Session 3. Teaching and Nurturing Emotional Control and Self-Regulation [1 hour/42 minutes]
Contents and Brief Description
- The Interdependent Components of Self-Management
- The Physical, Emotional, Cognitive, Behavioral Connection
- Teaching Students Social, Emotional, and Behavioral Self-Management Self-Regulation Skills
Session 3 revisits the definition and interdependent components of students’ social, emotional, attributional, and behavioral self-management. It then describes the elements that help students to be (a) physically or physiologically healthy; (b) emotionally aware and in control from a neurological and brain-behavior perspective; (c) able to recognize how their expectations, beliefs, attitudes, and attributional thoughts affect both their emotions and behavior; and (d) motivated to learn and use their interpersonal, social problem-solving, conflict prevention and resolution, and emotional communication and coping skills.
The Session continues with an overview of the Emotional Control Paradigm which is grounded by the need to teach students emotional self-awareness, emotional self-control, and emotional coping skills and strategies. This Paradigm recognizes that most emotional behaviors are neurologically and classically conditioned, and that ineffective emotional reactions (science-to-practice) need to be unconditioned, re-conditioned, or counter-conditioned.
The Paradigm is then further operationalized by showing the importance of and how to guide students’ identification of their emotional triggers and physiological cues. The goal of the Paradigm—and its instruction in the classroom—is to teach students how to stay in emotional and physiological control when in the presence of emotional triggers; how to shift their thinking from negative or reactive to positive and proactive thoughts, beliefs, or expectations; and how to demonstrate appropriate, prosocial behaviors to address or respond to their emotional triggers.
Feature Presentation
Handout
2 3 Stress Course Session 3 Handout.pdf
Audio Only
Quiz
Quiz Answers
3 3 Session 3 Quiz Answers.pdf
Resources
Therapist Aid, LLC. (2017). Common triggers of teen stress. Jacksonville, FL: Author.
4 3 1 Emotional Trigger Worksheet.pdf
Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction. (Undated). My emotional regulation plan. Madison, WI: Authors.
4 3 2 Student Personal Emotional Regulation Plan.pdf
Homework. Please read the following article in preparation for the next session:
Knoff, H.M. (July 27, 2024). Are Schools Really Prepared to Address Educators’ Biggest Behavioral Student Concerns Right Now? “We’ve Got Serious Problems and We Need Serious People” (Part II). Fort Myers, FL: Project ACHIEVE Press. [www.projectachieve.info/blog]
Addressing Educators’ Biggest Behavioral Student Concerns 7 27 24
Knoff, H.M. (September 6, 2025). Students’ Mental Health Challenges: What They Say, What Schools and Adults Miss, and Why AI Isn’t the Answer. Fort Myers, FL: Project ACHIEVE Press. [www.projectachieve.info/blog]
Students’ Mental Health Challenges September 6 2025