1. EachPod

#133: Flipping your lid! The concept that changed everything about the way I responded to students in the middle of a meltdown.

Author
Claire English
Published
Tue 22 Jul 2025
Episode Link
None

What’s actually happening when your student flips their lid?
And more importantly… what should you be doing when it happens?

HEAD TO THE BLOG HERE FOR VISUALS + MORE 😁

In this episode, I’m giving you a front seat to one of the most game-changing concepts I've learned about behaviour and brain science: flipping your lid. You’ll hear me break down Dr. Dan Siegel’s hand model of the brain in all its gloriously awkward podcast-visual-form, but also how this little model changed everything about the way I responded to students in the middle of a meltdown.

Spoiler: trying to reason with a flipped-lid teenager is like handing them a trig worksheet in the middle of a panic attack. Not helpful. Probably going to make things worse.

We’re talking about:

  • What actually happens in the brain when students dysregulate
  • Why calm-down demands and consequences don’t work in those moments
  • How this one model can change the way you respond (and how students see themselves)
  • How to teach this concept to your students, even if you’re not a science-y person

It’s simple, powerful, and honestly... kind of magic when it clicks. Let’s roll the tape.

What you’ll learn:

  • Why traditional responses to dysregulation often escalate the situation
  • What “flipping your lid” means, and why it explains so much about student behaviour
  • How to teach students what’s happening in their own brains (without the shame)
  • Ways to embed the hand model of the brain into your class culture
  • What it looks like to lead with emotional safety first - not compliance

Have a question, comment, or just want to say hello? Drop us a text!

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