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Erin Martin

Dr. Desautels and Ms. Boyle

ED 491

3 May 2020

Brain Aligned Discipline Protocol Template Abstract

Throughout my childhood, books often helped me understand information, especially if

they had images that enhanced the text. Thus, for my brain aligned discipline protocol template, I

created a digital informational text for children and educators, like myself, to use in their schools

and classrooms, sharing a new lens for discipline. I have learned a wealth of new information

this semester, shifting my view of how children’s behavior should be managed, or engaged. To

share this information, I created my informational text on PowerPoint that tells the story of Sam,

a second-grade student who has a teacher—Mr. Brain—that uses a new lens for discipline. Sam

shares what he has learned from Mr. Brain about the brain, strategies to manage his negative

emotions and stressors, methods to prepare to learn, types and roles of consequences, and how

his teacher has impacted him and his class. Although my template is in digital format, it can be

made into a printed version.

My template is representative of my philosophy of discipline. I believe discipline is a

learning process, and when children behave inappropriately, they should not be subjected to

demeaning punishment processes that take away what joy they have from their already stressful

worlds. Therefore, strategies that help children learn how to prevent negative behavior and

engage in positive emotions are important as they encourage a healthy life and promote learning

retention. Also, because I do not believe in arbitrary consequences—unfair, meaningless

punishment practices such as taking away recess or having a child sit in the hallway, natural
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consequences are important as they allow an educator, like me, to have strong connections with

students. I also believe children benefit from learning about their brains and neuroanatomy in

order to understand why they feel and act a certain way. This may influence them to discipline

themselves from succumbing to negative behaviors influenced by certain factors and, instead,

use strategies to help themselves experience more positive emotions. Thus, discipline is a

personal journey that helps students become their best selves and have enriching learning

experiences due the absence of negative behavior and limitations.

Based on my discipline philosophy, the central purpose of my informational text is to

provide a baseline for educators to teach their students about the brain and how they will manage

behavior, discipline, and strategies to prevent inappropriate behavior in an educational

environment. It introduces to students the discipline protocol and what brain-aligned preventative

practices an educator will engage in with students to regulate their brains, such as using an

amygdala reset station, focused-attention practices (FAPs), and brain intervals (BIs). The

template further includes information on co-regulation, adverse and traumatic experiences, pain-

based behaviors, chronic stress, and adverse childhood experiences (ACEs).

The template’s central purpose is to also provide information on the four pillars of

applied educational neuroscience (AEN). The pillars of applied educational neuroscience include

educator brain states, regulation, touch points, and teaching students about their neuroanatomy.

All four of these pillars are in my informational text as they are important topics to educate

teachers and students who are using the text. For instance, my template mentions what Sam’s

teacher, Mr. Brain, does in his classroom to regulate his own brain state to support positive

emotional contagion when working and co-regulating with children. In regard to regulation, my

template includes information on and examples of amygdala reset stations, FAPs, and BIs. Usage
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of all three of these strategies allow for regulation of brain states and stress response systems.

Also, my template provides readers the definition of a touch point, giving the example of Sam’s

touch point being Mr. Brain. The last pillar, teaching students about their neuroanatomy, is also

seen within my template as readers, whether teachers or students, learn about the parts of the

brain, neuroplasticity, and how discipline and negative experiences affect the brain and body.

These neuroanatomy concepts are important to understand as they help students know why they

behave or react a certain way, which additionally allows them to affirm that they are not bad

individuals—their brain simply causes them to act a certain way based on their environmental

factors and personal backgrounds.

Another main factor relating to the purpose of my template is to address the role of

consequences in an educational environment. While both arbitrary and natural consequences are

explained in the template, natural consequences are supported in Sam’s educational environment,

and reasons are provided as to why they are better than arbitrary consequences. For example, the

different effects of natural and arbitrary consequences on the stress response system and brain

development are described. These explanations clearly indicate why natural consequences are

healthier to use in the classroom. In addition, scenarios from Sam’s classmates about the

inappropriate behavior they conducted are provided, and Mr. Brain gives a natural consequence

for each situation. Thus, overall, my template’s purpose is to help and inspire ways to support

having a brain-aligned classroom that decreases pain-based behaviors and chronic stress through

the use of preventative strategies, highlighting the four pillars of AEN, and explaining why

natural consequences are better to use over arbitrary consequences.

The audience of my template, or informational text, is primarily second-grade teachers

and students, who can use and learn about how to create an effective brain-aligned classroom.
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However, teachers from all grades are able use this template as it provides useful information

that applies to any grade. It provides a scenario of a second-grade student and his classroom

experience with brain-aligned preventative strategies, information on his brain and

neuroanatomy, and discipline strategies used by his teacher. By utilizing the content of the

template and incorporating the strategies into their classrooms, educators should be able to instill

a brain-aligned and trauma responsive behavioral protocol in their classrooms. A goal of the

template is for educators to share the informational text with their class, whether reading some or

all of it to their students. This will give an introduction, explanations, and a reminder of

information about individuals’ brains, classroom procedures, and how students may quickly

realign their brain states. This digital template can also be accessible to parents, who can

implement the strategies at home, allowing their children to have regulated brain states at home,

which maintains consistency of the brain-aligned protocol used at school.

My template, which highlights my discipline protocol, will be implemented through

educators, including myself, reading it independently or with their class, and using the same

practices in their learning environment that are emphasized in the informational text. Teachers

will use and possibly add to the information in my informational text to teach students about

their neuroanatomy and the discipline protocols used in their educational environment. For

example, educators may implement the FAPs and BIs featured in my template and create unique

amygdala reset stations in their classrooms to prevent or diminish inappropriate and pain-based

behavior in the educational environment. Once an educator has taught or used all of the

information from my template to support an environment of regulated brain states, he or she

should allow the text to be accessible to students, such as in the classroom’s library. Students

may use my template to independently regulate their nervous system or prepare themselves to
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learn by using the strategies listed in the template. Although my template may contain some

unfamiliar words for young elementary students, it allows educators to contribute to students’

knowledge about their brain and provides new and usable words. It is important that my

informational text be read at the beginning of the school year to allow the protocol to be

understood and used throughout the entire year.

The template relates to and applies to my future as an elementary education teacher as it

helps me initially teach neuroanatomy to my students and have an effective discipline protocol I

will utilize in my classroom. The template includes clear explanations about an individual’s brain

and provides strategies to use to best help my future students regulate their brain states, including

information about co-regulation and touch points. For my career as a future teacher, my template

provides me an initial list of FAPs and BIs to utilize in my classroom to help prevent negative

behavior, and I have inspiration on what I can include in my own amygdala reset station. My

template will allow me to share with students, parents, and colleagues important information and

sensitive issues in regard to the reasons that cause a student to react inappropriately. It will also

remind me of how to react toward a student who may be expressing inappropriate reactions,

prompting me to regulate my own brain state before attempting to talk to the student. My

template will also serve as a reminder to incorporate natural rather than arbitrary consequences

as natural consequences have meaning behind them and help a student know how to take

responsibility for his or her actions and behave appropriately in the future. My template further

reminds my students and me about how our brains and bodies function and what we can do if we

begin to feel overwhelmed. Therefore, in regard to my future profession, my template ultimately

serves as a beginning point, informational resource, and reminder about neuroanatomy and the

discipline protocol for my future classroom.

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Because my template is told from the point of view of a young student, and is in a book

format, it will relate to my young students and help them connect to the book as children are

often exposed to children’s books daily. In addition, teachers will connect to the text format as

literature is involved in their daily teaching as well. Also, my students will feel comfortable

participating in the practices listed in my template because Sam, who is close to their age, uses

and explains the strategies. This template additionally validates students’ feelings, especially if

they are experiencing negative emotions. I believe it is important children learn about their brain

and how they can regulate their brain state in the future, understanding why they or a classmate

may be behaving in a particular manner. I strongly believe that children who behave negatively

are not bad children, they simply express their feelings in an inappropriate way. Therefore,

through this template, I further want my future students to understand that they are wonderful

gifts to this Earth, and I want to be there to help them realize it and support them in expressing

themselves in an appropriate way. I want to be my students’ touch point.

Creating my template has been a helpful process in causing me to realize what type of

discipline and brain-aligned strategies I want to have in my future classroom. By utilizing a

variety of resources, such as websites, articles, presentations, and a print source, I was able to

support the information in my template. My resources were written by experts or were from

reliable organizations, causing my information on my template to be credible and valid. The

information provided in the sources directly connects to the information in my template, making

the sources relevant. Through this information, my template is resourceful in preparing a

classroom to be brain-aligned and reducing inappropriate behavior among students. It is

important that children not focus on negative experiences and, instead, be in their best brain

states to allow for an enriching learning experience and healthy lifestyle. I look forward to
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sharing and using my template in my future classroom, helping children to learn and find joy in

my classroom and accept their wonderful selves for who they truly are.
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References

Boyle, C. (2019). Getting the most out of your amygdala reset [PDF file]. file:///Users/EMM/

Downloads/Getting%20the%20Most%20Out%20of%20Your%20Amygdala%20Reset

%20(2).pdf

Boyle, C. (2020, January 21). The brain! [PowerPoint slides]. https://butler.instructure.com/

courses/9393/files/308910?module_item_id=198390

Campbell, C. (2009, February 4). What is neuroplasticity?. BrainLine.

https://www.brainline.org/author/celeste-campbell/qa/what-neuroplasticity

Color breathing exercise for stress relief [PDF file]. (n.d.). Retrieved April 29, 2020, from

https://city.milwaukee.gov/ImageLibrary/User/jkamme/EAP/Info-

Library/MentalHealth_5QuickStressReduc.pdf

Connections over compliance: Rewiring our perceptions of discipline [Word document]. (n.d.).

Retrieved April 29, 2020, from https://butler.instructure.com/courses/9393/ files/285821?

module_item_id=181512

Desautels, L. (n.d.). Expert answers: Dr. Lori Desautels on big ideas in neuroscience: brains,

behavior, and engagement for students and SPED leaders [Interview]. Presence

Learning. Retrieved April 29, 2020, from https://www.presencelearning.com/expert-

answers-dr-lori-desautels-on-big-ideas-in-neuroscience-brains-behavior-and-engagement-

for-students-and-sped-leaders/

Desautels, L. (2017, January 22). Focused attention practices and new research on the stress

response system. Revelations in Education. http://revelationsineducation.com/focused-

attention-practices-and-new-research-on-the-stress-response-system/
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Desautels, L. (2020, January 14). Adversity! The brain, behavior, and learning [PowerPoint

Slides]. https://butler.instructure.com/courses/9393/files/285741?module_item_id=

181484

Desautels, L. (2020, April 7). Applied educational neuroscience/ a new lens for discipline

[PowerPoint Slides]. https://butler.instructure.com/courses/9393/files/431503?

module_item_id=230633

Desautels, L. L., & McKnight, M. (2019). Eyes are never quiet: Listening beneath the behaviors

of our most troubled students. Wyatt-MacKenzie Publishing.

Focused attention practices and brain intervals: Priming your students’ brain to learn and stay

engaged [Infographic]. (n.d.). Retrieved April 29, 2020, from

https://butler.instructure.com/courses/9393/files/351195?module_item_id=209134

McKnight, M. (2016, November 6). School, troubled kids, trauma, the brain and pain based

behaviors. ACEs Connection. https://www.acesconnection.com/blog/school-troubled-

kids-trauma-the-brain-and-pain-based-behaviors

Punishment vs. logical consequences. (2011, September 2). Responsive Classroom.

https://www.responsiveclassroom.org/punishment-vs-logical-consequences/

Sentis. (2012, November 6). Neuroplasticity [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/

watch?v=ELpfYCZa87g

Willis, J. (2016, December 7). Using brain breaks to restore students’ focus. Edutopia.

https://www.edutopia.org/article/brain-breaks-restore-student-focus-judy-willis