Educators Approaches to Social and Emotional Learning

Today, in an increasingly diverse world, students often encounter people from various backgrounds, holding varying beliefs and possessing unique abilities in the classroom. Social and emotional learning aims to help all students become more aware of their thoughts and emotions, become more self-aware, and develop greater empathy for others within their community and the world around them to help all students succeed.

FREMONT, CA: Social and emotional learning (SEL) is a method that assists students of all ages in better comprehending their emotions, experiencing them to their fullest extent, and demonstrating empathy for others. These learned behaviors are then utilized to assist students in making positive, responsible decisions, establishing frameworks for achieving their goals, and establishing positive relationships with others.

SEL is advantageous for children and adults as it increases self-awareness, academic achievement, and positive behaviors inside and outside the classroom. Students who participated in SEL programs saw an 11 percentile increase in their overall grade point average and improved attendance. The skills students gain through SEL programs help them better manage emotional stress, solve problems, and resist peer pressure.

Adulthood can be more easily navigated by students capable of dealing with personal issues. According to AEI/Brookings Working Group on Poverty and Opportunity, "despite their importance to education, employment, and family life, the major educational and social reforms of the K-12 system over the past several decades have not sufficiently emphasized the socio-emotional factors that are essential to learning."

American Journal of Public Health issued a report that utilized data from the longitudinal, nonintervention subsample of the Fast Track Project, a program designed to reduce aggression in children at high risk for long-term behavioral problems and conduct disorders.

When educators can determine which students do not have a firm grasp on the foundations of SEL, they can work with them more effectively at a young age to help them develop greater self-control, empathy, and other positive traits. These students can acquire the "soft skills" required for many jobs, such as teamwork, the ability to understand others, and problem-solving, by developing positive behaviors that extend beyond academic achievement. This can help these students succeed throughout their academic careers and beyond.

Educators' Approach to SEL

A school can incorporate SEL into its curriculum, even though it isn't a designated subject. When educators make academic lessons more personalized and relevant, students may be more inclined to participate and less likely to tune out mentally during their subjects. SEL can have a lasting positive impact on students by fostering empathy, self-awareness, and feelings of belonging in the classroom.

Different approaches to SEL exist. Teachers sometimes offer SEL in homeroom as a more formalized portion of their school day. Lessons on SEL core competencies are repeated daily to make them more concrete for students.

Teachers may prefer to have students keep a journal, write about their thoughts and feelings regarding a specific SEL lesson, or pair younger students with an older "buddy classroom" (or vice versa) to help students of varying ages bond or find common ground.

Other educators incorporate SEL lessons into more formal subjects, such as math, history, and reading. Students can use SEL in action by participating in a group project in which they self-delegate roles, cooperate, and better understand historical figures' motivations by role-playing or conducting formal interviews to assess current events' knowledge.

Teachers can also help students set goals in areas where they may need improvement and chart their progress, providing them with a quantifiable means of demonstrating their accomplishment and experiencing a sense of accomplishment.