How to Help Anxious Students in a COVID World - Season 1 Episode 17

Added: 2026-05-09

[00:00:00][music] [music] >> Making mastery learning reality one day at a time. Hey, John Bergman here. Uh today I want to talk about some of the big issues that we're facing in the world of education in terms of the social emotional needs. And the premise of this podcast is that students will do better social and emotionally, that's a word, uh when they are in a mastery learning classroom.

[00:00:27]Uh now more than ever they need our support. Let me get some statistics I looked up here.

[00:00:31]Uh according to Centers for Disease Control, there's been a 31% increase in student suicide. Ouch.

[00:00:37]October 2021, uh a number of organizations came together, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, the Children's Hospital Association, and declared a pande- pandemic-related emergency in terms of the mental health of our students.

[00:00:53]That's big, right? Here's a quote.

[00:00:55]Sharon Hoover, the co-director of the University of Maryland uh National Center for School Mental Health, said this, "Nearly every child in the country is suffering to some degree from the psychological effects of the pandemic."

[00:01:07]In my classes, I'm observing anxious students, stressed out students. Many of them are ed- on edge. Um and though many of them need more social emotional help than I can give as a regular classroom teacher, I know that mastery learning is helping my students who are struggling through this unique time in our history.

[00:01:24]It's my contention that if more teachers were to adopt mastery learning, if you were to adopt mastery learning, it would make a huge impact on the social emotional needs of your students.

[00:01:35]So, why? So, here So, here's my big contention. I'm saying that if you adopt mastery learning, your students would do better social and emotionally. I think that's I'm not saying that right in English, but you I think you know what I'm trying to say.

[00:01:47]For a couple of reasons. No, reason number one is lower levels of anxiety, okay? Prior to the pandemic, by the way, there's been a lot of anxiety. So, let's be speak of one particular anxiety a lot of students have in uh particular secondary schools, and that's test anxiety, all right?

[00:02:02]One of the top stressors this 2014 study, so pre-pandemic, David Putwain from the UK said that on then on average 16.4% of secondary students have like almost clinical test anxiety. All right, this not just like a lot of little anxious on my test, like real like clinical anxiety.

[00:02:21]And then you add to that like social media anxiety and the COVID anxiety, we've got a lot of anxious kids right now, right?

[00:02:27]Now, in preparation for this podcast, I asked some of my students, "Tell me about how you feel like you're connecting in the master classroom."

[00:02:38]Let's listen to their quotes here.

[00:02:39]Number one, student number one, "Mastery learning helps me feel way more confident in my ability to learn the material and takes away so much stress and anxiety that I would have on a test without it." So, test, right? "I still worry about tests, but with mastery learning I don't have the usual test anxiety."

[00:02:55]I didn't prompt them about test anxiety.

[00:02:57]I just tell me how it helps you. And this is their quotes, right?

[00:03:01]Number two, student number two, "It relieves a lot of stress about tests and quizzes. I know that I will fully comprehend the material fully without being punished for not learning in the short amount of time. I get to learn at my own pace." Hearing their hearts here?

[00:03:15]Student number three, "I'm able to really enjoy the material and see the benefits of the material without the fast-paced anxiousness of a normal classroom." I never used the word anxious anxiety, and this is what they said in the question.

[00:03:27]And lastly, "Mastery learning overall has been very positive for me because we're able to retake tests, the world isn't over if I don't do well on one."

[00:03:35]"Because of this environment, I'm able to actually focus on learning the content, and we are able to go at the pace we need compared to other classes which assume that everyone learns at the same pace."

[00:03:49]Do you hear them?

[00:03:50]My students are not as anxious, and it is improving their social and emotional health.

[00:03:57]But you're also hearing that they love the variable pace, don't they? That they don't have to act Every student doesn't have to learn at the same same pace.

[00:04:03]They don't feel lost with the curriculum and I think this is turning into happier, less anxious kids.

[00:04:12]So, one reason why mastery learning will help the social emotional needs of your students is that it will help them with anxiety.

[00:04:19]Number two, I think it's helping you would help you if you do this or you copy what I'm doing, it will help you to create more time to build relationships. You know, I think it's the best part of my job. I get to hang out with teenagers all day.

[00:04:31]And my job is I get to roam. I'm roaming all over my classroom. I What am I doing? Interacting with students. Now, most of the time I'm asking them about content and science and whatever that I'm teaching, right? But I get to know my students better. I've never known my students better than I have since I've been a mastery teacher.

[00:04:47]I know that many of you guys who are watching or listening to this podcast, you are very good at building relationships with students. Uh And I kind of envy you because I'm not that guy. I'm not the the glad-handing guy at the party. I I'm like awkward geeky guy. I don't think I'm really that good with relationships.

[00:05:02]But what's mastery learning has helped me do is become better. So, if you are really good at relationships, you're going to become total rock star. If you're a little bit like, you know, maybe not the top of the class like I am uh in the relationship category, you're going to get better because you're going to just get to hang out with kids and chat with them. Uh yeah.

[00:05:18]So, uh ha >> [gasps] >> A student who just left my class just a little bit ago. True story.

[00:05:25]Um he told me that uh so, you I mean, you can build deep relationships. This young man told me that he had to hold his younger brother for uh like till like 2:00 or 3:00 in the morning cuz his best friend, the the brother's best friend had had had had killed himself. And man, I was saying, "Man, I'm really sorry. What's going on?" And it gave me so much grace to listen to what's going on in this young man's life and give him grace as he's learning the content and um even just said, "Man, I just love your class, Mr. Bergman." Uh and I think it's I don't think it has anything to do with what I'm teaching. It's more how I'm teaching that makes the difference. So, uh interactions like these are what get me I don't know if it's for you but out of the bed in the morning.

[00:06:05]Um I know my students are learning science well and but I also get to be a part of their lives on a deeper level and and I and I I know I had some of this when I was a traditional teacher but it's so much more now that I'm a a master teacher. Um and you know, I attribute most of the fact that I I am spending almost every moment of my day when I'm with students uh interacting with them, talking with them, going over them. Um a connection is easier to make when your students feel like you're a part of their lives.

[00:06:37]I mean, it it this is not rocket science but what if we created an environment where you had more time to interact with students which allowed for the relationships. That's what I'm talking about. That's what happens in a mastery classroom. A third thing that I would encourage you reason why mastery learning is works is one thing I I like to do is I celebrate success. So, at the end of a unit uh students take a test.

[00:06:57]They have to score a minimum passing grade to master to prove that they've mastered the content and you know when they master the content, you know what I do? Is I ring a gong. In fact, here it is. It's actually a It's actually like a sound box. Uh those of you who are watching it, here it is.

[00:07:12]I I ring this. It's a it's a physics thing. It's a sound deal.

[00:07:17]And I tell you if if a kid in fact just yesterday had some students passing it's like and I I was grading their test from the front of the room. I'm in the back and that's where the gong or thing is.

[00:07:25]Where's my gong? So, I had to race back and get the gong and they needed me to gong them. Uh I need the gong, Mr. Bergman. So, these are 17-year-old children, right?

[00:07:34]These are not like they're almost adults and they want the gong. Where's my gong?

[00:07:37]>> [laughter] >> Um you know, uh I don't know if you are but I'm a huge fan of of things that just work. So, I'm I'm a fan of like um Apple stuff because it just works. At least especially back in the early days like it just works. I push a button and it works, right? And like Apple, I I think mastery learning just works. When done right, it it just just works.

[00:07:59]And because of that, it allows students to learn. It doesn't expect them to learn at the same pace, the same time.

[00:08:07]Uh it allows them to learn in a way that isn't so stressful, but yet still holds accountable. So, don't hear me say Mr. Bergman, you're you're you're John, you're letting your kids take their test more than one time. You bet I am.

[00:08:20]I don't care when you learn I don't care that you learned.

[00:08:23]And if you think that that that's like some weak way to teach, then I'm sorry.

[00:08:29]I I think you're wrong.

[00:08:31]I think that I don't care when you learn I don't care that you learn it. And my students are still succeeding at a high level. This is not a easy class that I teach. I teach high school chemistry and physics. Remember back to high school chemistry physics. My students succeed very well.

[00:08:44]Uh and so it's not like it's watered down.

[00:08:49]So, if you think that mastery learning is watering down it is you're wrong.

[00:08:52]You're just wrong.

[00:08:54]Sorry. I don't I don't believe that strongly enough, do I? So, I would encourage you that if your students are in need of more social emotional support, go down the mastery learning journey.

[00:09:07]I I know this is a crazy bold thing to say, but I'm going to say it.

[00:09:11]If you if you really go down the mastery learning journey, it will positively impact your students not just cognitively, but on a social and emotional level.

[00:09:22]You can do this.

[00:09:24]If you're interested in learning more about uh mastery learning, you know, subscribe to the blog.

[00:09:29]The other thing or the podcast obviously. The other thing I would encourage you to do is reach out to me at johnbergmann.com.

[00:09:35]Uh J John Bergman is J O N no no H, and Bergmann has two N's. Reach out to me. I I My I just talked to my principal yesterday and he said, you know, invite people. You are invited to Houston, Texas, to come hang out with me for a day. All right? If I get too many, we'll figure something out. But, if you want to come and just hang out and see what it looks like in action, talk to my students, you [snorts] can.

[00:10:00]Anyways, you can make mastery learning a reality one day at a time.

[00:10:04]You can and well, you should.

[00:10:08]We'll catch you next time.