Have you ever struggled to work out why a child is behaving as they are?
If so, you’re not alone and you’re in the right place. If a child is closed down, lashing out or trying to run out of class – the fight, flight or freeze responses – they are unable to access the part of their brain that allows them to learn. They are in survival mode and it’s impossible to teach children and young people when they are in this stressful and frightening place.
Neuroscience: what classroom staff need to know
In the latest episode of Thrive’s Connected podcast Kay Hamilton, Thrive’s Partnerships Lead and a former teacher, Senco and headteacher looks at how educators can use an understanding of neuroscience to create strong and effective connections with children and young people to help them move out of survival mode and into a calmer, more regulated space that will allow them to engage with education.
Kay is a passionate advocate for the use of neuroscience in understanding classroom behaviour and in creating relationships that enable change to take place and she has some really simple, practical tips that can be applied in any classroom.
click here to listen to the podcast
"Interactions with trusted adults create new neuronal connections and pathways and help to shape the brain. In Thrive we want to equip adults with the tools and understanding to deliver the right set of relationships and experiences to build healthy brains and bodies. We have an opportunity, through the strength of the connections and quality of these relationships, to almost be brain architects - to shape and to grow healthy and resilient brains of the future."
In under 20 minutes you'll learn:
- How to translate neuroscience into effective classroom practice
- The role of serotonin, dopamine and oxytocin in human connection
- Why connection between humans is so important for good mental health
- Why disconnection can lead to an increase in cortisol, the stress hormone
- The link between social connection and the brain’s ability to form new neuronal pathways and to learn
- Practical language and activities that help to build connections
click here to listen to the podcast
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