Elementary aged children are experiencing new things everyday, and I see the excitement, wonder and curiosity arise in the Kindergarten students I work with each Thursday. Consequently, emotions in the classroom can help or hinder student learning. Students learn and perform better when they feel secure, happy and excited; however, their cognitive performance is inhibited if students feel distracted or negative emotions toward the subject matter. (Bohlin, Durwin, Weber. 68) Schooling needs to go beyond the curriculum and guide students to be prepared to deal with real-life problems, challenges and emotions. As a future educator, I wonder how I will be able to include character education (based off students' emotional impulses impacting their behavior and their emotional intelligence levels) in my daily curriculum. Emotional intelligence involves students' understanding of their own emotions, as well as emphasize with others and acting accordingly. Ed Psych Modules offers insight on how to foster emotional intelligence in students, through various dimensions. In my internship, I witness these practices being applied daily. To promote emotional understanding in the classroom, students have "Share Time" during their calendar studies. The class sits on the carpet in a circle and passes a stuffed animal around clockwise. Whoever is holding the stuffed animal is encouraged to share how they're feeling or what they did throughout the week. Students love the opportunity to share their personal life with their peers. In dealing with behavior, emotional intelligence is fostered by teaching appropriate responses to the emotions of others. Ms. J frequently models ways to be caring and considerate of others' feelings when students report a rule has been broken. For example, Tamara* was upset when Lucas* pushed her while making his way to the water fountain. Tamara instantly reported the incident to Ms. J, who asked Lucas why he would be so inconsiderate of Tamara's personal space. Lucas is guided to realizing that his actions impact others, and he is led to apologize to Tamara. To promote emotional regulation by providing training in conflict resolution skills, Ms. J takes an opportunity to turn the disruption into a lesson. The class is reminded of their procedure for when something like that happens, to ask the person kindly not to do the undesirable action and to apologize for misbehavior. While doing letter study, multiple students frequently feel frustrated with their handwriting. I hear countless "I can't do it!"'s throughout the day, and nothing breaks my heart more. Each time a student doubts their own capability, Ms. J and I are sure to lead them by encouragement to continue to try their best. Lucy often is frustrated by her inability to master the curves of a capital G, or the strange line work in an S. Through individualized instruction and a little positivity, Lucy is quick to be prideful of her accomplishments and I'm happy to celebrate with her. Sharing enthusiasm and encouraging students to persevere increases their self-motivation and builds emotional intelligence. While continuing my internship, I hope to uncover each student’s behavioral cues, and find ways to help them grow their individual emotional intelligences. I wonder how to group students in ways in which they could balance each others behavioral weaknesses with their own strengths. For example, would sitting Tamara, who is more motherly, next to Abel, who has frequent behavioral out lashes, allow for peer comfort and help them achieve? Or would the mismatch of behavioral levels cause further disruption and impede their learning process? (* = New pseudonym) ReferencesBohlin, L., Durwin, C., & Weber, M. (2012). Emotional Development. In Ed Psych Modules (2nd ed., pp. 68-69). New York, New York: McGraw Hill.
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