By, Kristin Palen, OTR/L
It is first thing in the morning, you are standing in front of your class ready to teach a lesson and you observe the students in front of you. Two of them are staring out the window, a few are talking loudly while one student next to them covers their ears, one student is standing at their desk jumping around, another keeps falling out of their chair and one keeps touching other students. You look at the clock and need to get the lesson started but they all seem to be dysregulated and not in a head space to begin learning. You do your usual gathering to get started, but it just does not seem to be enough for some of the students. You wonder how you are going to get them all organized to begin learning. One child needs a quieter environment, another needs more stimulation, some need to move, and others need more visual stimuli to be engaged. A common challenge that is often faced in many classrooms.
Creating a sensory rich classroom and understanding sensory processing skills is invaluable to every teacher. Sensory processing is the neurological process of organizing information from our senses. Our senses give us information about our body and the relationship to our surroundings. It is the foundation to a child’s learning. A child learns through moving, feeling, hearing, touching, and noticing their body sensations. The sensory system is made up of eight senses. The tactile (touch), auditory (hearing), visual (sight), olfactory (smell), gustatory (taste), vestibular (sense of movement in space), proprioceptive (our muscle and joint sense) and interoceptive (internal body sensations). All eight of the senses are activated in everything a student does in the classroom. Each sensory system working together in a synchronous manner to aid the student in attending, orienting, and engaging in the task at hand.
Every student processes sensory input differently which is what makes the multi-sensory environment of a classroom so pivotal to a child’s learning. Every student has sensory preferences that aid them in being regulated, organized and to have the ability to utilize their pre-frontal cortex of their brain to effectively learn. On the contrary students may have sensory sensitivities which can be impacted and exacerbated by different environments, stress, a certain task and can even change from day to day. This can negatively impede their learning. This is why it can be so challenging for a teacher with a classroom full of students all with unique sensory needs to find the crucial balance of sensory stimulation in their classroom.
As a teacher attuning and understanding each child’s individual sensory needs can be a key factor to their success in the classroom. This begins with setting up a sensory rich environment and providing opportunities for regulating sensory input throughout the day. Modeling self-regulation skills in the classroom is so effective to assist the students with co-regulation, the ability to hold space and support a student in regulating their emotions. To do this effectively a teacher utilizes themselves as a sensory tool by adjusting their tone of voice, their facial expressions, gestures, how they move their body, how they breath and so much more. This aids the students in developing an understanding of what their body needs to effectively be able to attend and engage to the lessons. Teaching the children about their sensory systems enables them to gain a better understanding of self-regulation and their nervous system. Additionally, by providing regulating warm-up activities, sensory breaks, accommodating for sensory sensitivities, and allowing open access to sensory tools in the classroom you empower your students with an understanding of themselves and what they need to be confident, comfortable, and connected in their bodies.
Want to learn how to effectively achieve this and more on the topic of sensory processing from Kristin? Join us for our 2 year Online International Handwork Teacher Development Program. Now accepting applications for classes beginning in January 2025!
We are thrilled to announce that Kristin Palen, OTR/L, Pediatric Occupational Therapist, will be one of our core faculty members!
Kristin will join us every month for the 1st semester to deepen our understanding of:
Sensory processing in the classroom
Emotional regulation and co-regulation
Gross and fine motor skill development
Executive functioning
And more!
Apply today! Financial aid is still available!
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