Brain Aligned Preventive Systems / Replacing Behaviors we Don’t Want to See!!
Brain Aligned Preventive Systems
These systems are designed to replace old behaviors and unlike backup systems, they are to be permanent! They are student driven, collaborative and filled with choice, novelty and natural ways the brain learns, behaves and engages!
These Preventive Systems are taught just like we would teach procedures, transitions and class agreements. The purpose of these systems is to assist and model ways to regulate our fight flight freeze systems and to place connection and relationship at the forefront of all we are and do in our classrooms and buildings and districts.
Small Preventive Systems
1. Student directed focused attention practices
2. Brain Intervals
3. Journal Writing
4. Create trigger lists
5. Use of Questions/ What do you need? How can I help? What can we do to make this better?
6. Noticings
7. Take Your Order!
Medium Preventive Systems/ Whole Class
1. Focused Attention Practices led by teacher and students
2. Brain Intervals/ Spend some time at the beginning of the year and periodically throughout to create homemade brain intervals
3. Brain Aligned Bell Work/ Service to others in the building
4. Class Roles and Responsibilities, such as: Kindness keeper, Researcher, Story Teller, Helping Hand, Inspirer
5. Class Newsletters or Web site
6. Class Trigger Lists and Coping Strategies
7. Design Bulletin Board
Large System Preventive Systems
1. All School Focused Attention Practices/ Brain Intervals
2. Convocations with topics each month!
3. Setting up all school Amygdala First Aid Stations
4. Brain Labs in your classroom
5. Common Language is so important!
6. Teacher Brain States and Modeling for our Students
August- What is the brain? Survival, Emotions, and then Thinking! “We are Feeling Creatures who Think!” How do I develop? Neuroplasticity/ Teacher Brain States
September- Brain’s Stress Response System/ Amygdala/ Adrenaline, Cortisol, Triggers/ Prefrontal Cortex/ Focused Attention Practices
October- Hippocampus and Learning! Focused Attention Practices
November- Mirror Neurons and Emotional Contagion
December- Power of Reflection, Drawing, Scribbling, Art, Movement and Breath!
January- Student led Focused Attention Practices/ Brain Intervals/ Brain Stem Activation
February- Teaching others about their neuro-anatomy/ neuroplasticity
March – Use our skills during testing/ Cognition/ Memory/ Sleep/ Nutrition
April – Neuroscience Fair/ Projects
May- How will I use this at home over the summer? Project to take home and share through the years to come!
Lori Desautels, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
College of Education
Butler University
