Targeting Professional Learning
Western Governors University D629:
The Reflective Practitioner
2
Evidence-Based Practice Nonacademic Need
One nonacademic need that can be addressed by implementing evidence-based practice
would be stress management. In particular, anxiety and emotional regulation challenges, impact
students' ability to focus and engage in learning
Two Evidence-Based Practices
Mindfulness Practice. Mindfulness improves focus, reduces stress, and enhances
self-control through daily exercises like mindful breathing or gratitude activities. “Mindfulness
exercises emphasize self-awareness and controlled breathing and have been associated with
improved self-regulation skills in children dealing with stress” (Arkin 2019). These strategies
will help students with overall stress management, as they can learn to control and manage when
they feel stress is coming from them.
Self-Regulation Strategies. Teachers can explicitly teach students to manage emotions
and behaviors through structured techniques such as self-monitoring and goal setting, which aim
, to improve emotional regulation and academic performance. “Students’ stress often derives from
feeling like they’re not good enough—or simply unable to accomplish a given task” (Leonard
2024). When students are given the opportunity to self-regulate, such as using self-monitoring
and goal-setting, it can reduce their stress, which in turn, could improve their overall well-being
of feeling as if they are enough.
Justification of Evidence-Based Practices
Mindfulness reduces stress by training students to stay present and observe emotions
nonjudgmentally, breaking cycles of rumination. Techniques like guided breathing or body scans
help students recognize stress signals, such as tension, and consciously shift to calming
responses. This strengthens neural pathways for attention control and emotional regulation,