SCARF: a brain-based model for collaborating with and influencing others 
Dr. David Rock
NeuroLeadership Institute

Our approach to classroom structural design is based on the work of Dr. David Rock, who in this paper introduced the SCARF model of factors that can trigger threat or reward responses in the brain across five domains of common human social experiences: Status, Certainty, Autonomy, Relatedness and Fairness. In short, if we feel threatened in one of these areas, we respond with defensiveness and anxiety, and can’t be our best selves or do our best work. If our needs are being met in these domains, however, we are relaxed, confident and primed to generate great ideas. As you review the article, you’ll notice Rock’s primary audience is for managers in the corporate workplace, but the principles apply to the brains of young adults in the classroom just as much as they do to those of their parents at the office!

Familiarity with the five domains of SCARF means we can design a classroom environment and culture that provides a sense of safety and access to learning for all students. This list of SCARF Strategies for the Classroom can be used to plan for the routines, environmental supports and community/relationship building practices you intend to use to build a positive classroom environment. Most of the strategies listed will probably be at least somewhat familiar to you already -- this document reframes them to highlight how excellent implementation can positively impact a student’s sense of Status, Autonomy, etc.

Now that you have some inspiration for SCARF-friendly classroom strategies and structures, this SCARF Classroom Environment Planning Tool will help you make it your own as you organize your classroom and its systems to ensure students feel safe enough to take risks, share, and work together. This table will help you envision how you classroom will look, sound, and feel and ensure that its set-up and routines support students across all five of the SCARF domains. You’ll quickly be able to see if your initial plans favor one domain over another, and as the year goes on and you get to know your students better, you can use this tool to readjust and emphasize practices that support students where they need it most: are your students shy or struggling to get to know one another? Revisit this tool throughout the year as your classroom culture continues to develop.

Both resources include the templates as both PDF and fully customizable Word docs, as well as a full text overview, links to related resources, and a video guide to using the template.

See a SCARF Classroom in Action @ Gateway!

Want to see a SCARF- oriented classroom in action? Come visit us! We would be delighted to have you at Gateway for a classroom tour and observation. We recommend conducting observations with a tool like this one on Connecting Class Set Up and Routines to Our Principles of Learning and SCARF, which helps keep track of the purpose each classroom component serves in enhancing a positive and productive classroom. 

Contact us with some information about yourself, goals for your visit, and when you’d like to visit the campus, and we’ll work with you to design a valuable experience for you or a small team of educators.

Call for Presentations: Tell us how YOU shape student growth at the Gateway Impact Powerful Learners Mini-Conference on Feb. 1, 2020

Do you have a fabulous tool, tip or strategy that other educators could benefit from? Come share them with colleagues from a diverse array of schools and nonprofits and be inspired by them in turn! We are currently seeking presentations from educators and youth workers of every stripe about how best to support students in developing the skills, habits and mindsets that will make them successful across all content areas and beyond the classroom as well. We are open to all ideas relevant to making K-12 students powerful learners. Presenting is a great way to build connections with like-minded educators, and it’s a nice boost for your LinkedIn, at that! Submit a brief proposal to info@gatewayimpact.org and we’ll be in touch!

Save the date: 2nd Annual Powerful Learners Mini-Conference at Gateway High School in San Francisco on Saturday, February 1. 

In this feature from our Conversations blog, veteran teacher and Gateway Impact’s Student Agency Coordinator Suzanne Herko discusses simple strategies educators can employ daily or weekly to support students across all five SCARF domains and increase their self awareness:

“We often set goals for ourselves and don’t reach them on the first try. That’s OK. That very experience is an opportunity for us to learn about ourselves. Maybe we discover we have been overambitious, or that reaching the goal is more complicated than we originally thought. I encourage my students to forgive themselves, identify what went awry, and then remind themselves, they are just not there...yet. And then there is the next time, when we have additional insights into how to reach that goal.”

Read more and don’t forget to leave a comment with your thoughts or your own favorite classroom strategies!