Psychology in the Classroom

This is the 7th podcast from the RE-STAR team and Professor Edmund Sonuga-Barke and Dr Georgia Pavlopoulou share the findings from work package one. This episode explores how the RE-STAR team has collected qualitative data through innovative methods that really allow the voices of young people with ADHD and Autism to be heard. They also share the findings about the upsetting experiences of young people with ADHD and Autism, what these experiences are (and if you are a teacher you might be surprised) and the intensity of those emotional experiences and as well as how these differ for neurotypical, ADHD and Autistic groups. The team is also considering the long term impact of this emotional burden on depression and anxiety.  If you would like to hear more from the RE-STAR team please do take a listen here: https://changingstatesofmind.com/re-star-project [https://changingstatesofmind.com/re-star-project] If you would like to read the paper the link is:  https://acamh.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/jcv2.12287 [https://acamh.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/jcv2.12287] A second paper is also available: https://osf.io/preprints/osf/dras7 [https://osf.io/preprints/osf/dras7] Why do attention-deficit/hyperactive disorder and/or autism traits place adolescents at risk for depression? Protocol for a longitudinal comparison of the mediating role of deficits in emotional processing and control versus emotional burden

In this week’s episode Purvi (Vi) Gandhi shares her knowledge about implementing effective and evidence based strategies to improve mental health or mental fitness in schools. Vi has recently published a book 'A little guide for teachers: Student Mental Health' with lots of ideas of how teachers can support the mental health and fitness of the young people in schools. In this interview we discuss the language we use around mental health, why mental health is so important in school and how we can support our pupils to thrive and much more.  If you would like to find out more about her book here is the link: uk.sagepub.com/en-gb/eur/author/purvi-gandhi [http://uk.sagepub.com/en-gb/eur/author/purvi-gandhi] If you want to hear more podcasts on mental health from Psychology in the classroom here is the link: https://changingstatesofmind.com/mental-health-%26-wellbeing [https://changingstatesofmind.com/mental-health-%26-wellbeing]

On World Mental Health day 2024 Psychology in the Classroom discusses Mindfulness. We eschew the ‘Crystals and Muesli’ version and reframe it to ask how to be more attentive, calmer, more grounded, more aware, more responsive, less anxious. Willem Kuyken and Maggie Farrar join me to discuss, how we can make moments in our day to be mindful and how this can help us align ourselves better with our personal values.  You can find the podcasts on the Myriad Trial into Mindfulness in schools via this link: https://changingstatesofmind.com/mindfulness-miniseries This is the link to Willem’s website and book: https://mindfulnessforlife.uk/ This is the link to Maggie’s website and book: https://www.empoweringleadership.co.uk/

In this final summary interview with Prof. Dr. Suzanne Narciss, we review all our learning about failure over the last few months. There is much we can do to encourage our students to learn from errors, including interactive formative assessment and feedback strategies, prompting reflection and adaptive strategies for dealing with errors and using other people’s errors. As teachers we need to help students overcome their fear of failure by creating a positive error climate and supporting students to develop a more positive error mindset. But this is an area that is challenging to research and we still have much to learn.

More than one in 10 children ‘almost always’ or ‘often’ fear failure. But where do they learn this from? This fear can often pass from parents to children. Parental communication about failures and setbacks plays a critical role in shaping a child's perception of mistakes. In her research Dr Elizabeth Peterson found that: * Clear action plans without discussion of collaborative resources increased children's fear of making mistakes.  * When mothers acknowledged their child's emotions and discussed collaborative problem-solving, there was a notable decrease in the child's fear of mistakes. * Many mothers minimally acknowledged or dismissed their child's emotions (40%), rarely discussed action plans (55%), or collaborative resources (79%). Effective parental communication involving emotional acknowledgment and collaborative problem-solving can help reduce children's fear of making mistakes. In this interview we discuss the consequences of this research for the classroom and how we as teachers can have positive conversations with our students about failure. You can find Elizabeth’s paper here: Peterson, E. R., Sharma, T., Bird, A., Henderson, A. M. E., Ramgopal, V., Reese, E., & Morton, S. M. B. (2024). How mothers talk to their children about failure, mistakes and setbacks is related to their children's fear of failure. British Journal of Educational Psychology. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1111/bjep.12685 [https://psycnet.apa.org/doi/10.1111/bjep.12685] https://bpspsychub.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/bjep.12685 [https://bpspsychub.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/bjep.12685]