The Learning Brain: Stress and Learning PDF

1 2 Emotional Check-In: Gauging Energy and Pleasantness Energy: How activated or calm do you feel right now Excited Pleasantness: Are your feelings positi...

1 2 Emotional Check-In: Gauging Energy and Pleasantness Energy: How activated or calm do you feel right now Excited Pleasantness: Are your feelings positive or negative? 3 Tap into Your Mood: Assessing Energy and Pleasantness Excited 4 What Is Their Emotional Experience? 5  Unit #2: The Learning Brain Topic: Stress and Learning Outline: Stress and Learning Stress and Building Resilience: Expanding the Window of Tolerance Stress mindset (reframing stress) Group work  Unit #2: The Learning Brain Topic: Stress and Learning Outline: Stress and Learning Stress and Building Resilience: Expanding the Window of Tolerance Stress mindset (reframing stress) Group work  Balancing Stress and Challenge for Optimal Learning and Performance Yerkes-Dodson Meets ZPD Stretch zone- ZPD the sweet spot for learning and growth Learning Performance Comfort Moderate arousal, Stress zone high motivation, zone Optimal neuroplasticity Boredom / Maximum development Overload Stagnation / Anxiety Stress/Arousal /Challenge 8  Unit #2: The Learning Brain Topic: Stress and Learning Outline: Stress and Learning Stress and Building Resilience: Expanding the Window of Tolerance Stress mindset (reframing stress) Group work The Spectrum of Stress Response From Protective to Toxic 10 The Window of Tolerance Is The Zone Where Intense Emotional Arousal Dr. Dan Siegel Can Be Processed And Managed Effectively 11  Hyperarousal and Hypoarousal are Two Responses to Extreme Stress Outside the Window of Tolerance Fight-or- Flight Response Freeze or Shutdown Response 12 Dr. Dan Siegel  The Window of Tolerance Is The Zone Where Intense Emotional Arousal Dr. Dan Siegel Can Be Processed And Managed Effectively Exposure to controllable stressors is a major contributor to building resilience If it is not fluctuated within the window of tolerance, this means we’re in the comfort zone…13 Building Resilience is About Expending Our Window of Tolerance 14  Unit #2: The Learning Brain Topic: Stress and Learning Outline: Stress and Learning Stress and Building Resilience: Expanding the Window of Tolerance Stress mindset (reframing stress) Group work Your Stress Mindset Impacts Your (physiological) Stress Response Challenge Threat  Factors That Shape Our Stress Response The stress response varies based on multiple factors, including: - The nature of the stressor (duration, Intensity, predictability) - The nature of the person (orchid/dandelion), - The objective demands (like task complexity, and time pressure) vs the available resources (like social support, coping skills and physical conditions) and even the individual mindset (one’s approach to stress). 17  Cognitive Appraisal Determine the Stress Response(!) Evaluation of the situation as threatening Evaluation of the situation as challenging " It’s hard, I can't handle this” “It’s hard, but I can manage this” Demands > Resources/ability to cope Demands ≈ Resources /ability to cope Activates Survival Mode Promotes Learning and Growth Threat –perception Response: Challenge-perception Response: lower cardiovascular efficiency Increased cardiac efficiency Higher cortisol reactivity Lower cortisol reactivity Negative emotions Positive emotions Decreased cognitive performance Enhanced cognitive performance  What is Your STRESS Level These Days? What is Your Stress Mindset These Days? It’s hard, but I can manage this It’s hard, I can't handle this stress-is- stress-is- debilitating enhancing mindset mindset The research on mindsets suggests that one way to meaningfully influence the stress response is to change an individual’s mindset about stress We can do hard things  Stress Mindset and the Window of Tolerance (broader term effects on resilience) Stress-is-debilitating mindset Stress-is-enhancing mindset Decreased positive affect Increased positive affect Reduced cognitive flexibility Enhanced cognitive flexibility Higher cortisol reactivity Lower cortisol reactivity Decreased DHEAS Increased DHEAS (growth and stress-protective hormone) Impaired attention control Improved attention control Decreased approach motivation Increased approach motivation Lower pain tolerance Higher pain tolerance Reduced desire for feedback Increased desire for feedback (crucial for learning!) May hinder long-term adaptive responses Facilitates adaptive responses over time Focus on threat and survival Focus on growth and learning Narrows the Window of Tolerance Expands the Window of Tolerance Crum et al., 2017  Stress Mindset Affects the Stress Response in Both Threatening and Challenging (perceived) Situations Evaluation of the situation as threatening Evaluation of the situation as challenging Demands > Resources/ability to cope Demands ≈ Resources /ability to cope + stress-is-enhancing mindset Challenge-perception Response Challenge-perception Response Adopting a stress-is-enhancing mindset in both challenging and threatening situations can be advantageous, not by diminishing the perception of stress, but by activating and amplifying cognitive, emotional, and physiological resources that contribute to adaptive responses over time. Crum et al., 2017  From Surviving to Thriving Resilience is the ability to achieve a successful outcome in the face of adversity. Brain resilience reflects the ongoing, adaptive plasticity of the brain, enabling it to adjust naturally over time. Recovery from emotional or physiological trauma is not about reversing the changes caused by trauma, instead it’s about moving forward through neuroplastic adaptation. A person's stress mindset plays a crucial role in shaping cognitive, emotional, and physiological responses to both challenging and threatening situations. Understanding how the stress mindset operates can enhance our responses when we have no control over the demands of a situation or the available resources. Embracing a stress-is-enhancing mindset promotes physiological resilience, facilitating an individual’s ability to endure future stressors.  Unit #2: The Learning Brain Topic: Stress and Learning Outline: Stress and Learning Stress and Building Resilience: Expanding the Window of Tolerance Reframing Stress (cognitive control) Group work: Neuroscience of Window of Tolerance (WOT)  Stress Regulation and Building Resilience- Group Work (25 minutes) Question 1 – Brain Mechanisms Inside and Outside the Window of Tolerance (WOT): Discuss and map the brain mechanisms involved when an individual is within their Window of Tolerance (WOT) compared to when they are outside it (in states of hyper/hypo-arousal). Consider how the brain regions involved in emotional regulation function in each state. Address the role of the brain’s stress response system (e.g., the hypothalamic- pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, sympathetic/parasympathetic nervous systems) in managing these responses). Question 2 – Expanding the Window of Tolerance (WOT): Based on the emotion and stress regulation content from this week's lectures, discuss practical strategies to expand one's Window of Tolerance. Provide two concrete examples of techniques that can help individuals regulate emotions and stress and expand their WOT. Specify whether your examples are top-down (cognitive) or bottom- up (body-based) strategies.