We’ve all had that class- the one where nothing worked. Maybe a day or maybe all year but there was just something that kept them for doing the cool stuff that you’d planned. The wheels just keep coming off, no matter what you do. Lord knows I’ve been there. And it’s just…ugh.
I believe that people do well when they can and if they can’t, well, it’s because there’s something in the way. But what, right? That’s where this BFE– Best Formula Ever comes in. (thanks to Kim John Payne and his Center for Social Sustainability for this!). Ready? Hold onto your hats because this is going to shake some things up in your classroom.
Stress/ Reactive Behaviors- fight, flight, flocking (clique) and freezing behaviors (kid in the back of the room with the hood up?) – are reflective of the level of fear in any given situation. Everyone knows about fight or flight but freezing and flocking are less well known. All of them are based in fear and neurologically they all make it impossible to learn.
Social Complexity is about relationships and how clear, changeable or unpredictable they are. Uncertainty around social standing, appropriate behavioral expectations and norms can create socially complex situations. “Where will I sit? Will anyone like me? Will the teacher be nice? Will I have friends today? This week? This year? Which brands are cool or uncool today? Are my clothes right?” You remember those questions, right?
Form Predictability is about the logistical details of our day-to-day lives. When we can anticipate the sequence of events we will experience and the actions we are expected to take in order to be successful. Where to put coats and backpacks, where to sit, where to go for lunch or if you get sick, how to open a locker, and what the agenda for the day will be and how dependable that agenda is from day-to-day and week-to-week.
So: High Social Complexity + Low Form Predictability = Stress-Reactive Behaviors
Now, this isn’t a static equation. Over time and with experience, you’ll find that you can decrease the predictability- mix it up a bit!- and that the kids are better able to manage social complexity. You’ve built a community they can depend on to keep them safe, that kind of safe can handle bigger. risks- and that’s exactly what we’re going for, right?
Things just aren’t working, check your social complexity and form predictability. If you can decrease the former by building and maintaining community, by setting and enforcing behavioral expectations and making sure your students know each other- really know each other- and increase the latter by making your processes and structures and system transparent and by making sure your expectations are clear, you may find that you can get rolling again.