Today’s teachers understand the fundamentals of social and emotional learning (SEL) and how to apply it in the classroom. Still, how SEL helps in students’ brain development is often overlooked. According to the Aspen Institute and their report The Brain Basis for Integrated Social, Emotional, and Academic Development, the science on how the brain develops helps explain why young people’s social, emotional, and academic development are intertwined. Besides basic physiological needs like exercise, nutrition, and sleep, the brain requires social relationships, emotional experiences, and cognitive resources to develop and take advantage of learning opportunities (Immordino-Yang, M.H. et al., 2018).
Osher, D. et al. suggest providing purposeful learning opportunities for young people – and strategic opportunities for brain development – requires educators to attend to the child’s development in context. What do these strategies look like? In this article, we examine the brain basis for SEL and research supporting this connection. We also interview Marilee Sprenger, an international educational consultant in SEL, literacy, and brain research, to find out how SEL and the brain are intertwined and how brain-based classroom strategies help form whole-child learning.
Building Relationships, Learning & the Brain
According to international educational consultant Marilee Sprenger and her book Social and Emotional Learning and the Brain: Strategies to Help Your Students Thrive, “From brain structures to brain chemicals, learning takes place on an emotional level. Awareness of emotions and regulating those emotions lead the way to building positive relationships, successfully solving problems, and making responsible decisions. Understanding the brain helps both students and teachers rely on strategies that will activate the appropriate parts of the brain and will be suitable for whatever experience they encounter (Sprenger, M., 2020).” She also believes that relationships and empathy are the pillars of SEL and are essential for brain development. For instance, researchers have discovered that our feelings can distort our capacity for empathy. However, this emotionally driven egocentricity is recognized and corrected through a brain structure called the right supramarginal gyrus (Gesellschaft, M.P., 2013). Sprenger suggests to help this area of the brain develop, educators can offer empathy-building experiences such as community service projects and volunteer work.
When it comes to the brain-SEL connection, Sprenger reveals the frontal lobe houses the structures where most brain activity occurs when people care about each other, trust each other, and want to be friends. The limbic system houses the amygdala, the seat of emotion, and is packed with chemical receptors for two different hormonal systems: the stress-response system and the trust/love system. For example, when someone perceives a threat, cortisol is released, triggering the stress response. By contrast, when we care about and trust someone, oxytocin is released. This discharge allows us to feel connected and bonded (Cantor, P., 2019).
In her book, Sprenger adds that when it comes to the brain, emotions, and learning, “Emotions influence where new information is processed in the brain. For learning to become a memory, it must be directed through the emotional filter (the amygdala) along the route to the reflective, higher brain—the prefrontal cortex. When this happens, the brain takes a responsible look at the situation and finds a better way to handle it. When we form relationships, the brain also releases dopamine and noradrenaline (in addition to oxytocin). The limbic system is stimulated, and the reticular activating system (RAS), or the brain’s first filter, in the brain stem, is relaxed, which allows new information to enter the brain calmly and make its way up to the limbic system (Sprenger, M.)”
Dopamine, Motivation & Learning
Sprenger also discusses how dopamine is the brain’s ‘seeking’ chemical. Dopamine is released as we work toward a goal and when we make friendships. However, it also stimulates our brain’s reward system and helps individuals stay motivated – which is essential in learning and cognition. In a recent study out of Brown University, researchers performed a series of experiments to assess dopamine’s role in motivation. Past studies have found that humans are more motivated to perform demanding tasks with higher dopamine. What has remained unknown is whether dopamine can have similar motivational effects on cognition. The study’s findings reveal that subjects with higher dopamine levels in the striatum region (caudate nucleus) were more likely to focus on the benefits of a situation and chose complex mental tasks. Those with lower dopamine levels were more sensitive to a situation’s perceived task difficulty and avoided difficult cognitive work (Westbrook, A. et al., 2020).
SEL Competencies, the Brain & “Four Corners”
As Sprenger discusses the evidence highlighting the SEL/Brain connection in her book, she also offers strategies that activate the brain in the same way in terms of the core competencies of SEL. Below, we cite three of the five SEL methods, and the techniques Sprenger provides, in both her book and our exclusive interview, to develop each skill.
Self-Awareness is defined in SEL as the ability to understand one’s own emotions, thoughts, and values and how they influence behavior across contexts (CASEL). Sprenger states in her book, “In the brain, the medial prefrontal cortex is the part of the brain that pays attention to what is going on inside us. Self-awareness is the only way we can access the emotional brain on a conscious level.” How can we activate the medial prefrontal cortex? Mindfulness or the intentional practice of focusing on awareness in the present moment. Studies confirm that mindfulness practices affect both cognitive and emotional function (Armstrong, 2019).
Researchers suggest that because dopamine is the key neurotransmitter activating self-awareness structures, stimulating the chemical release could help become self-aware (Joensson, M. et al., 2015). During our interview, Sprenger offers strategies to help release this chemical naturally, “At school, we can aid in the release of dopamine by getting students up and moving and by engaging them in projects and working on goals.” She also discusses the importance of greeting students at the door, “Greeting students offers an opportunity to develop relationships, make eye contact, and to learn how your students are feeling. There is no one at home for many of our students to greet them or talk to them. A greeting as they enter school or the classroom can be the initial contact that offers feelings of security and belonging.”
Self-Management is defined as the ability to manage one’s emotions, thoughts, and behaviors effectively in different situations and to achieve goals and aspirations (CASEL). Sprenger tells Endominance, “In the brain, there is an oscillation between the emotional center and the thinking brain. Stress hormones like cortisol block/prevent information from going from the emotional brain to the thinking brain or prefrontal cortex. Stress interferes with self-management skills, so having structure is necessary when dealing with stressed students. Having routine and structure in the classroom allows the student to go from the feeling brain to the thinking brain. If students are in an environment with an adult they trust, self-control becomes easier.”
When asked what teachers can do to combat dysregulation, especially during a pandemic, in students, Sprenger reveals, “Just showing up at the door and greeting them is one way to instill the structure kids are looking for during times of stress. Now that students are coming back into the classroom, even just basic procedures and schedules written on the board help students regulate their feelings. Students have been living in fear of the unknown this past year – we need to offer structure to help them realize that things will be okay. For example, a teacher can say to their students, ‘We need to review where we left off last year, and it’s not to test you on what you learned during virtual learning – but more about where you are right now – that’s what’s most important.’ Constantly checking in with them throughout the day can make a big difference.”
Responsible Decision-Making is defined as the ability to make caring and constructive choices about personal behavior and social interactions across diverse situations (CASEL). In terms of the brain, the ventromedial and ventrolateral portions of the prefrontal cortex are involved in decision making, as the first deals with risk and the second with goal-appropriate responses (Hiser, J. & Koenigs, M., 2018). Sprenger cites in her book, “Student response activity will be influenced by the amygdala (emotions) and the hippocampus (memory), so their feelings and previous experiences (memories) will influence the activity in the prefrontal cortex. All this occurs when they make conscious decisions; thus, one of the first rules of good decision making is to slow down and think (Sprenger, M.).”
To keep students using their thinking brains to help promote responsible decision-making, Sprenger uses an exercise in her classroom called the “Four Corners.” Middle and high school teachers often use this SEL strategy; however, Sprenger goes further to show how this technique activates key brain areas. She tells Endominance, “This exercise is where we come up with a topic/statement to debate and then divide the class into four sections. The decision-making begins as I lay out a piece of paper for students to write down their feelings on the topic [do they agree/disagree on the issue and why]. Then, I assign a different position on that topic to each corner of the room.” The assignment often includes:
- Students having five minutes to work together to create a discussion platform that supports their position. Teachers can provide time and resources for students to gather the evidence before the debate begins.
- Each team giving its opening argument, followed by time for presenting evidence and rebuttals.
- Teams delivering their closing arguments.
Sprenger adds, “I make sure that the students continue to use higher-level thinking skills by focusing on the facts and not emotions. I also have them use the brain area [prefrontal cortex] that involves the idea of risk-taking and consequences – and whether certain decisions/actions are a good idea.” She also states, “This group exercise allows students to also be with like-minded kids, where they feel supported and safe to express their opinions. This encourages the dopamine and other feel-good chemicals to release – forming bonds between students while also keeping them motivated.”
