Calm, Alert and Learning: Classroom Strategies for Self-Regulation
“The better we understand self-regulation, the better we can implement educational practices that enhance student’s capacity to learn and develop the skills necessary to deal with life’s challenges.” –Dr. Stuart Shanker, in Calm Alert and Learning.
In recent years we have seen a revolution in educational thinking and practices. Scientific research in a number of fields is telling us that the key to student success is not so much intelligence but abilities like concentration, delay of gratification and emotional intelligence: abilities which are dependent on self-regulation. Self-regulation is the ability to manage the way our brains and bodies expend and restore the energy required to deal with the stresses (positive as well negative) involved in adapting to situations, facing challenges, learning and social relations.
But can a child’s ability to self-regulate be improved? Canada’s leading expert on self-regulation, Dr. Stuart Shanker, says it can and that educators have an important role to play in helping students develop this crucial set of abilities. Dr. Shanker, Distinguished Research Professor at York University and founder and CEO of The MEHRIT Centre, takes readers through an exploration of the five domains of self-regulation — biological, emotional, cognitive, social and prosocial. He explains what the domains are, how they work, what they look like in the classroom, and what we can do to help students strengthen in that domain.
Published in 2012, Calm Alert and Learning continues to be one of the top-selling educational publications in Canada. It has helped thousands of Canadian educators develop new ways to understand and address the challenges their students face.
“I’ve watched the explosive growth of The MEHRIT Centre and the remarkable response to Calm, Alert and Learning with a deep sense of what this is telling us about Canadian educators: how blessed we are as a nation to have attracted such passionate and endlessly curious individuals to become our children’s teachers.” Dr. Stuart Shanker
Praise for Calm, Alert and Learning
“Professor Shanker has done a superb job putting a rather difficult and complex new approach – the science of self-regulation – into language that is easy to understand; the content of the book is profound in its implications and a tremendously rich resource for teachers who are doing their best to help students with self-regulation challenges. The book is giving us hope that with the right techniques we can make a difference and help children develop skills that can make a significant difference to their academic and social progress.” –Dr. Till Davy, Canadian paediatrician
“Enjoyable and easy to read. Excellent perspective on child regulation and useful tips for the classroom and also for home!!” -Cintia Ferris, reader
“Great insight on how kids learn and how adults can regulate their own behaviour to in turn help their children. A good resource for parents and teachers too!” -Jacintha Doner, reader