On-Demand
Session
Empowering educators to joyfully fulfill their God-given calling
Nervous Systems, Noisy Rooms: A Brain-Based Guide to Classroom Calm
with Alan Bandstra
In a classroom, emotions can run high, and every day can feel like it has the potential to escalate student behavior. How does the nervous system contribute to contagious behavior and teacher reactivity? Alan Bandstra shares his insights from neurobiology and practical classroom experience to invite us to help our students (and ourselves) participate in a calm classroom culture.
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About Alan Bandstra
Alan Bandstra is a veteran educator, speaker, and author who brings together research, storytelling, and humor to spark meaningful conversations about student behavior, classroom dynamics, and faith-informed education. Known for his relatable style and deep insights, he equips and encourages audiences ranging from teachers and school leaders to church and ministry teams. Alan currently teaches middle school math and science at Sioux Center Christian School in northwest Iowa, where his passion for working with preteens flows from three sources: the delight of quirky adolescent humor, the challenge of engaging reluctant learners, and the desire to support young people through a life stage that was once difficult for him.
With more than three decades of experience as a classroom teacher, youth ministry volunteer, and father, Alan has gained a front-row seat to how group behavior—especially negative behavior—can spread like a virus. His ongoing research explores themes such as social contagion, interpersonal neuroscience, self-determination theory, invitational learning, care theory, and the human drive for status. What began as a practical need to manage classrooms has grown into a lifelong quest to understand human motivation and character development—work that continues to shape both his teaching and his message.
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Eyes steady, face calm, voice soft- I am going to remember these 3 things when I need to calm my room down. The examples that were given were helpful in knowing how to apply the ideas that were shared.
Alan’s voice is so soothing and comforting. I have listened to this session three times. What a gift to his students, that the Lord made him so sensitive to the needs of children. Affirming and nurturing are the way to reach the heart. Thank you so much.
The power of silence is huge when we want kids to know we are serious. Lead with grace. Seek support as needed.
I agree. Softness of speech (or silence) is much more calming than attempting to talk over the noise. Thanks for mentioning that, Lori. And thank you for commenting.
My biggest take away was hearing and receiving the need for REST! I know I don’t apply this enough in my life because even if my body is resting my mind will not rest. I also really liked his 3 ways of almost self regulating in those moments of being triggered and how he deals with it. I’m definitely going to be using those examples.
For a long time, it was hard for me to admit my need for rest. I wanted to power through because I thought that everything depended on me. I’m glad you found the self-regulating tips useful. Thanks for commenting.
Some key takeaways from this session: we need to recognize the need for rest. Our bodies are attuned to safety, so our nervous system is triggered when it feels threatened. And to lead with Guidance and Grace.
I’m glad you noticed those themes, Haylee. Thanks for commenting.
The calming methods that Alan talked about are very helpful. I will be using the pleasant-faced eyebrow raise, slowed breathing, and voice prosody technique to calm myself.
That is great to hear. I hope those techniques make a difference for you and the children in your care. Thanks for commenting, Karen.
This was great and a reminder for those moments when they push your bu+ttons!
Ha! That’s a great way to say it. Thanks for responding, Stephanie.
Great session and explanation of ways to rebuild the bridge with students.
Thank you!
I also enjoyed listening to the different strategies to reset our nervous systems!
I’m grateful to hear from you, Lisa. Thanks for commenting!
Really great strategies based on the mind and nervous system connections. The voice and body language are powerful and primal.
That is great to hear. Thanks for responding, Ingrid!
This was such a helpful session. I appreciate the strategies such as a soft voice, steady eyes, and calm face.
I’m glad to hear those strategies benefitted you, Terri. Thanks for commenting!
I watched this during my planning period right before teaching my World Literature and Composition class with tenth graders. There is one in that class who I let trigger me often. Having these truths fresh on my mind helped me to remember to choose grace and remain calm! Thank you for your session and encouraging words of wisdom.
Hi Brittany! I’m so glad to hear that you found the ideas immediately practicable. Thanks to these truths–and God’s grace working in my life–the kinds of children who once triggered me when I began teaching are now among the ones I most enjoy.
Wow. I loved the examples. I use the strategy of teaching students how their behavior is affecting their classmates but this inspires me to continue doing so and to keep myself calm when addressing classroom situations.
I’m glad the reminders were useful and inspiring to you, Michelle. Thanks for responding!
It is so interesting how our bodies work. Realizing that my body is doing what God created it to do helps me to be more aware of how to navigate triggers. I need to think more about now my nervous system affects my students’ nervous system.
Yes, discovering the source of my (seeming) involuntary responses has helped me see our collective deep need for grace. Plus, learning to manage those reactions has been a game-changer in bringing restoration to chaotic classrooms. Thanks for commenting, Emily.
I really like what he said at the beginning about Rom. 12 ” Do not be overcome with evil but overcome evil with good” this is a good reminder that just because there might be poor behavior we need to still be doing good, not giving in to responding back in kind. Also acknowledging that we all struggle with our “triggers’ but becoming more aware of what they are and then responding to them by trying to calm our bodies, these are good practices. Last one, it’s good to weed the garden, but what are we trying to grow? Good question and one I need to actively be planning for.
Hi Jessica! I’m so glad that those ideas and images were helpful to you. Thanks for commenting.
I want to have this calm classroom. A key takeaway is holding individuals accountable for their behavior and how it is affecting their “neighbors.” I love that it helps students see the needs of others are affected by their behavior.
Tricia, you’ve recognized a piece that is so often missed. Students do benefit from being held accountable, but not in ways that focus on punishment. Accountability that makes a difference is the sort that helps children see the impact of their choices and implants a desire to love rather than tear down. Thanks for noticing that!
Loved this one! Loved the balance of guidance with grace and safety! Thank you!
I’m glad you found it useful. Thanks for your feedback, Susan!
Eyes steady, face calm, voice soft are fantastic reminders! I’m going to have that posted where I can see it daily to get me in that mindset. I really liked the example he gave of after addressing the class once or twice, then calmly saying one child’s name at a time, getting the eye contact, then thank you and move on.
Thanks for commenting, Kim. Blessings to you and your students as you put that mindset into practice.
Maintaining self-awareness was the key takeaway for me: relaxing facial (& other) muscles, regulating breathing & vocal tone, and (most importantly) examining what makes us feel threatened.
So often, that’s our part of the spiritual side–what threatens us threatens an idol of control or respect that we feel we are inherently OWED, not due to our position, but because we’re such big important people. Which is a version of the same kind of entitlement we see from kids who don’t feel they need to listen to us! When we name it, we can see that we and the students have the same deep need for grace, from each other and from God.
Suzanne, you have reached an understanding that many teachers miss. When we can (openly) admit our personal shortcomings and our own need for grace, we earn students’ trust and increase our ability to manage them faithfully.
I love the tie-in to Biblical principles: we’re teaching our students how to love.
That is what it’s about. Thanks for noticing that theme, Amy!
Sometimes I tend to be too harsh with harsh with my students. I love the reminder that I need to concentrate on restoration. I also love the analogy that my classroom is a garden and I’m not just trying to get out the weeds (bad behaviors) but I’m trying to grow the positive.
Awesome. I’m glad that picture was helpful to you. Thanks for commenting, Kim.
I have allowed the pressure from others to affect my reaction to my students. I have been trying to get back to myself for a while now. Thanks for sharing these strategies. I am hopeful that they will help change the tone of my classroom.
Hi Christy! My journey to that place has required practice, patience, and prayer. I wish you the best as you work toward your goal.
Next week, I am going to focus on remembering that you can’t calm a noisy classroom with a noisy voice. I also want to work on calming myself before I respond and remembering that I can’t control what students or other teachers do, but I can control how I respond to them. Thank you for your time and great stories that are examples I want to follow in my classroom.
So true! We don’t get to control the ways in which other people interact with us; we can only regulate own behavior. Thanks for responding, Stephani.
I hope I will remember to make eye contact, use a calm voice, and pause when trying to create calm in the classroom.
Those steps do make a difference! Thanks for commenting, Liesl.
I will remember Alan’s encouragement to pay attention to my nervous system when triggered–to make eye contact, use a calm voice, and purposely pause when working to regain calm in the classroom. His insights were relatable, honest and true! Thank you!
Hi Lori! I’m glad to hear that those tools were meaningful to you. Blessings to you as you continue your journey.
Wow, this was such a helpful session! There are so many takeaways from this session. I really appreciated how practical this was and the real-life examples given. So helpful!
Hi Katelynn, it’s great to hear that you found the session helpful. Thank you for attending.
This was such a beautiful session! Thank you! I really appreciate the nuances of safety you pointed out. The humility you show is a great example for all of us — so thankful for that! I loved how you said when we are working on growing our classroom culture, we are not just weeding out the “bad” stuff, but we are working on cultivating specifically the good things. And your two definitions of grace at the end? WOW! THANK YOU SO MUCH!
Sarah, thanks for your kind remarks. I’m glad to know the session was helpful to you.
This session was so affirming for me. Thank you for the practical strategies to calm myself before addressing a situation. I gathered so many nuggets of wisdom from this session. Thank you!
I’m super glad to hear that, Laura. Thanks for attending!
Thank you for this session! As a brand new teacher I’ve been struggling with knowing how to connect with a difficult class. This session was very insightful and gave me some good launch points.
Hi Madeline! I’m glad to hear that you found the session encouraging. I hope you and your students will soon grow in your ability to trust and enjoy each other.
Thank you Alan for your openness and honesty of how we mess up but then giving practical restoration practices to help us when those trying students come again in our classrooms. We can work on restoring relationships without tearing into the students. I can be triggered so quickly and my human side comes out at the students, so I appreciate the practical brain based responses I can try now so that my response can be more restoring, as we all need even as teachers (and what Jesus does for all of us- GRACE).
Hi Scott! I’m glad to hear that this session was beneficial to you. Being willing to acknowledge our own limitations and our own need for grace is pivotal in the work of sharing Christ’s grace with our students. Thanks for your comment. Blessings to you as you continue your teaching journey!