How to Teach Self-Regulation Skills in the Classroom?

One of the most critical areas among students for learning is self-regulation, which in turn refers to the management of emotions and behaviors, or the ability to concentrate in classes or during group discussions. Thus, self-regulation in the classroom entails controlling student’s behaviour in order to stay attentive during lessons, prevent stress from getting out of hand, and control how the students relate to other students, as well as the ability to persevere through tasks. These are some of the skills necessary for learning processes, income, emotional and social development, and adjustment.

How to teach self-regulation skills in the classroom

1. Knowing Self-Control

Self-regulation is the executive control of thoughts, behavior, and emotion to achieve goals or meet certain desired outcomes.

Components:

• Emotional regulation: cognitive sense or feeling of beliefs about emotions and ways of its regulation.

• Behavioral regulation: self-restraint and regulation of its behavior for conformity to a set of courses of behavior or standard.

• Cognitive regulation: keeping attention, recalling instructions and handling distractions.

2. Establishing a Good Environment in the Classroom

• Establish Clear Expectations: Properly explained classroom rules and expectations are the basis of personal responsibility among the students. Holding positive antecedents entail that students are well informed of what is expected of them as a way of behaving well.

• Example: They can set their own rules, such as “This is okay… everybody waiting to speak, you need to raise your hand” or “Always respect others.”.

• Promote a Growth Mindset: Most important, foster a positive culture where errors are not punitive but corrective in nature. This assists students in controlling their basal affective processes as well as approaches and tendencies towards challenges during their learning process.

• Example: Teach the students to appreciate work and fine-tune their efforts to work hard.

• Foster Positive Relationships: When the student feels that their teacher trusts them, the ability in a student learns to regulate their behavior because they know they are safe.

3. Setting an Example of Self-Control

• Demonstrate Self-Regulation: Teachers should facilitate self-registration by finding ways to emulate emotions and actions to handle difficult tasks.

• Example: In case a teacher is angry, he or she could say, “I am so angry right now, but this is not good for me as I need a clear mind to think properly.”

• Verbalize Thought Process: Ask students to describe their thinking aloud, whether when dealing with their emotions or even when making a choice.

• Example: I was feeling upset because I got the answer wrong; hence, I did not know how to solve it. But of course I realize that I can attempt it again after taking several deep breaths.

4. Assist Students in Emotional Expression and Awareness

• Label Emotions: There are few specific recommendations that can help to solve this problem: Explain to students the meaning of such emotions and label them. It also makes them more conscious of how they feel and provides words to put it into words.

• Example: Has an emotional exposure checklist such as the feelings chart or emotion wheels to assist children in considering their emotions.

• Create Safe Spaces for Expression: As mentioned, assist children to be able to display emotions in compliance with the school regulations. This can be done in the form of stories or narratives in the form of journals or even in the form of a circle time.

• Example: “How are you feeling today? Is there anybody who has a story about something that has made him or her happy or frustrated?

5. Make Use of Mindfulness Techniques

• Introduce Mindfulness Exercises: There are many activities that can make students quiet down and get ready to learn: ordinary exercises in mindfulness. This can include things like yoga breathing, Jacobson’s progressive muscle relaxation, or guided imagery.

• Example: Begin the class by having the students take a deep breath for three minutes.

• Teach Focus Techniques: Attendance exercises, before or during which students must focus on their breath, their movements, and so on.

• Example: ‘Let us concentrate on the breath for about five seconds and then let out the breath slowly.’

6. Practice Self-Control with Useful Activities

• Implement Social-Emotional Learning Programs: The Zones of Regulation lessons show the students how they can properly regulate themselves emotionally.

• Example: The Zones of Regulation assist the students in recognizing their mood (e.g., the ‘blue zone’ means sad or tired, and the ‘green zone’ means calm and alert).

• Use role-playing and scenarios: Educate students about self-regulation in social settings through role plays. For instance, practicing what they should do when they are feeling angry or disappointed.

• Example: As you know, piercing someone’s attention makes us crazy, so let’s perform the sequence of actions that you should take if someone takes your pencil without your permission.

7. Teach delayed reactions and goal-setting

• Set Achievable Goals: Explain to students the importance of goal setting and then help them set realistic goals for themselves. This may assist them in effecting patience or persistence since these are subcategories of self-regulation.

• Example: “This week, I will do my homework in math every day before recess.”

• Teach Delayed Gratification: Implement activities that will enable students to learn how to wait for a reward. For instance, setting timed tasks that for instance give them something that they need after doing a certain task that they do not like.

• Example: “After that, you may want to have a snack following the reading lessons here.”

8. Promote introspection and self-assessment

• Promote Self-Reflection: As students engage in an activity or lesson, they need time for that small pause so they can think of their actions and feelings too. By doing so, they can be able to avoid such behaviors and reactions in the future.

• Example: “In case they get frustrated during a test, what could they do next time?”

• Use Reflection Journals: Make students write diaries in which they write down how they feel, choices they have made, and how they dealt with certain occurrences.

• Example: I resolved to come up with at least a one-page paper describing a time in the present that made you upset. That is why it is recommended that I learn how to’self soothe’ and what I did to help me.

9. Give Regular Feedback

• Offer Constructive Feedback: Give precise and regular information to children about how they are coping with feelings and handling actions. Encourage pre-cathedral self-regulation efforts and afford suggestions to enhance.

• Example: I observed that when you were confused about directions you took, you did not get annoyed; you sought assistance. In many cases, such as the one described above, the behaviour can be followed by the praise, “Great self-regulation!”

• Use positive reinforcement: positive the use of incentives, verbal magnitude or privileges in encouraging increased self-regulation to ensure the positive behavior pattern is sustained.

• Example: These students have really been doing fine, in particular recording their focus on the reading: “You now get to freely read in whatever book you want.”

10. Encourage conflict resolution and social skills

• Teach Social Skills: Guide students on the kinds of behaviours to display in order to develop good relationships with fellow learners and the best way to handle disagreements. This can involve turn-taking, sharing and even how children resolve conflicts when they are unhappy.

• Implement Conflict Resolution Strategies: Some important sentences to teach to students are “I” statements such as “I get angry when…” and compromises.

Conclusion

Students need to be modelled on adult-like behaviours and taught to self-regulate within the classroom, which is not an easy task as it is characterized by great levels of demands, takes time, has to be systematic, and employs various approaches. The following strategies can be applied: Modeling self-regulation, Building a favourable climate, Giving feedback Corralling emotions, behaviour and thoughts Teachers can assist students responding to the conflict within them. 

The importance of self-regulation might not be evident at the same time, but the long-term advantage is worth considering. DiYES International, being one of the best international schools in Kerala, has the proper decorum for self-regulation skill building.