Yukon elementary school adds self-regulation to the curriculum

A stationary bike is not something you’d expect to see in an elementary school classroom, but it could soon be more common as a new approach to helping students improve their behaviour spreads across the North.

Eight Yukon schools, and several classrooms in the Northwest Territories and Nunavut, are using a concept called self-regulation to help students learn to recognize and talk about emotions, and set themselves up for a healthy, productive day.

• LISTEN | CBC North's Cheryl Kawaja visited Takhini Elementary to learn about self regulation
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“When you help children become aware of their state of mind and their mood, then you can also help them be aware of how they can get to the place that they need to be for the task at hand,” says Katrina Brogdon, principal at Takhini Elementary School in Whitehorse.

The program involves some teaching.

“Teaching them about their brain, how their brain works, teaching them about nutrition, about sleep about social interaction and all those things that create conditions for how we're feeling about our day and ourselves and our energy levels.”

Then it’s up to the kids to take matters into their own hands.

In one classroom, Kassie-Joy Elanik sits quietly at her desk with a fidget toy in her hand as she goes about her work.

Brett MacFarlane likes to use the stationary bike, either to burn off energy or to perk up before learning.

The classroom is also equipped with snacks, a quiet area and noise reducing headphones.

Brogdon says it's made a huge difference in her school.

“We see things like way, way less office visits disciplinary issues and I think the kids are happy.”

Self-regulation is a concept that's been refined and promoted by Dr. Stuart Shanker, a professor of philosophy and psychology at York University, who was a keynote speaker at a teacher's conference in Yellowknife earlier this fall and who'll return to the North for a workshop in Yukon this winter.

According to Shanker, research shows that the more children can regulate their own behaviour, the better they can rise to the challenge of mastering ever more complex skills and concepts.

The concept is rapidly spreading across the country.

In Yukon, five more schools are starting teaching self-regulation this year, making eight in total.

In the Northwest Territories, several teachers have already brought the idea into their classrooms, and the Department of Education is working towards more support for the program in other schools.