(Describer) A 3-D model of a human brain appears. A title: Stress, Trauma, and the Brain: Insights for Educators -- with Bruce D. Perry, M.D., Ph.D. Words appear: Dr. Bruce Perry is a pioneer in the field of neuroscience research. He was one of the first to study the effects of trauma on the brain. We asked Dr. Perry how understanding brain science can help teachers in the classroom. Episode 1: The Neurosequential Model.

[bright music]

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The Neurosequential Model in education is a... basically, it's an approach that brings certain core concepts about the way the brain works into educational settings. Now, you know, it's interesting that it's been framed as a "trauma-informed" approach, which it is, but the reality is, it has universal application across the entire spectrum of children, whether you had no adversity or a lot of adversity. And, you know, they're really teaching people about how the brain processes information, what are the circumstances by which we learn, you know, optimally, what are the most effective ways to shape behavior. You know, things like that are universally applicable, and that's kind of what we do with this model. One of the things that we teach with the Neurosequential Model is a very simple way to think about this, and it basically is that in order to get to the cortex to be able to reason with somebody, you first need to be connected with them in some way, relationally connected, and so that's kind of the middle part of the brain. But before you can sort of effectively connect with somebody, there has to be at least a minimal degree of regulation. So a very dysregulated kid who's afraid is not gonna be able to successfully be engaged. And if you can't engage them to sort of be with you in this moment, they're certainly not gonna be able to cognitively learn everything. So we talk about this sequence of engagement.

(describer) A diagram appears,

(Describer) A diagram appears, roughly in the shape of an upside-down pyramid, with four stacking levels. At the narrow base: Brainstem; above it: Diencephalon ; above that, Limbic; then "Cortex" at the top.

roughly in the shape of an upside-down pyramid with four stacking levels. At the narrow base, "brainstem." Above it, "diencephalon." Above that, "limbic," then "cortex" at the top.

(Perry) Regulate, relate,

(Describer) Brainstem.

(Describer) Limbic.

and then reason.

(Describer) Cortex.

And one of the things that we see that happens all the time, both with parenting and coaching and teaching, is that all too often, we adults try to reason with somebody before they're regulated. And, of course, that never really works. I mean, all of us, you know, have probably had the experience of somebody, you know, coming up to us when we're sort of frustrated and saying, "Calm down." And as you all know, that very rarely works. In fact, it usually escalates you. It makes you feel even more dysregulated. So the fundamental principle of this Neurosequential Model is to appreciate that the brain is involved in learning-- the "neuro" part-- "sequential" is that the processing and development of the brain is sequential, and then, really, the third part is that you have to adhere... you know, you have to follow the rules. You know, you have to follow the rules of the biological organization of the brain if you're going to be successful in parenting, teaching, coaching. I think one of the most important things that educators need to understand about the brain is the way the brain processes incoming information. And the reason that's so important is that the human brain is basically organized in a hierarchical way. So there's kind of a bottom part of the brain, a middle part, and then the top part. And the top part is an area we call the cortex, and I think most everybody's heard of that, and the cortex is the most uniquely human part of the brain. And all of the networks up in the cortex are the systems that help us learn language, they're responsible for sort of autobiographical memory, they're responsible for the ability to think about the future, to think about the past, and essentially, every topic that an educator will teach has to get to systems in the cortex. And so really, the job of the educator and the job of the coach and the job of the parent and the job of anybody who wants to sort of change the human part of the brain is to get to the cortex. Now, the dilemma is that when I talk with you, the soundwaves are translated into pattern neuronal activity that go into lower parts of the brain, and then they get processed, and then they go to the middle part of the brain, then they get processed, and then they finally get to the top part of the brain. And so you don't automatically teach by having a really good thing in the teacher's cortex that immediately gets into the cortex of the child.

(describer) Two of the upside-down pyramid diagrams

(Describer) Two of the upside-down-pyramid diagrams appear side-by-side, labeled "Educator" on the left, and "Student" on the right. Above the diagrams, a heading appears: "Complexities of Communication from Cortex to Cortex." On the "Educator" diagram, words appear in the top level, or Cortex: "We need to talk."

appear side by side, labeled "educator" on the left and "student" on the right. Above the diagrams, a heading appears: "Complexities of Communication From Cortex to Cortex." On the educator diagram, words appear in the top level or cortex: "We need to talk."

(Perry) And so what you have to do is get through the middle part of the teacher's brain, the lower part of the teacher's brain, out into space, into the lowest part of the student's brain, into the middle part of the student's brain, and then finally up to the cortex.

(Describer) On the "Student" diagram, words appear in the "Cortex" level: "I wonder what they want."

(describer) On the student diagram, words appear in the cortex level: "I wonder what they want."

(Perry) So there's a lot of places where that can go wrong. And the reason educators need to understand a little bit about stress, distress, and trauma is that all of those things will interfere with that process in ways sometimes subtle, but sometimes in really extreme ways. You may have a child who comes into the classroom who's very well regulated. Their stress response system is completely normal. And what that means is, when they're sitting and listening in a classroom that's predictable, consistent, the teacher is kind, their cortex is open for business.

(Describer) His hands form a "V".

Which means that the teacher will successfully be able to get through sort of that, you know... that obstacle course to get to the cortex. But if somebody has a history of trauma, the stress response system will be abnormally activated, and that will shut down the cortex so that even if you're a really good teacher, the incoming input, the words and the nonverbal cues and all of the things that you use to teach, they're gonna get short-circuited on the way to the cortex, and that child will not learn as well.

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(Describer) The Neurosequential Model Network. Neurosequential.com BDPerry (P-E-R-R-Y) .com Additional materials: www.BDPerry.com/handouts Research: www.BDPerry.com/research On Twitter: @BDPerry @Neurosequential Copyright 2020 Public Media Connect. Accessibility provided by the U.S. Department of Education.

Accessibility provided by the U.S. Department of Education.