Can mood management skills help children learn better? A New York University study found that if children learn how to manage their emotions and mood then their learning in math and reading improves.
The study involved kindergarten and first grade students from low-income families. The students participated in an intervention program called, INSIGHTS into Children’s Temperament. The program’s aim was to help teachers and parents better understand a child’s personality and mood as well as acquaint students with the skills to understand and manage their own mood and those of others.
The program allowed teachers and parents to learn various child temperament strategies for better responding to a child’s mood changes.
The intervention program lasted for 10-weekly sessions and during which, teachers were urged to use four different puppets in class to show students different emotional states, Gregory was the Grumpy one, Hilary was the hard-working one, Fredrico was the friendly one and Coretta was the most cautious of the four. This enabled students to become more sensitive to their own and the feelings of others and know how to better respond to them.
The intervention program proved to be a worthwhile experiment that confirmed that emotional management in children does help the latter do better at school.
More specifically, the INSIGHTS intervention had better results in student learning than a supplemental reading program had. The intervention also helped the students improve their attention span as well.
Emotional intelligence plays a vital role in learning as the experiment confirmed. The more aware and open to empathizing we become with those around us, the smoother and more rewarding our relationships will be. Emotional awareness can be the ground for better academic performance and could lead to wider scale project that aim to boost emotional intelligence and management in children.
Source: http://www.nyu.edu/about/news-publications/news/2014/05/20/program-to-reduce-behavior-problems-boosts-math-reading-steinhardt-study-shows.html