ERIC ED596337: The Brain Basis for Integrated Social, Emotional, and Academic Development: How Emotions and Social Relationships Drive Learning

2018·1.4 MB·English

by  ERIC

The Brain Basis
for Integrated
Social, Emotional,
and Academic
Development
How emotions and social
relationships drive learning
Mary Helen Immordino-Yang,
Linda Darling-Hammond,
Christina Krone
The National Commission on Social,
Emotional, and Academic Development
The Aspen Institute National Commission on Social, Emotional, and Academic
Development is engaging and energizing communities to re-envision what constitutes
success in our schools. Scientific evidence demonstrates that social, emotional, and
academic development are interconnected in the learning process. The Commission
is drawing from research and promising practices to explore how to make all these
dimensions of learning part of the fabric of every school. Building upon existing work in
schools, communities, and states across the country, the Commission is working to identify
specific action steps in research, practice, and policy that will help shape and sustain a new
era of education that reflects what we know about how learning happens.
The Commission’s members are leaders from education, research, policy, business, and
the military, and the full Commission team includes a Council of Distinguished Scientists, a
Council of Distinguished Educators, a Youth Commission, a Parent Advisory Panel, Partners
Collaborative, and a Funders Collaborative.
Contact Us
Learn more about the Commission, see our full list
of Commission members, sign up for our newsletter,
follow us on Twitter at @AspenSEAD, and email us with
questions at [email protected].
© 2018 The Aspen Institute
Introduction
Throughout life, and to an extraordinary degree of neural connections to form brain networks
in young people, the brain develops differently that reflect a person’s experiences and help
based on opportunities to engage actively and him or her adapt to the world in which they
safely with rich and meaningful environments, live.10,11 As a person engages with situations,
social relationships, and ideas.1–3 The brain’s problems, ideas, and social relationships, these
plasticity, the very adaptability that allows us experiences influence patterns of brain structure
to adjust to the demands of our environments, and function that undergird a person’s changing
therefore presents a critical opportunity and skills and inclinations over time.
responsibility for education.
The developmental sculpting of the brain’s
Brain science usually does not translate networks through learning is akin to the process
directly into educational policy or practice. of growing a botanical garden. When given
But educational policies and practices that are adequate opportunity, plants naturally grow
consistent with how the brain develops are more through various developmentally appropriate
likely to promote learning and development phases, such as seed germination and cycles of
than those that undermine or are inconsistent budding and flowering. However, the particular
with brain science.4 In addition, an appreciation characteristics of a garden reflect the age
of how brain development varies across and types of the plants and a combination of
individuals and accommodates environmental geography, climate, soil quality, care, cultural
demands can give educators insights into the context (such as preferences for rock gardens
types of supports and interventions that might versus wildflowers), and the gardener’s own
prove most helpful for different children.5–8 choices. The garden is also affected by how it is
laid out and used (for example, for picnicking
This brief explains the science behind how the
under shade trees, growing vegetables, strolling
brain develops, how that development relates
along paths, or playing active sports). In this way,
to learning, and the settings and contexts that
the local conditions, the gardener’s skills and
are conducive to learning and development.
taste, the patterns of use, and time all shape the
It explains how brain development requires
garden and affect its future growth and health.
social relationships, emotional experiences,
and cognitive opportunities. And, it draws from Just as a garden grows differently in different
this evidence to suggest basic principles for climates and with different plants, styles of
educational policymakers and practitioners. gardening, and use, a person’s brain develops
differently depending on age, predispositions,
priorities, experiences, and environment. When

given adequate opportunity, support, and
Brain development supports learning,
encouragement, children naturally think, feel
and vice versa.
emotions, and engage with their social and
Brain development after birth does not just physical worlds. And these patterns of thoughts,
involve the brain getting bigger or stronger feelings, and engagement organize brain
or increasing its number of connections.9 development over time and in age-specific
Instead, brain development mainly involves ways, influencing growth, intelligence, and
the generation, pruning, and reorganization health into the future.
The Aspen Institute 2018 1
changing weather conditions and the desired
Genes and Epigenetics: An uses and appearance of the garden.
emotionally safe, cognitively
Epigenetic forces are like the climate, the
stimulating environment contributes
weather, and the gardener’s actions. They
to brain development.
are aspects of the person’s social, emotional,
cognitive, physical, and physiological
In 1990, a major multinational scientific project
contexts—the engaging and rigorous
was launched to document the full genetic
intellectual opportunities, warm and rich
makeup of humans. The Human Genome
Project12 resulted in a startling discovery: social relationships, and healthy physical and
emotional environments in which a person lives.
humans have far fewer genes than had been
predicted,13 and fewer than many simpler Together, these forces trigger and organize
brain development and, therefore, a person’s
organisms, including many plants. How could
readiness and capacities to learn. Though
the most intelligent and flexible creatures on the
healthy human environments can vary greatly
planet have so few uniquely human genes with
in their specific characteristics and cultural
which to specify abilities? The answer speaks
features, when a person’s world is seriously
squarely to the purpose of culture, childrearing,
impoverished in any of these dimensions, brain
and education: our amazing intellectual
development and the learning that depends
potential appears to derive partly from the
evolutionary loss of genetic information.14,15 Our on it are compromised.3,19–21 When a person’s
world is enriched in these dimensions, brain
genes appear to underspecify our development,
development is facilitated and learning
and that information deficit makes possible (and
is enabled.22–25
in fact necessary) our unparalleled proclivity for
socially mediated learning.16–18 For our genes to
grow a fully functioning human, we must have Except in the rare case of severe, life-
adequate opportunity to interact with others threatening genetic disorders, all children have
and to learn. This learning extends across the the genes essential for brain development
settings a person lives in: family, community, and the propensity to learn. However, genes
and school. are not sufficient to build a person, and the
genome itself is dynamic, changing in response
While the components of the genetic code to environmental cues.26 Continual, age-
could be likened to a gardener’s seeds and appropriate, and individualized contextual
instruction manual, the epigenetic forces— support provides the epigenetic forces that
the environmental forces from “above the turn genes on and off, copy and arrange
genome”—provide the supports and triggers them, so that growth, development, thinking,
that open and close various pages of the and learning can occur.27–29 Overall, though
manual, and even reorder, copy, and delete differences in individuals’ intelligence are
pages, telling the gardener whether, when, somewhat heritable in optimal learning
where, and how to plant various seeds given environments,30 in sub-optimal environments,
dynamic environmental conditions, and how measures of environmental quality and
to care for, arrange, prune, and fertilize plants learning opportunities overwhelmingly swamp
at different stages, in accordance with the the predictive power of genes.31 Following
2 THE BRAIN BASIS FOR INTEGRATED SOCIAL, EMOTIONAL, AND ACADEMIC DEVELOPMENT
The quality of a person’s relationships and social
interactions shapes their development and
health, both of the body and of the brain.
the garden analogy, individuals may inherit plasticity in the parent’s brain development,38
“seeds” for various kinds of plants, but it is the and signals the infant’s brain to grow.39–41
gardening and environmental conditions that
As the above example demonstrates, individuals
determine which seeds will grow, thrive, and
co-regulate each other’s physiology,42–45
thereby reveal their potential. Importantly,
which means that the quality of a person’s
across the lifespan, targeted interventions and
relationships and social interactions shapes their
supports of the sorts that can be provided by
development and health, both of the body and
schools and community organizations have
of the brain.37,46–49 For example, infants’ prenatal
been shown to improve neural and cognitive
brain development is impacted by maternal
functioning and health, with long-term benefits
for individuals.21,23,32–35 stress, which is in turn related to toddler
behavior, and child temperament
and learning.50–52

The brains of children and adolescents who
The brain development that
experience persistent adversity respond
supports learning depends on social
by strengthening circuits that promote
experience.
aggressive and anxious tendencies at the
Think of a hysterical baby up past bedtime, expense of circuits for cognition, reasoning,
whose distraught parent lifts and hugs her, and memory.53,54 The hormonal signaling
shushes, lays the little one’s head where she can molecules responsible for these shifts in neural
hear the parent’s heartbeat, and sings her to development are toxic in large amounts, making
sleep. In the minutes that follow, both the baby’s individuals more likely to develop health
and the parent’s blood pressure lower, stress problems, including mental health disorders
hormones normalize, and hormones involved in such as addiction, anxiety, and depression,55–59
bonding and social affiliation increase.36 Over and physical health problems, such as heart
the course of these minutes, both the parent disease, obesity, and cancer.60,61 Connections
and the baby undergo physiological changes between social and physical maturation are also
that influence not only immune functioning seen in less extreme conditions: toddlers with
and digestion, but also brain structure, poor attachment to caregivers undergo puberty
especially in regions associated with learning earlier,46 as do pre-teen girls whose co-habiting
and memory, and in the adult, with executive parents are socially aggressive to each other
functioning, which supports self-regulation and (for example, refusing to talk, threatening
goal-directed behavior.37 Exposure to these to leave).62 Stress shortens the window of
socially triggered hormones opens a window of increased neural plasticity and growth in
The Aspen Institute 2018 3
adolescence,63 and predicts earlier sexual breathing, eating, and maintaining a steady
maturity and worse psychosocial outcomes,64 body temperature) and for interacting with
with implications for risky decisions that physical objects and other people (for example,
influence educational outcomes.65,66 through looking and eye contact, listening,
grasping, mirroring, vocalizing, and cuddling).
As these examples illustrate, the brain
In engaging with their caregivers, infants
functioning that supports learning depends
notice patterns of actions, language use, and
on social experience. The way individuals
emotional expression that tune their brain
experience relationships in the home,
development to the features of their
community, school, and workplace influences
specific environment.
their biological development, and hence how
they live and think.67–69 Even in adults, close Given their stage of brain development, infants
relationships are associated with hormone thrive with stable routines, including living
co-regulation, with implications for cognition, routines like feeding, bathing, and sleeping,
sleep quality, and health.70,71 Though the brain and cultural routines like simple songs
is malleable and changed by experience and interactive games. Infants need stable
across the lifespan, the most important relationships with emotionally healthy, attentive
periods are those in which the brain is most caregivers; adequate nutrition and physical
actively changing: the prenatal period through care; and plentiful exposure to language.
childhood, adolescence, the transition to
Healthy early care environments feature small
parenthood, and old age.
ratios of children to adults so that interpersonal
interactions are maximized. These interactions
offer physical comfort and affectionate holding
Sensitive periods in brain and hugging to support attachment and a sense
development align with opportunities of safety, as well as regular communication
for learning and needed supports. and responsive, back-and-forth interactions to
support infants’ development of language and
The development of the brain and the
sense-making in the relationships and settings
development of thinking run in parallel;
they encounter. In addition to warm, sensitive
each enables the other. Examining brain
relationships, these settings also offer regular
development at different stages provides
feeding and good nutrition, sleep, and physical
insights into developmentally appropriate
activities, such as sitting, rolling, crawling, and
learning at each stage and the necessary
walking with adult oversight.72–74
supportive conditions.
EARLY CHILDHOOD: In early childhood,
INFANCY: Newborn’s brains are highly the brain regions that control sensory, motor,
immature and malleable. They require extensive language, spatial, and visual functions are
human interaction to develop. Infants come maturing.75–77 This brain development coincides
into the world with a set of neural reflexes that with children learning to coordinate their
serve as primitive entry-points for regulating reflexes to form goal-directed actions, such
themselves in their environment (such as as toddlers coordinating their gesturing and
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4 THE BRAIN BASIS FOR INTEGRATED SOCIAL, EMOTIONAL, AND ACADEMIC DEVELOPMENT
FIGURE 1
The Stages of Brain Development and
Associated Learning Opportunities
Inferior frontal cortex
(motor planning;
involved in emotional
responding, language
and executive function)
AGE
EARLY CHILDHOOD: Sensory and motor regions are be-
5 coming more efficient and interconnected. These include
regions involved in speaking, listening, and understanding
Visual cortex
(seeing) language and social communication; feeling and per-
ceiving emotions; manipulating objects to learn simple
concepts; and understanding time and sequence.
Primary motor cortex
(moving the body)
MIDDLE TO LATE CHILDHOOD: Association brain
Primary sensory cortex
(feeling the body) regions are especially developing—bringing together
information from different senses and sources to help
build conceptual understanding across social, emotion-
Parietal association al, and cognitive contexts.
cortex (sensory integration
areas involved in spatial
processing and math,
social perspective-taking,
conceptual understanding)
EARLY TO MIDDLE ADOLESCENCE: Regions involved
in emotional reward, sensitivity to social reputation, and
Prefrontal cortex higher-order thinking are maturing, allowing new capac-
(association areas
involved in planning, ities for emotional regulation, in-depth interests, identity
decision-making, development, long-term planning, and abstract thinking.
emotion regulation,
abstract thinking)
LATE ADOLESCENCE TO EARLY ADULTHOOD: Associ-
20 ation areas, and their underlying networks, are con-
tinuing to mature, which supports increasingly complex
cultural, ethical, and scholarly thinking about how the
world works, why, and how it could work differently.
Views of the brain across childhood individuals’ propensities and their activities that young people may
and adolescence illustrate how social, emotional, cultural, cognitive, engage in, learn from, and enjoy at
different regions develop with and physical contexts. different stages.
varying intensity at different stages.
While the sequence of spurts in brain Considering neural developmental For more on developmentally
development is relatively universal, sequences together with individuals’ appropriate learning activities
there is individual variability in how propensities and contexts can for each stage, see pages
and when brain regions develop therefore provide insight into the 11, 14–16.
that reflects interactions between developmentally appropriate
NOTE: These brain images illustrate one aspect of how different systems in the brain are developing and maturing from ages 5
through 20 and beyond. As the brain regions change from red to green to blue, the outer cortical layers of the brain are thinning,
which in this age range can reflect more consolidated and efficient processing. Think of these images as providing a sense of the
relative sequence of maturation of different systems.
(Continued from page 4)
vocalizing to communicate with caregivers, or with these materials. Adults in these settings
coordinating their posture, movement, and encourage children to play and work together
attention to learn to run, ride a wheeled toy, (for example, learning group games or setting
or read a book with an older person. In order up and cleaning up at snack time), as well as to
to attain physical milestones, like walking and pursue their individual interests.
toileting, and social milestones, like talking and
Productive early childhood education settings
sharing joint attention, young children need
provide regular routines—such as circle time,
predictably calm interactions with responsive
and loving caregivers,78 and safe opportunities snack time, storybook time, inside and outside
play time—that provide a balance of activities
to explore and to share what they notice.
and learning opportunities. Songs, stories,
Young children are interested in learning with and conversations in these settings model
others about the world—real and imaginary. With and support the development of language;
conversations and other interactions, imitation, music, dance, and games develop movement
exploration, and self-paced practice, children and a sense of timing and sequence;
build simple understandings of sights, sounds, drawing, painting, playing, and building with
and object properties, as well as of social rituals, manipulatives develop small motor and hand-
language, emotions, and stories.79 Through eye coordination. All of these activities, along
active play and participation in daily activities, with affirmative and supportive interactions,
they notice patterns of cause and effect, gain build the brain’s architecture in important ways
agency and a sense of self, and begin to figure and help students become ready for more
out how the world works.80 They learn to act symbolic learning that they can link to these
alone and with others’ help to satisfy their concrete experiences.83,85
curiosities and achieve their goals.81,82
MIDDLE-LATE CHILDHOOD: The physical,
Much of young children’s learning happens cognitive, and social achievements of early
through play.83,84 Productive early childhood childhood form the foundation for concepts
education settings offer rich environments and skills that emerge when children begin to
with materials to manipulate—for example, more formally represent their knowledge of the
a sand table, water table, blocks, playhouse physical, cognitive, social, and emotional world
area, art supplies, musical toys—and regular and self. As children become able to think about
opportunities to investigate, move, and play what they and others are coming to understand,
Productive early childhood settings provide
routines and activities, along with affirmative and
supportive interactions, that build the brain’s
architecture in important ways.
6 THE BRAIN BASIS FOR INTEGRATED SOCIAL, EMOTIONAL, AND ACADEMIC DEVELOPMENT
know, feel, and do, the association and planning EARLY-MIDDLE ADOLESCENCE:
areas of the brain involved in the integration Adolescence is the most dramatic period
of information gathered from different senses of brain development after infancy. It is a
and sources are maturing. Children’s learning fundamental period of environmentally
involves gradually internalizing and reproducing (epigenetically) triggered social, emotional,
the patterns, procedures, and beliefs they and cognitive growth and plasticity,91–94 as
are exposed to at school, at home, and in the well as of vulnerability to mental illnesses
community. This exposure happens through such as depression and anxiety.95 In the brain,
social relationships, emotional experiences, and maturation of the amygdala and reward-related
stories; opportunities for mathematical, spatial, structures leads to heightened sensitivity to
and scientific reasoning; and opportunities to social cues, such as eye gaze and presence of
formalize ideas through spoken and written peers, as well as to social hierarchy, reputation,
language and the arts. and physical appearance.96 The frontal lobes,
involved in planning, decision-making, executive
Structured opportunities to teach and learn from
functioning, and higher order thinking, begin
others; to explore, discover, and invent; and to
a protracted period of intense development
test out the predictive power of their reasoning
(lasting into the mid-twenties) that increases
and calculations, help children construct a sense
the strength of connections to the amygdala
of scholarly and personal agency. Developing
and other neural regions involved in emotional
capacities for managing goals, strategies,
reactivity, social sensitivity and reward. This
peer relationships, and feelings are supported
brain development is associated with risk taking
by formal social activities like participating in and emotion swings,97 but also enables new
sports teams and music ensembles, and also by
and initially fragile capacities for emotional
informal opportunities for self-direction alone
regulation, long-term planning, and
and in social settings, such as recess, free time, abstract thinking.98
and helping out with household chores.18,86–88
Puberty-related hormonal changes launch a
Supportive learning environments in middle
period of neural plasticity that also makes the
childhood offer opportunities to engage in
brain more vulnerable to the effects of stress,
inquiries and projects that allow children to social rejection, and sleep deprivation.99 These
set goals, seek answers, evaluate evidence,
pubertal hormone surges influence brain and
and draw conclusions; continue to engage
bodily maturation, friendships, and romantic
in concrete experiences of the world on attraction,100 and shift sleep patterns to later
which they can begin to build more abstract and longer.101
thinking; support productive collaboration
with other children in undertaking these and Adolescents’ optimal development is enabled
other efforts; teach social and emotional skills by deeply exploring and expanding personal
such as awareness of and productive ways interests and technical skills through high-
of articulating and managing feelings, while quality coursework, arts, sports, and other
developing empathy and positive inter- activities. Effective activities are designed
personal relationships; and communicate to help adolescents build constructive,
ideas in multiple artistic, linguistic, and prosocial connections through community
mathematical formats.89,90 involvement, perspective-taking, and meaning-
The Aspen Institute 2018 7
making. Adolescents’ efficacy, agency, and Increases in neural “cross-talk” between
sense of purpose thrive with safe, supported regions further apart in the brain, especially
opportunities to explore possible social those involved in higher-level cognition and
identities, tastes, interests, beliefs, and values; cultural values, emotions, and beliefs,104 occur
and to invest in tight relationships with family, as short-distance connectivity decreases.105
peers, and trustworthy adults like teachers, Tighter communication across, as opposed to
mentors, spiritual leaders, and coaches. within, brain regions during this developmental
Adequate physical activity, social connection, period106 supports late adolescents’ blossoming
nutrition, and sleep are particularly important in abilities to reason, infer, and reflect, through
adolescence, as these buffer the effects of stress making connections and meaning of their skills,
on the brain and improve well-being, emotion knowledge, and experiences. Opportunities to
regulation, cognition, and decision-making. engage deeply with scholarly ideas, to apply
their emerging skills to real-world problems,
Supportive educational settings for adolescents
and to build strong, appropriate peer and
ensure that they continue to have strong
adult relationships are crucial for identity
relationships with adults who know them
development and for making decisions about
well–often through school advisory systems or
committed relationships, lifestyle, and careers.
teaching teams that can personalize instruction
and supports for students in and out of school. Productive educational settings in late
Such settings engage students in investigations adolescence and early adulthood continue
that allow them to develop critical thinking and to provide opportunities for young people
problem-solving skills, to debate ideas and to be well known by adults with whom they
reflect on what they are learning, to attempt have strong relationships—advisors, mentors,
ambitious projects that interest them, and to and teachers—and to examine ideas from
receive feedback they can act on to improve many perspectives, using symbolic thinking,
their work. These opportunities help them logic, and metaphor, as well as other tools, to
develop a sense of agency, curiosity, habits for deeply explore meaning. Students should have
reflecting on their own thinking, and a growth opportunities to investigate and apply their
mindset and self-regulation to support their learning in real-world contexts through projects,
ongoing learning.89,102 internships, externships, and exhibitions,
with constructive feedback that allows them
LATE ADOLESCENCE-EARLY to develop ever more disciplined thinking
ADULTHOOD: While in early adolescence and to tackle ever more advanced problems.
the number of neural connections increases, the
They should also have many opportunities to
brain prunes the connections that are not being
follow their interests and passions in choosing
used during late adolescence,103 increasing the
topics and approaches, reflecting on their own
brain’s efficiency. Which connections remain is
strategies so they can guide their own learning
determined by a person’s thought patterns
over time. And they should be able to engage
and engagement with their environment,
in personally enjoyable forms of physical activity
including by education-related opportunities
that they can undertake on their own as well as
and social relationships.
in groups, and continue throughout life, beyond
the education environment.107
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8 THE BRAIN BASIS FOR INTEGRATED SOCIAL, EMOTIONAL, AND ACADEMIC DEVELOPMENT