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Self Regulation as a Predictor of Academic Abilities
Self regulation is the ability of a person to tolerate sensations, situations and distress and form appropriate
responses to that sensory input. Simply stated, it is the ability to control behavior. In children, self
regulation matures just like other developmental processes. Children get older and learn to think before
they act. Research continues to develop in this area of self regulation and how much it effects other
aspects of development. A recent article in Developmental Psychology reports that self regulation in
children is a predictor of academic abilities. The researchers used the Head-Toes-Knees-Shoulders Task
(HTKS) to evaluate 343 kindergartens ability to self regulate. The HTKS task measures the ability to listen,
remember instructions and follow motor commands. It does not measure emotional responses. Children
with higher levels of self regulation in the beginning of the school year achieved higher scores in reading,
vocabulary and math at the end of the school year. The researchers concluded that improving self
regulation in children can improve academic achievement and behavioral responses.
Now, for any therapist, teacher or parent who has knowledge of sensory integration knows how much
deficits in self regulation effect behaviours, social skills and motor responses. We need to continue to
educate school staff on the importance of this skill be developed in all children. Per-kindergarten and
kindergarten curriculum has changed it's focus to reading, writing and math skills at an earlier age. There
is not enough practice time to learn self regulation during these early formative years. Now it appears as if
this hard core academic curriculum in the early years needs to slow down. This study provides significant
evidence to support teaching self regulation skills.
References:
Ponitz, Claire Cameron; McClelland, Megan M.; Matthews, J. S.; Morrison, Frederick J. A structured
observation of behavioral self-regulation and its contribution to kindergarten outcomes. Developmental
Psychology. Vol 45(3), May 2009, 605-619.
Oregon State University (2009, June 9). Self-regulation Game Predicts Kindergarten Achievement.
ScienceDaily. Retrieved June 9, 2009, from http://www.sciencedaily.com
/releases/2009/06/090608162547.htm
Self Regulation Activities
The researchers, Megan McClelland, Ph.D., Associate Professor Human Development and Family
Sciences, and her student, Shauna Tominey, have allowed us to share the activities that they are working
on developing to facilitate self regulation skills. The activities are still being developed and are currently
being tested for their effectiveness in improving self-regulation. Thus, there are not any definitive claims
about the effectiveness of the games in improving self-regulation at this point. Thank you very much to Dr.
Megan McClelland and Shauna Tominey for sharing this resource!
Kindergarten Readiness Study Games
Here is a description of the games played in our study. These games were designed to help children
practice paying attention, following directions, remembering rules, and demonstrating self-control.
Red Light, Purple Light. Like Red Light, Green Light, a teacher acted as a “stop light” by standing at the
opposite end of the room from the children. The “stop light” held up different colors to represent stop and
go. We used different colors, such as purple for “go” and orange for “stop” and then did the opposite. We
also used different shapes to represent stop and go. For example a yellow square for “go,” but a yellow
triangle was “stop.” Children also had a turn being the stop light!
The Freeze Game. Children and teachers danced to music. When the teacher stopped the music,
everyone froze. We used slow and fast songs and had children dance slowly to slow songs and quickly to
fast songs. Once children mastered these skills, children tried moving to opposite cues: children tried to
remember to dance quickly to the slow songs and slowly to the fast songs!
Cooperative Freeze. Related to the Freeze Game, when the music stopped, children found a mat to
stand on and froze. Teachers removed mats so that children had to cooperate with one another to find a
space for everyone on fewer mats. We also taped different colored paper to each mat. When the music
stopped, a teacher held up a specific color and children stood on the mat with the matching color.
Sleeping, Sleeping, All the Children are Sleeping. Children pretended to sleep when the circle leader
sang, “Sleeping, sleeping, all the children are sleeping.” Once children were pretending to sleep, the circle
leader said, “And when they woke up… they were [monkeys]!” Children woke up and pretended to act like
monkeys. The circle leader then repeated the song and suggested other animals. Children who were
pretending to sleep were called on to give suggestions for other animals. We made this more complicated
by showing 3 different colored circles (ex: red, blue, purple). On the red circle was a picture of a snake, on
the blue circle was a picture of a butterfly and there was no animal on the purple circle. When it was time to
wake up, the circle leader pointed to one of the circles and the children acted out the animal on that circle.
Pointing to the purple circle (the circle with no picture) allowed the leader to choose any animal. After a few
rounds, we removed the pictures and children had to remember what animal was on each circle.
Conducting an Orchestra. Every child used a musical instrument. The circle leader used a drum stick as
a conducting baton. When the conductor waved the baton, children played their instruments. When the
conductor put the baton down, children stopped. Children played their instruments quickly when the baton
moved quickly and slowly when the baton moved slowly. Children were also asked to respond to opposite
cues. For example, when the conductor waved the baton, children stopped playing their instruments and
when the conductor set the baton down, children played their instruments.
Drum Beats. Teachers used drum beats to represent different actions that children can do while sitting (e.
g., clapping or stomping) or while moving around the room (e.g., walking or dancing). For example,
children walked quickly to fast drumming, slowly to slow drumming, and froze when the drumming stopped.
Teachers also asked children to respond to opposite cues (walk slowly to fast drum beats and quickly to
slow drum beats). Teachers also associated different actions with specific drum cues. For example, slow
drumming meant stomping feet and fast drumming meant jumping jacks.
References:
Tominey, S. & McClelland, M. (2009). Red light, purple light: Initial findings from an intervention to improve
self-regulation over the pre-kindergarten year. Manuscript in preparation.
Tominey, S. & McClelland, M. (April, 2008). “And when they woke up, they were monkeys!” Using
classroom games to promote preschooler’s self-regulation and school readiness. Poster presented at the
Conference on Human Development in Indianapolis, Indiana.
Self regulation is the ability of a person to tolerate sensations, situations and distress and form appropriate
responses to that sensory input. Simply stated, it is the ability to control behavior. In children, self
regulation matures just like other developmental processes. Children get older and learn to think before
they act. Research continues to develop in this area of self regulation and how much it effects other
aspects of development. A recent article in Developmental Psychology reports that self regulation in
children is a predictor of academic abilities. The researchers used the Head-Toes-Knees-Shoulders Task
(HTKS) to evaluate 343 kindergartens ability to self regulate. The HTKS task measures the ability to listen,
remember instructions and follow motor commands. It does not measure emotional responses. Children
with higher levels of self regulation in the beginning of the school year achieved higher scores in reading,
vocabulary and math at the end of the school year. The researchers concluded that improving self
regulation in children can improve academic achievement and behavioral responses.
Now, for any therapist, teacher or parent who has knowledge of sensory integration knows how much
deficits in self regulation effect behaviours, social skills and motor responses. We need to continue to
educate school staff on the importance of this skill be developed in all children. Per-kindergarten and
kindergarten curriculum has changed it's focus to reading, writing and math skills at an earlier age. There
is not enough practice time to learn self regulation during these early formative years. Now it appears as if
this hard core academic curriculum in the early years needs to slow down. This study provides significant
evidence to support teaching self regulation skills.
References:
Ponitz, Claire Cameron; McClelland, Megan M.; Matthews, J. S.; Morrison, Frederick J. A structured
observation of behavioral self-regulation and its contribution to kindergarten outcomes. Developmental
Psychology. Vol 45(3), May 2009, 605-619.
Oregon State University (2009, June 9). Self-regulation Game Predicts Kindergarten Achievement.
ScienceDaily. Retrieved June 9, 2009, from http://www.sciencedaily.com
/releases/2009/06/090608162547.htm
Self Regulation Activities
The researchers, Megan McClelland, Ph.D., Associate Professor Human Development and Family
Sciences, and her student, Shauna Tominey, have allowed us to share the activities that they are working
on developing to facilitate self regulation skills. The activities are still being developed and are currently
being tested for their effectiveness in improving self-regulation. Thus, there are not any definitive claims
about the effectiveness of the games in improving self-regulation at this point. Thank you very much to Dr.
Megan McClelland and Shauna Tominey for sharing this resource!
Kindergarten Readiness Study Games
Here is a description of the games played in our study. These games were designed to help children
practice paying attention, following directions, remembering rules, and demonstrating self-control.
Red Light, Purple Light. Like Red Light, Green Light, a teacher acted as a “stop light” by standing at the
opposite end of the room from the children. The “stop light” held up different colors to represent stop and
go. We used different colors, such as purple for “go” and orange for “stop” and then did the opposite. We
also used different shapes to represent stop and go. For example a yellow square for “go,” but a yellow
triangle was “stop.” Children also had a turn being the stop light!
The Freeze Game. Children and teachers danced to music. When the teacher stopped the music,
everyone froze. We used slow and fast songs and had children dance slowly to slow songs and quickly to
fast songs. Once children mastered these skills, children tried moving to opposite cues: children tried to
remember to dance quickly to the slow songs and slowly to the fast songs!
Cooperative Freeze. Related to the Freeze Game, when the music stopped, children found a mat to
stand on and froze. Teachers removed mats so that children had to cooperate with one another to find a
space for everyone on fewer mats. We also taped different colored paper to each mat. When the music
stopped, a teacher held up a specific color and children stood on the mat with the matching color.
Sleeping, Sleeping, All the Children are Sleeping. Children pretended to sleep when the circle leader
sang, “Sleeping, sleeping, all the children are sleeping.” Once children were pretending to sleep, the circle
leader said, “And when they woke up… they were [monkeys]!” Children woke up and pretended to act like
monkeys. The circle leader then repeated the song and suggested other animals. Children who were
pretending to sleep were called on to give suggestions for other animals. We made this more complicated
by showing 3 different colored circles (ex: red, blue, purple). On the red circle was a picture of a snake, on
the blue circle was a picture of a butterfly and there was no animal on the purple circle. When it was time to
wake up, the circle leader pointed to one of the circles and the children acted out the animal on that circle.
Pointing to the purple circle (the circle with no picture) allowed the leader to choose any animal. After a few
rounds, we removed the pictures and children had to remember what animal was on each circle.
Conducting an Orchestra. Every child used a musical instrument. The circle leader used a drum stick as
a conducting baton. When the conductor waved the baton, children played their instruments. When the
conductor put the baton down, children stopped. Children played their instruments quickly when the baton
moved quickly and slowly when the baton moved slowly. Children were also asked to respond to opposite
cues. For example, when the conductor waved the baton, children stopped playing their instruments and
when the conductor set the baton down, children played their instruments.
Drum Beats. Teachers used drum beats to represent different actions that children can do while sitting (e.
g., clapping or stomping) or while moving around the room (e.g., walking or dancing). For example,
children walked quickly to fast drumming, slowly to slow drumming, and froze when the drumming stopped.
Teachers also asked children to respond to opposite cues (walk slowly to fast drum beats and quickly to
slow drum beats). Teachers also associated different actions with specific drum cues. For example, slow
drumming meant stomping feet and fast drumming meant jumping jacks.
References:
Tominey, S. & McClelland, M. (2009). Red light, purple light: Initial findings from an intervention to improve
self-regulation over the pre-kindergarten year. Manuscript in preparation.
Tominey, S. & McClelland, M. (April, 2008). “And when they woke up, they were monkeys!” Using
classroom games to promote preschooler’s self-regulation and school readiness. Poster presented at the
Conference on Human Development in Indianapolis, Indiana.
Pediatric Occupational Therapy Fine Motor Activities FREE Stuff for Pediatric Therapists
Pediatric Physical Therapy Sensory Motor Activities Surveys
Special Education Communication Journals Sensory Processing Articles
Special Education Music Visual Perceptual Activities How To Order
Pediatric Therapy News Motivational Tools Terms of use
Monthly Magazine SALE - CD-ROM's Contact Us
Pediatric Physical Therapy Sensory Motor Activities Surveys
Special Education Communication Journals Sensory Processing Articles
Special Education Music Visual Perceptual Activities How To Order
Pediatric Therapy News Motivational Tools Terms of use
Monthly Magazine SALE - CD-ROM's Contact Us