PSA in June 2015, posted a New Mexico Education department report on the state of education in New Mexico.    The report suggested middle schools needed to promote motivational and social emotional behavior conducive to engagement and academic growth.  The recommendation in the report was to provide professional development for teacher and administrators on behavior interventions for the social emotional needs of middle schoolers.

So when do self regulating strategies actually start?  According to the Vygotskian approach, self regulation rooted in neuroscience research starts in early childhood with developmental accomplishments supporting the middle schooler for the higher mental functions needed past 6th grade.  Young children use hints from teachers to understand “pay attention” and “remember”.  Toddlers speak to themselves to internalize rules for standards such “do not touch the stove”.  Teachers and peers share activity to “play pretend” such as feeding a toy bear with a spoon, a level of symbolic substitution.   Vygotsky sees the mental tools developed at this stage as key to future higher mental functions.

According to the approach, strategies for learning to enhance development include tactics such as using mediators such as hints and models, using language as a means to inner speech and verbal thinking, and shared activities with teachers and peers leading to self regulation.

Would teaching professionals with the correct strategies be able to activate self regulating development later in a child’s life?  According to the neuroscience research, the brain has a capacity to rewire itself to regain development accomplishments such as resilence and mindfulness.

According to Vygotsky  dynamic assessment is a tool for instruction.  Vygotsky argued that “independent performance” was not sufficient to describe development.  Vygotsky recommended also evaluating  “the level of assisted performance”.  In this thinking, how capable the child is in learning new tools is as important to his development  as how well he can use the tools he has already mastered.  The goal is always emerging performance. Once learners can see where they are heading they can self regulate as they near the goal.  With the assistance of peers and teachers, the motivation for learning also increases as learners accept the student role, internalization of standards of performance, and intellectual curiosity.

PSA often posts on the website core elements  of a quality “defined learning experience”.  The PSA core elements contain much of the Vygotskian approach.   “Applying the the new science of learning” as well as “creating the learning community” are core elements. As well,  “Enabling the individual learner” with a dynamic learning plan  and “capturing the learning imagination” with emotional intelligence.