Self-regulation can be thought of as having two parts, both cognitive and social-emotional regulation. In reality, self-regulation is a combination of the two. Cognitive self-regulation is the degree to which children can regulate their own behaviors, are reflective, and can plan and think ahead. They have control of their thinking. They plan, they monitor, they evaluate thinking strategies, and they can attend and remember on purpose. It is not to say that children without self-regulation cannot attend or remember at all-some children can remember remarkable things like the names of all dinosaurs if this is what interests them. But when you're trying to teach these children to remember something, such as their phone number, it seems they can't remember a thing. What children need to learn to do is to "remember on purpose," to remember things they must learn and know, and to remember how to act in a given situation.
Social-emotional self-regulation means being able to inhibit and delay gratification. Being able to do this means being able to control emotions. If someone knocks you down, pushes you, you don't erupt into anger. With social-emotional self-regulation, you know when you're talking too loud, when you're irritating other people, or when you need to stop a behavior. Social-emotional regulation also means being able to internalize standards of behavior and apply these standards without being reminded. Children who have social-emotional regulation internalize the rule about not knocking down others' block constructions and walking around these constructions instead of into them.
Recent research on PLAY emphasizes its unique role in promoting self-regulatory behavior (Play=Learning edited by Dorothy G. Singer, Roberta Michnick Golinkoff, and Kathy Hirsh-Pasek). Those who work in drama, particularly creative drama with children, see this self-regulatory behavior at work all the time as children strive to connect imagination and action both in themselves and in the collaborative venue of dramatic action. We (Creative Drama and Imagination -- see book collaborations) observe children develop metacognitive skills in:
- compressed rehearsal,
- developing an expressive way to communicate self as image,
- viewing the world as material for dramatic interactions,
- demonstrating "knowing that you know" and the ability to work collaboratively and
- developing their "third eye"- a sense of audience and the ability to simultaneously do and monitor your actions in relation to others.
The cognitive and social emotional development of self-regulation in children is elaborated in the following article Creative drama and young children: The dramatic learning connection.
5 comments:
Dramatic learning helps children to develop a sense of themselves in relation to the world around them. Their exploration of roles can help them further understand how much they really know about the way the world functions. Placing children in conversation with peers helps them to develop their language skills and nurtures their need to develop socially. Skills in problem solving, role-playing, and social strategizing will surely sharpen when tested frequently through dramatic play in a school setting.
This idea of enhancing education through dramatic play seems very in tune with Vygotsky and his ideas about adult guided play being the most integral part of education. Much of the stress is on having a teacher with a decent level of education in guiding such practices. The teacher’s role as a mediator and guide through these methods seems like an “x-factor” that requires some further development. I wonder if this blossoming acceptance of such teaching strategies will cause a dramatic shift in the way teachers are educated. There certainly is a need, as I reference my past experiences in school, to revamp the current system in this way, welcoming a new establishment of more cultured learning strategies. I hold cultural education in very high regard, and often wonder about ways to further incorporate the arts in general education. The use of music and the visual arts can very easily be applied similarly across the board. They are highly effective in education and are horribly underutilized. As school art programs fall by the wayside to budget cuts, it seems that programs that teach other subjects through the arts might be used to keep culture alive in modern schools. I am completely confident in the effectiveness of such a regimen. The process does seem like a considerable undertaking, but the benefits are immeasurable. Such teaching styles must manifest themselves in the early years of schooling, so that they might become fluid in the students’ latter years of development. It might not be easy, but it is a necessary step in the right direction.
I love being the center of attention. So it's no surprise that I was in every theater class, every fall play and every spring musical at Parkland High School. While loving my time in the spotlight, I learned about the Stanislavsky Method. The method acting required us actors to BECOME a character by employing past feelings we had towards emotions. If we could not personally connect with the character, we had to interview people who did. For example, when doing Fiddler on the Roof we visited the Jewish Community Center to understand a Jewish person's feelings about gentrification. What emotional, eye-opening stories we heard! How sheltered have I been?!
Also when being involved in the school plays, we were required to find the motivation behind EACH line. What caused the person to react this way? How will the recipient of this message feel? These exercises, led by an adult mentor, are an example of dramatic learning. By researching a character, determining the motivation of each line and understanding how the recipient of your message feels, dramatic learning helps build your emotional-self regulation. Dramatic learning helps you put yourself in another person's shoes. You can better understand why you've hurt someone's feelings. Or how someone finds you annoying. I wonder if there is research that shows a positive correlation between people who participated in high school theater arts and emotional self-regulation?
I find it extremely fascinating that it has taken researchers so long to figure out the importance of creative play. If, as adults, you think back to elementary school and your favorite teacher and/or subject, it was the teacher that let you create, build, experiment, making things your own. Studnets that can proudly take ownership of the work they completed, you see it when they tell you about what they made. They remember it, not just that day, but sometimes their whole life. If you amke learning meaningful, children will "remember on purpose." I always thought it was boring, just teaching students, lecturing and worksheets. When students are able to control their thinking, and learn to remember on purpose, it makes sense that this will help their social emotional self regulation. They realize the importance of learning and creating, so they control their environment or what they are creating. Having students do this, they are able to control themselves, physically and emotionally. Which will help ease their anger eruptions, and trying to hurt other students. They will be able to regulate themselves. i think if the government cared enough about the students/kids, they would see the importance of the arts and they would spend more money and time trying to help teachers and schools provide the opportunities for students to thrive. Not just on a test, where it is fill in a blank and sit for 4 hours, but where they are using all parts of their brain and creating something that is their own. This is what will change the country, not a test. One day, I hope they realize it.
The only way to truly understand how children learn, thrive, function, develop, communicate, process, feel, cope, understand, and survive is to be a continuous and consistent person in their daily everyday life. Teachers spend a tremendous amount of time with children during the school year. There are some teachers who spend more time due to tutoring and providing extra help to students. There are also many teachers who spend more time because there are constantly present in the classroom. By being present I mean they are trying to understand, connect, teach, and make a difference in their students lives in one school year compared to other teachers who are there to teach from the textbook and give the students a work sheet or paper and pencil test.
I love the idea of using art in the curriculum and dramatic learning. I think many teachers want to teach and try to support children in helping them develop thinking skills , to inquire , be creative, and develop an understanding of themselves and others. Many teachers fall short, due to the demands of their elementary school curriculum, teaching to the test so the students score well on the PSSA’s , are not sure how to effectively teach students, and lack of money and resources
This type of learning would give teachers a better understanding of how to be effective teachers and successfully teach children. Many elementary teachers have too many subjects to teach and are overwhelmed on a daily basis. I think quality lessons are important as well giving purpose to each child’s school day and having topics they are learning about relate to one another. Many elementary school curriculums are very choppy, it jumps from reading to social studies to math and the material does not connect or provide a purpose.
I am so excited to learn about dramatic learning and using art in the curriculum. It may not be an easy teaching approach for all teachers to understand or feel comfortable with at first, but I feel with time, persistence, and dedication it will be very powerful. I hope that there are influential individuals out there that could possibly change how students are taught in public schools. There needs to be change, there needs to be more strong teachers, and a curriculum that provides students the chance to excel, learn, and use their minds to the fullest.
In the end, I feel each person and child is different. Each adult or child learns differently, enjoys different activities, and have different strengths and weaknesses. So, why are almost all students taught and tested in the same ways? I think one similarly among all children and adults is that we all posses a desire to feel important, to have purpose, to feel cared about, and to understand how and why things happen and take place from a problem with a friend to why it rains.
I find the part on children learning through play very interesting. I see this a lot in the classroom that I work in because we have a designated 1 1/2 hour of play time(free choice). During Role Play scenarios I see a lot of cognitive regulation because children are planing what they are going to do with the materials they have. A group of them collaborate on who is going to be which role such as mom, dad, brother, or sister. Once they decide which role they are; they act out what they are going to do and how they are going to play out that role. I also feel that at this young age children can self regulate more with things that they are most interested in. For example children can recite an entire story back to me but cannot remember what different letters or numbers may look like. I feel that social emotional self regulation is what you strive to teach children also at the early childhood level. You try and teach children how to manage their feelings. Sometimes I feel that I struggle most with this as a teacher. When children want to play in one area, but they cannot because there is to many children already in that area they tend to throw a fit and will not choose to do another activity because they feel so strongly about playing in that activity. Sometimes I find it hard to help children over come that. If children are very into an activity and enjoy doing something it is hard for them to hear the word no. As a teacher I struggle with teaching children how to handle emotions.
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