How Affirming Values Can Reduce Stress and Boost Achievement

In this Ed. Magazine article (one of 30 “big ideas” for schools), Gabrielle Rappolt-Schlichtmann (CAST) reports on a study from Science on the remarkable impact of teachers asking students to briefly affirm their most important values in writing just before a high-stakes test. Students’ stress dropped dramatically, and when scores on the test were analyzed, the black-white achievement gap decreased by 40 percent. “Because emotions are biological processes based on social interaction,” says Rappolt-Schlichtmann, “teachers can help their students manage school-related stress through the language they use in the classroom. When prompted, the mind can be a powerful tool to de-stress the body. Actively relieving stress is a skill students can develop with the support of knowledgeable adults.”

“What’s the Big Idea? Use Teacher ‘Talk’ to Reduce Student Stress” by Gabrielle Rappolt-Schlichtmann in Ed. Magazine, Fall 2013 (p. 26), 

http://www.gse.harvard.edu/news-impact/2013/09/whats-the-big-idea/ 

From the Marshall Memo #503