Classroom & Building Wide Calming Spaces: A Safe Place to Learn Self-Regulation.

Format

Workshop

Presenters

nathan swanson, LakesideFollow

First Presenter's Institution

Lakeside Educational Network

First Presenter’s Email Address

nathans@lakesidetraining.org

First Presenter's Brief Biography

Nathan Swanson LPC, NBCC started his career as a 5th grade teacher in the Philadelphia School District. Desiring to find new ways to help students who had experienced trauma, he left teaching to pursue a master's degree at Eastern University in Community and Clinical Counseling. While earning his master's degree he worked as a Behavioral Therapist in the Philadelphia suburbs. After earning his master’s degree, Nathan was a Family-Based Therapist working with families whose children returned from Psychiatric Inpatient Hospital Stays. Deciding to start a family, he began at Lakeside as an In-School Counselor where he provided Outpatient Counseling to students in grades K-12 and consulted with teachers and school administrators. Nathan brings his diverse classroom and clinical experiences to his current position as a Coordinator of NeuroLogic Coaching Services.

Location

Session Three

Strand #1

Heart: Social & Emotional Skills

Strand #2

Head: Academic Achievement & Leadership

Relevance

This workshop helps educators to create calming spaces in their classrooms through out a school. With the right introduction, practice and routine can offer a pivotal space for students to learn and practice self-regulation skills when that feel themselves becoming emotionally dysregulated. This intervention is universal and can help all students learn how to take care of themselves when they become frustrated, overwhelmed and dysregulated. The calming space can also be used by staff to model appropriate self-regulating behavior.

Brief Program Description

We will explore how classroom calming spaces are a pivotal tool helping students learn to manage their stress, regulate their emotions, and calm their behavior. Have you tried a calming corner in your classroom, and it didn’t work? We will troubleshoot some of the most common pitfalls and concerns surrounding classroom calming spaces. Also, the benefits of building-wide adoption will be highlighted.

Summary

In this workshop, we start off by giving participants an overview of Dr. Bruce Perry’s Neurosequential Model of the Brain and Intervention. Not intended to advertise by any means but giving a foundation of the brain science behind how we emotionally regulate. We discuss the need for co-regulation and the need for students to be taught self-regulation skills. We discuss how classroom calming spaces fit in the Neurosequential Model and can be a crucial tool in helping students develop self-regulation skills. We discuss how these skills are important and can contribute to the overall learning environment of a classroom. In the second part of the workshop, we get into the practicalities of having a calming space in a classroom. We discuss things to consider when building calming spaces. We highlight the need for different sensory experiences in both seating and in the activities that are offered in the corner. We go through some examples of calming spaces classroom procedures and discuss ways to teach such procedures to students. We emphasize that the use of a calming space needs to be taught and practiced just like any other classroom routine. We offer strategies in helping students learn such procedures. We go through examples of classroom calming spaces at the elementary and secondary levels. We go through our Top Seven Concerns List everything from “The students play in the calming corner” to “What do I do if a student won’t get out? And address each concern with helpful strategies and tips. We discuss some resources and the cost of building a calm space. We stress that it doesn’t have to be fancy. Some of the most utilized calming spaces we have seen have been very simple and accessible to students. Just because no one puts their humble calming corner on Pinterest or Instagram doesn’t that mean the simple calming space doesn’t work well. Finally, we look at the benefits of having calming spaces as a building-wide intervention.

Evidence

We at NeuroLogic by Lakeside have seen the effectiveness of giving students a safe place to take a break and regulate both in our schools and in helping hundreds of classroom teachers through our coaching and training services.

Below are the sources cited in our workshop. There is plenty of research showing the conditions in which children can feel safe and emotionally regulate. Calmng spaces in the classroom can be one.

Biglan, A., Flay, B. R., Embry, D. D., & Sandler, I. N. (2012). The critical role of nurturing environments for promoting human well-being. American Psychologist, 67(4), 257–271. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0026796

Healy, G (2023) Regulation and Co-Regulation: Accessible Neuroscience and Connection Strategies that Bring Calm into the Classroom (15-Minute Focus Series) National Center for Youth Issues

Perry, B. D. 1., & Winfrey, O. (2021). What happened to you?: conversations on trauma, resilience, and healing. Flatiron Books: An Oprah Book

Learning Objective 1

Participants will be able to teach self-regulation skills to their students.

Learning Objective 2

Participants will be able to create inviting functional regulating space and accompanying routines in their classroom

Learning Objective 3

Participants will be able to o troubleshoot common problems and concerns surrounding calming spaces.

Keyword Descriptors

Self-regulation, Co-regulation, Emotional Regulation, Calming spaces, Calming corner

Presentation Year

2024

Start Date

3-4-2024 2:15 PM

End Date

3-4-2024 2:45 PM

Recommended Citation

swanson, nathan, "Classroom & Building Wide Calming Spaces: A Safe Place to Learn Self-Regulation." (2024). National Youth Advocacy and Resilience Conference. 27.
https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/nyar_savannah/2024/2024/27