As a paraprofessional, it’s important to teach emotional regulation in the classroom. By teaching the students you are working with about regulating emotions, it enables students to effectively manage intense feelings. Students with developmental challenges are generally more vulnerable to emotional regulation issues. Since para’s typically work with special needs students, teaching emotional regulation as a paraprofessional is crucial. Behavioral issues can disrupt the classroom and cause lost valuable learning time. Teaching how to regulate emotions will decrease the disruptive behaviors.
What is Emotional Regulation?
Emotional regulation is the ability to have control over your emotions and prevent these emotions from driving you to react. This is a skill set that every single person can benefit from. When learning to regulate emotions, you learn to evaluate your feelings and react in constructive ways. It is essential for kids to learn this skill set and use it as a tool to tackle difficult situations. To put it simply, look at emotional regulation as these three steps below.
- Identify the emotion you are feeling
- Recognize the trigger
- Manage those emotions effectively
Why is Emotional Regulation Important as a Paraprofessional?
Emotional regulation as a paraprofessional is important because emotions have control over your reactions and responses to daily situations. With such powerful emotions, it gives us the ability to feel and experience the world. Although we are unable to control everything that happens in our lives, we can control the reactions and responses. When you learn how to regulate emotions, difficult situations can be easier to navigate. As a paraprofessional, it’s important to teach students how to have control over their emotions in order to perform and function well in the classroom. However, it’s also important to note that students with disabilities struggle to regulate their emotions more than the average student. For example, students that are diagnosed with autism have the tendency to experience mood swings, overreactions, and negative emotions for a longer period of time. Therefore, teaching them to understand and recognize what they are feeling is crucial for growth.
As a paraprofessional, developing effective emotional regulation skills is pivotal for providing quality care and support. Not only is this skill crucial to teach the kids you are working with, but it’s also important as paraprofessionals to embody these skills. Strong emotional regulation helps paraprofessionals build rapport through empathy and active listening. Ultimately, it allows paraprofessionals to be fully present and attentive to the needs of others. By prioritizing self-awareness and emotional intelligence in your work, you can create safe, understanding environments where those in your care feel valued and empowered.
Tips for Teaching Emotional Regulation in the Classroom as a Paraprofessional
Use an Emotional Scale in the Classroom
Using an emotional scale gives visual images to allow students to recognize how they are feeling. By associating feelings with colors, it allows students to easily understand. The four main colors to use are red, yellow, green, and blue. Red is associated with intense emotions such as anger, fear, and passion. Yellow is used to express feelings of anxiety, nervousness, silliness or excitement. Blue is associated with feeling tired, sick, or dull. Lastly, green usually relates to feelings of happiness and being content.
Build Trust
In order for children to feel comfortable enough to express their feelings and thoughts, they need to be in a safe space. To create this safe space with your student, you need to build trust and a relationship. As a paraprofessional you are typically spending time with one student through out the day, take the time to get to know them. Ask them questions about their day, family, and hobbies. By creating a relationship with your student, they will start to develop trust. It’s vital for children to not only feel safe, but to feel a sense of belonging as well.
Well-Being Check Ins
Take the time to check in with the student you are working with. By implementing regular emotional check-ins, it will create an open and safe space. You can also use the emotional scale for check-ins that I mentioned earlier. Use open-ended questions to follow up with the student. When you acknowledge their emotions, you are validating how they are feeling. This then demonstrates empathy and in turn creates an environment where emotional regulation is actively practiced.
Teach Mindfulness Strategies
What is mindfulness? Mindfulness is defined as a mental state achieved by focusing one’s awareness on the present moment, while calmly acknowledging and accepting one’s feelings, and thoughts. This is a therapeutic technique that helps avoid any destructive responses by learning to observe thoughts and emotions without reacting. One simple practice of mindfulness is breathing techniques. Simply breathe in through the nose and out through the mouth. An acronym to remember and practice with your student is “STOP”. Stop, take a breath, observe your thoughts and feelings, proceed (get back to what you were doing before). By teaching and practicing mindfulness, it will help with emotion regulation.
Conclusion
By implementing these strategies in the classroom, students learn how to regulate their emotions and cope with their feelings in a healthy way. When students feel truly understood and listened to, they will feel safe enough to express themselves. Paraprofessionals are heavily involved in supporting students’ learning, behavior, emotional regulation, and socializing skills. When you are working with a student, it’s crucial to follow their IEP/504 plan where their emotional goals and objectives are listed. Hence, the importance of learning about emotional regulation and it’s practices. The benefits of paraprofessionals in a classroom are important for student growth. By learning these skills, it contributes to their individual growth, as well as a healthy mind, body and overall well-being. If you’re on the hunt for a paraprofessional job in New Jersey, reach out to one of our recruiters!