In HeartMath’s free-online e-book, Science of the Heart – Exploring the Role of the Heart in Human Performance a major section is devoted to the growing evidence of the tremendous benefits to be gained from learning to self-regulate emotions and stress at an early age.
At a younger and younger age, children are experiencing considerably greater stress in their lives, shouldering far greater responsibilities and emotional burdens than youngsters their age did even as few as 10 years ago. Many are part of deteriorating families or households and the majority of these children find little more comfort or security at school, where they often fear becoming victims of bullying and violence and feel pressured to engage in sex or consume drugs and alcohol.
Stepping up to find solutions, the HeartMath Institute initiated the TestEdge National Demonstration Study (TENDS) in collaboration with faculty and graduate students in Claremont Graduate University’s School of Educational Studies. Funded by a grant from the U.S. Department of Education, they conducted a randomized controlled study of 980 10th-grade students in two large high schools in California.
According to Jeff Goelitz the outcome was astounding demonstrating a significant reduction in the mean level of test anxiety. Of those students at the intervention school who had reported being affected by test anxiety at the beginning of the study, 75% had reduced levels of test anxiety by the end of the study. This reduction in test anxiety also was evident in more than three-quarters of all classrooms, and it was observed throughout the academic ability spectrum, from high test-performing classes to low test-performing classes.
How does it work? According to Jeff Goelitz, HeartMath’s easily learned self-regulation techniques allow people to quickly self-induce a physiological shift to a more coherent state. Consequently, they can successfully handle the demands and challenges of life with more ease, balance and physical, emotional and psychosocial well-being.
ABOUT JEFF GOELITZ
Jeff Goelitz has gained vast knowledge, experience and understanding of behavior and social and emotional learning in the many years he has been with HMI. His 35 years of experience, including five as a private school teacher, have helped him become a leader in the development of stress management and education solutions for children and adults. He has spent two decades practicing and teaching the HeartMath System of tools and technology, and his expertise has helped HMI find practical solutions for lowering student test anxiety and improving test scores.He regularly consults with educational professionals around the United States and Canada to improve classroom climate and performance and has created and contributed to a number of educational curricula and programs aimed at improving social and emotional learning.
Among the many HMI webinars and teleseminars he has co-hosted are Children Growing Up in the Digital Age: Opportunities and Pitfalls, with Linda Stone; Cultivating Positive Discipline for Children, with Jane Nelsen; Helping Children Manage Stress, with Dr. Timothy Culbert; and The Autism Revolution: Whole Body Strategies for Making Life All It Can Be, with Dr. Martha Herbert.
Goelitz is the author of the College De-Stress Handbook; Using emWave® Technology with Young Adolescent Children Diagnosed with ADHD; Heart to Heart: Connecting With Your Child; the upcoming Teen Stress book and HeartMath’s Smart Brain Wise Heart™ program. He is the primary developer of the Early HeartSmarts® learning programs for the classroom and home; TestEdge® Interactive Learning Programs; and Wild Ride to the Heart™ board game.
