Bruce Perry and many others have taught us that when we’re in different regions in our brain our processing capabilities are impacted. For example, did you know that whether or not you have access to your upper cortex can impact your functional IQ by up to 50 points? Our sphere of concern and our sense of time are also impacted. 

So, what does this mean?

If a student is stuck in the lower regions of their brain they won’t be able to process what is being said. Saying something to them like, “If you can do 3 more problems, you will get extra computer time this afternoon,” won’t be processed accurately at that moment and will in fact likely cause escalation. Let’s be clear, I’m not saying that isn’t a good strategy, I’m simply saying it won’t work without access to the upper regions of the brain. 

One thing that has a big impact on whether we get stuck in lower brain regions is stress. We know that stress happens everyday in schools so that means there’s a high likelihood that we’ll be dealing with students and adults getting stuck in lower brain regions unless they have skills in managing stress. 

Let’s add one more layer. Many of us have been taught to ignore unwanted behavior. Due to a specific set of neurons in our brain called mirror neurons, ignoring can lead to a contagion effect. Our mirror neurons don’t actually know if we are experiencing something or watching something. This means when one student feels stressed and becomes dysregulated, it’s contagious. It’s why it can feel like one student can derail a classroom! 

What’s the answer?

If we can begin to understand that part of our role as educators is to prepare brains to learn, we can step back and ask ourselves, is the student actually able to process the information in that moment. If we suspect the answer is no, we can shift to meeting them where they are and prepare their brain to learn before we move on.

Key Insight:

✨ Preparing students brains to learn means talking to the part of their brain that is in charge in that moment, which is affected by stress.

✨ Ignoring behaviors will often increase their impact in the classroom.

Practical Takeaway:

  • If a student appears to be struggling ask yourself, “Are they capable of processing what is being asked of them in this moment?”
  • Shift to speaking to the part of the brain that may be in charge. For example, instead of “you get this reward later,” shift to “right now this feels hard.”
  • If they’re being asked to consider the feelings and impact on others (sphere of concern) shift to their experience. Then once we’ve prepared their brains to learn and they’re back in their upper cortex, we can have the conversation about impact on others.

Preparing brains to learn helps us move students back to brain states where they can reflect upon and take responsibility for their learning and behavior, which isn’t possible when stuck in lower brain regions.

💛 With curiosity and support,

Judy & Team SEI

In Case You Missed It:

We recently explored this topic in depth during our free webinar, Bridging Gaps in Social-Emotional Learning: Why Aren’t Students Using What They Learn? If you missed it, don’t worry—this conversation will remain a key focus for future learning opportunities.