2020). Self-fulfilling prophecies in the classroom: Teacher expectations, teacher feedback and student achievement. Learning and Instruction, 66. https://lnkd.in/eWrRTmq4 #traumainformed #neurologicbylakeside #neurologic #educationmatters #teachers #teachersmatter #teachingmethods #teachertrainings #educationleadership #studentsupport

Professional development days can be tough for everybody. They can be a lot of work for administrators to plan. And it’s often hard for teachers to sit through trainings when they have so much other work to do. But PD days can also be great opportunities to encourage and equip your staff. Check out the tips in this video for brain-based ways to enliven your PD days. At NeuroLogic®, we use brain science to make professional development trainings both engaging and practical. Learn more at https://lnkd.in/eJAc2_fK. #professionaldevelopment #traumainformed #educationmatters #teachingmethods #educationleadership

Do you ever find yourself pacing while on a stressful phone call? Or maybe fidgeting with a pen during an awkward meeting? Stress can cause us to operate from our midbrains and when we’re operating from that region of the brain, our bodies naturally seek movement.   Sensory paths are a simple way to provide movement in schools. And painter’s tape sensory paths are both affordable and easy to create.   We’d love to see photos or videos of the sensory paths you make – and share them in our social media news show, Some Good School News! #traumainformed #neurologic #educationmatters #teachersmatter #teachingmethods #educationleadership #studentsupport #somegoodschoolnews