1. Accessible Learning Services Dr. Christine Boyko-Head
Mind(ful) curriculum development through community building and inclusive pedagogy
Scott Green
Accessible Learning Services
Dr. Christine Boyko-Head
Curriculum Development Specialist

2. Hands of Belonging
Draw, write or symbolize the communities you belong to placing one community on each finger. (2min)
Draw, write or symbolize what those communities give you emotionally, physically, socially. (2min)
Share the communities you selected with a partner. (2min)

3. Outcomes
Connect psychological principles to pedagogical design and delivery
Enhance the significance of learner-centred curriculum and to current classroom challenges
Promote inclusive community building strategies in diverse classroom populations to facilitate student success

4. Explosion of students-at-risk
Dramatic Increase in the diagnosis of mental health disorder
Increase in the diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder
Increase in the diagnosis of intellectual disorders
Increase in the diagnosis of BIF/MID
Increase in the diagnosis of ADHD
Mental Health Commission of Canada, Toronto District School Board
Depression, anxiety, phobias, OCD, Personality disorders, substance abuse, eating disorders, schizophrenia

5. Diversification of students
Increase in First Generation
Increase in International Increase in First Nations
Mature Students
P/T Students

6. Population Shift to Paradigm Shift
IQ is not the most significant factor in predicting academic success (Blair & Diamond, 2008; Duckworth & Seligman; Shonkoff, 2000).
The core of this breakthrough lies in the work done by physiologists on the systems in the brain that regulate energy expenditure and recovery

7. Cognitive Load Management

8. Cognitive Overload = Negative Emotional Shift = Anxiety

9. What the Psychologist tell us - Shift from the Learning Brain to the Survival Brain

10. Cognitive Load Management

11. Fear Response – Fight or Flight

12. F/F impact on the Brain

13. Shift from the Learning Brain to the Survival Brain
Impact on Learner
Chronic hyper-arousal
Chronic hypo-arousal
Heightened stress reactivity
Increased sensitivity to pain
(physical and emotional)
Reduced ability to regulate negative emotions
Negative bias
Reduced ability to read affect cues, show emotions
Reduced ability to hear human voice
Blunted reward system
Increased immune system problems
Conditioned response
Dramatic increase in stress across five domains
Arousal: Environmental stressors (e.g., visual, auditory)
Emotion: Modulate negative and positive emotions
Cognitive: Sustain and switch attention
Social: Master the skills of co-regulation
Prosocial: Development of empathy
Triggers reinforce each other and interlock

14. Intellective capacity

17. Thank you for your time and interest

18. References
Duckworth, A. & Seligman, M. (2005). Self-Discipline outdoes IQ: Predicting academic performance of
adolescents. Psychological Science, 16(12),
Freeman, T., Anderman, L., Jensen, J. (2007). Sense of belonging in college freshman at the
classroom and campus levels. The Journal of Experimental Education. 75(3),
Hammon, Z. (2015). Culturally responsive teaching and the brain: Promoting authentic engagement
and rigor among culturally and linguistically diverse students. Thousand oaks, CA: Corwin.
Levine, D. (2003). Building classroom communities: Strategies for developing a culture of caring.
Bloomington IN: National Education Service.
McKibben, S. (2015). Seeing beyond the glass half-full. Education Update, 57(11), p.5.
Shanker, S. G. (2012). Calm, alert and learning: Classroom strategies for self-regulation. Toronto:
Pearson.
Vartabuabm O., Bristol, A., Kaufman, J. C. (Eds.). (2013). Neuroscience of Creativity. Cambrdige MA:
MIT Press.
Yuhas, D. (2014 Februrary 17). So you want to be a genius. Scientific American Mind, p. 19.