MODEL

Portrait of a Learner PK-3

Systems Change
Portrait of a Learner PK-3 > Factors > Emotion

Emotion

Save for Later

Factor Connections

Hover to see how factors connect to Emotion. Then click connected factors to explore strategies related to multiple factors.

Emotions are complex psychological states stemming from a person's experiences. They affect our minds and bodies and therefore can support or hinder learning. Students from diverse backgrounds and cultures, as well as students with learning disorders or ADHD, may have ways of expressing their Emotions, perceiving Emotions in others, and reacting to Emotions that differ from what we expect to see from young learners.

Main Ideas

Several aspects of Emotion can affect children's well-being and academic success:

  • Emotion knowledge is understanding what emotions are and properly recognizing them in others' facial expressions and speech,and typically begins to develop in early childhood. Evidence suggests that Emotion knowledge is vital for Emotion regulation.
  • Emotion regulation is the ability to control emotional arousal in order to learn adaptive functioning (the ability to complete daily tasks, cope with changes in the environment, and function successfully in a classroom). This supports mental health, and is an important aspect of social competence.
  • Mental health is the combination of our emotional and psychological well-being and adjustment. Emotions are dynamic and will always fluctuate over time, so it is normal to experience both positive (e.g., excitement, joy) and negative (e.g., anger, sadness) emotions. However, students who tend to experience more positive than negative emotions overall, and who are able to successfully manage and minimize stress, will have better overall psychological well-being.

It is important to note that educators may misinterpret students' emotional states due to biases such as being more likely to perceive Black students as angry or hostile, which can contribute to discriminatory and inequitable disciplinary outcomes. As a result of different social norms and experiences around Emotion, students may benefit from linguistically and culturally-responsive approaches to addressing Emotions.

Students with ADHD are also at risk of having their emotional states being misinterpreted, resulting in reduced emotional closeness and more conflict with educators than experienced by their peers who do not have ADHD. Children who experience the early signs of learning disabilities or ADHD may also have difficulties with emotional well-being due to frustration or anxiety surrounding schoolwork, peer exclusion, and/or feelings of stigmatization, to name a few. High-quality professional development around understanding and supporting students with ADHD is an important factor in educators' ability to support student co-regulation and self-regulate their own Emotion.

Students who feel happy at school and are able to regulate their Emotions in the face of challenges are more likely to stay engaged and flourish academically. On the other hand, experiencing anxiety (either generally, or about a specific subject matter) can interfere with learning. It is important to support students' emotional well-being early on by listening to and addressing their needs and building on their strengths. Strong Social Supports can help buffer children from negative experiences like bullying, peer exclusion, or discrimination, and teachers can play a critical role in providing these supports. In addition, making school a joyous place and reframing school work as play can increase younger children's emotional well-being, which could increase school engagement down the line.

Learn More

View Measures and References

Research-Based Strategies For This Factor

Creating Visual Representations

Creating visual representations such as drawings, diagrams, graphs, and concept maps, whether student or teacher-generated, can help students process abstract concepts, enhancing understanding and retention of information.

Drawing

Encouraging young children to draw and to explain their drawings in the classroom, can support the development of Core Academic Literacies.

Field Trips

Visiting places connected to classroom learning provides opportunities to add relevance to classroom topics and deepen understanding through firsthand experiences.

Games

Games support learning as learners engage with new information in fun and informal ways.

Gallery Walk

Gallery walks are ways of showcasing content and materials as multiple “exhibitions” for students to view and interact with as part of larger learning goals.

Flexible Grouping

Flexible grouping is a classroom practice that temporarily places students together in given groups to work together, with the purpose of achieving a given learning goal or activity.

Cooperative Problem Solving

As learners work together to solve problems, they learn new strategies and practice Communication skills as they express their academic thinking.

Mnemonic Device

A mnemonic device is a creative way to support memory for new information using connections to current knowledge, for example by creating visuals, acronyms, or rhymes.

Read-Alouds

Read-alouds are an important part of developing young learners' foundational reading skills, and can occur both in the classroom and at home with the family, supporting the development of a strong Home Learning Environment.

Strengths-based Approach

A strengths-based approach is one where educators intentionally identify, communicate, and harness students' assets, across many aspects of the whole child, in order to empower them to flourish.

Goal Setting & Monitoring

Goal-setting and monitoring involves teachers working with students to set individualized academic or behavioral goals, plan actions to achieve those goals, and track progress.

Positive Self-talk

When students are able to encourage themselves through kind and motivating self-statements, they are practicing positive self-talk.

Communication Boards

Communication boards are displays of graphics (e.g., pictures, symbols, illustrations) and/or words where learners can gesture, touch, or point to the displays to extend their expressive language potential.

Gestures

Using motions to explain new concepts or ideas supports the ability to process new information and to convey thinking and conceptual understanding.

Music & Dance

Music and dance supports young learners in a myriad of ways, including supporting their engagement and motivation, connecting with cultural background, and offering structure during play.

Brief Instruction Steps

Providing instructional steps clearly and concisely can help learners understand classroom expectations and complete tasks efficiently.

Discussing Emotions

Discussing emotions with children consists of supporting their ability to identify, label, and manage their feelings.

Encourage Student Self-advocacy

Self-advocacy is the ability of an individual to understand and effectively express and assert their own rights, needs, desires, and interests.

Student Choice

Providing students a voice in their learning is critical for making learning meaningful.

Selecting Culturally Responsive Texts

Culturally responsive texts include those that reflect different facets of students' identities, including race, ethnicity, gender, socioeconomic, and disability status, as well as the intersections of those identities.

Equitable Grading

Equitable grading systems and practices reimagine how to communicate student progress and mastery through various methods that reduce subjectivity and increase opportunities to learn.

Incorporate Students' Cultural Practices

Learning about students' cultures and connecting them to instructional practices helps foster a Sense of Belonging, increase positive student Identity development, and mitigate Stereotype Threat.

Family Engagement

Family engagement happens when educators and schools collaborate with families to collectively support their child's learning in meaningful ways, both at school and at home.

Translanguaging

Translanguaging is a flexible classroom practice enabling students to listen, speak, read, and write across their multiple languages or dialects, even if the teacher does not have formal knowledge of these additional languages.

Empathy Interviews

A first step to supporting learners is truly understanding who they are.

Check-ins

Checking in with learners, or taking the time to talk with individual learners about their experiences or goals, is important for fostering a positive classroom environment.

Shadowing a student

Shadowing a student involves an educator, administrator, or designated adult observing a learner across different parts of their day to deepen their understanding of that learner's experience beyond their classroom.

Respectful Redirection

Respectful redirection, or error correction, outlines a clear and concise way that educators can provide feedback on behaviors that need immediate correction, in a positive manner.

Mnemonic Device

A mnemonic device is a creative way to support memory for new information using connections to current knowledge, for example by creating visuals, acronyms, or rhymes.

Building Empathy

Developing empathy in educators and in learners is an iterative process that requires taking the time to understand and honor others' perspectives.

Flexible Seating

Flexible seating refers to the practice of offering students a range of work surfaces, seating sizes and heights, movement, and varied body positions in the classroom.

Interactive Writing

Interactive writing activities for young learners can include cooperative activities to practice their foundational writing skills and can support engagement with content knowledge as they write and draw to reflect upon what they have learned.

Spaced Practice

Spaced practice is a learning strategy that deliberately spaces out learning or study sessions over varying periods of time, with the purpose of increasing retention, understanding, and long-term knowledge acquisition.

Visit

Explore

Stay Up to Date

© Copyright Digital Promise     |     Digital Promise Home     |     Contact Us     |     Terms of Use
Creative Commons LicenseExcept where otherwise noted, content on this site is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License

tabs