Emotionally Responsive Practice at Bank Street offers ongoing professional development, teacher support, coaching, and other on-site services to early childhood and elementary school programs. Our services build on the well-documented connection between emotional well-being, learning, and positive peer relationships. We help educators and administrators develop emotionally responsive school routines, curricula, and adult-child interactions that support all children, including those with a traumatic history.
Emotionally Responsive Practice is built on a deep understanding of child development, research on the effect of social and emotional experience on the developing brain, and the proven positive effects of working partnerships between educators and school-based clinicians.
Techniques & Applications:
- Using reflective language, literacy, and curriculum to heighten engagement and attention and strengthen connections between teachers and children
- Building opportunities for self-expression into the structure of the school day to prevent outbursts and help children achieve emotional balance in the classroom (i.e., “inviting and containing”)
- Using transitional objects (e.g., teddy bears) to promote classroom community and enhance empathy for self and others
