Zones of Regulation
Reflection
Impact of Action Research
Student Learning
Action research has impacted student learning in many ways. First of all, throughout the implementation of the Zones of Regulation curriculum, it was noticed that less distractions and disruptions were occurring. As the purpose of the study was to increase listening and self-regulation skills, this was seen as I was pausing less for redirection and more optimal learning could therefore occur. The focus was more on the content and learning from one another rather than the undesirable behaviors that we had so frequently before. Additionally, there were partner and group work improvements along with this as students were better able to regulate their emotions, specifically the strong emotions they were experiencing. There was an increased awareness of their feelings as well as an increased awareness of the feelings of those around them, which gave many improvements in these aspects. There were less times I had to intervene and help them problem solve issues that arose in their work with others. Students who had difficulties working with others before were able to work with more of a variety of partners, which built the classroom community and stronger relationships among all of us. Finally, there was an increase in students believing their classmates spoke up and shared their ideas more. As the classroom community was made stronger and less disruptions occurred, it seemed that students became more comfortable sharing. This brought new ideas and perspectives and allowed us to learn even more from one another.
Current Teaching
There has also been a large impact on my current teaching. Prior to researching and learning about the Zones of Regulation curriculum, I had the expectation that students were already coming into my class with social and emotional tools, such as problem-solving and self-regulation strategies. Upon learning about this curriculum and implementing it in my classroom, I began deliberately and more purposefully teaching social and behavioral strategies. I found that just as I teach math and reading, it is just as important that I am teaching social and emotional skills for students as they may not be coming to me equipped with them. With this, I also changed my approach to discussing classroom expectations with my students. For example, rather than ask them to stop talking while I was teaching, it turned into more of me explaining why those expectations were in place. I expressed to them that the talking distracts both myself and their classmates from learning, and how when it’s loud, it makes focusing challenging. I learned that this better shows them other perspectives and how their actions and behavior affect those around them. I feel that I began sharing my feelings with them more not only in this way, but also explaining that I can feel stressed out or tired like them. I began considering their feelings more as well and wondered why an undesirable behavior is occurring, rather than assuming they were acting out intentionally. A better classroom community was able to be built through this curriculum and all of our class discussions, so as these relationships grew, I gained more of a sense of comfort and confidence in my teaching and interactions with them.
Professional Growth
I was able to grow as a professional immensely throughout this study. I was able to communicate and collaborate with other professionals daily, which is a skill I plan on using in every future year I teach. I discussed topics related to this curriculum with my grade level team, as well as other professionals in the building, including the school psychologist and literacy coach. I also discussed topics with my principal, who was able to connect me to other teachers in the district who have taught or were currently teaching the Zones of Regulation curriculum, which served as great resources for me to ask questions. From all of these professionals, I gained different ideas, solutions, and perspectives, and it made the study even more successful. I not only obtained better knowledge and strategies on what I was implementing, I gained a strong team of people I can go to for any future questions or ideas as well. Additionally, I realized the importance of using research and data to drive my decision-making as I completed this study. I learned that in order to provide the best possible educational experience for all of my students, I need to have justified reasons behind why I am putting certain things in place. I want to know that what I am doing in the classroom will be purposeful and successful.
Challenges, Questions, & Future Teaching
I gained a lot of knowledge and ideas throughout this study, but there are still questions that remain. First of all, I now better understand that the explicit teaching of social-emotional behavior concepts is necessary sometimes. I have a better understanding that my students come from a wide variety of diverse backgrounds, and this affects the knowledge of these self-regulation skills that they are coming to school with. It also affects emotions they may be experiencing at school and I have learned that it was more beneficial to discuss and problem-solve the undesirable behaviors together rather than have them continue to get in trouble for a behavior that could have been occurring for many different reasons. With this, I also better understand the importance of communication with my students, whether that be sharing reasons behind classroom expectations or having class discussions to build relationships. I am still wondering what the impact of the Zones of Regulation curriculum would have been if I had been able to implement it throughout the entire year and not later on. I also wonder what the impact would have been if we had not been short on time with the heavy amount of snow days and staff development days throughout the duration of the study.
Looking at changes for the future, I would like to have more opportunities for students to have self-reflection. Because of our short timeline, a majority of our lessons consisted of whole group discussions, which were certainly very beneficial. However, I think in the future, it would be important for students to have the opportunity to think about themselves, their behavior, and their emotions on a more personal level. With this, because of our limited time throughout the day to teach the lessons as well (a 20-minute morning meeting period of time), not every student who wanted to share was always getting to share. Having more opportunities for various activities, such as writing or self-reflection, would allow for all thoughts of the class to be considered. I would also like to connect the Zones of Regulation curriculum better to the curriculum we study academically. For example, finding literature that connected to the different zones so students could have more examples would be beneficial.
My future thinking will be impacted by this study as I have further learned the importance of getting to know my students as individuals. It is important to know them as a learner, but also important to know them as people who come into the classroom with different perspectives, ideas, and strengths. I now know that even though they are young, they can still experience intense emotions for a variety of reasons, and it is important that as teachers, we are equipping them with strategies through explicit instruction. It cannot be the expectation that they already have them in place.
Finally, my future teaching will be greatly impacted as a result of this action research. I now understand the classroom environment I want to have from the start of the year and will work to make sure it is calm with clear reasons behind the classroom expectations. I also want to ensure that students feel comfortable sharing their ideas, and that level of comfort will come through building relationships and a strong classroom community. I will also make sure the decisions I am making in the classroom are backed with proof of success, as I want the best possible outcomes for each one of my students. This study taught me so much about my students, my teaching, and myself, and I know I want to continue using it in all my future years as an educator.