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Some major takeaways that I had from Ballingers "The Puzzling Child" and Elias "Developing Social and Emotional Aspects" reading happened to be the highlighted idea that through the activities being partaken in it is important for students to be trying to learn through these activities. These readings enforced not simply practicing the skills that students may already have under their belt but challenging them in their everyday activities. When doing this it ensures for a constant progression and growth in the children and their everyday comfortable functions. Through these readings the importance of development in areas of social, character and emotional development are highly suggested and highlighted. Conceptual benchmarks are important in understanding the growth and perspective on social influences and the power that it holds on the children.

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The biggest takeaway I took from these articles is the importance and need for social and emotional learning. There is a distinct correlation between SEL and positive attitudes and mindsets for young children. Schools that implement SEL show enhanced emotional competencies, positive thoughts about themselves, others, their schools, and also show improvement in problem behaviors. This kind of self-awareness can increase academic development and success. SEL also prepares children for the outside world and can help build their character and demeanor. In addition to this, challenging students and pushing them to engage in exploratory discussions can improve development and progression, as well as allow students to connect their own experiences whether they be old or new. This promotes a high-order of thinking.

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Something that spoke to me across these two readings is the correlation between Ballinger saying that, “All children have powerful knowledge and ways of thinking scientifically..” and that “It's important we continually reevaluate our assessments of our students abilities'', and Elias saying, “Emotions affect how and what we learn and relationships provide a foundation for lasting learning”. To me this essentially says that Ballinger is stating the potential that all students have and Elias is explaining how we as teachers help those students reach their fullest potential. The articles represent the fact that teachers need to continually change, adapt, and support our students thats unique to them. Every year we get new students and every year we must change our thinking and allow for them to utilize their own experiences for their learning and social relationships. I really like when Ballinger talked about how the goal is to develop knowledge and not just display it, meaning what Elias says that we need to help them socially and emotionally develop in order to communicate and develop their knowledge together as a team. Lastly, emotions affect how and what we learn and our relationships provide a foundation for long lasting learning. We need these relationships in order to truly thrive and feel comfortable in our environment. -Luca Rentz

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After reading both of these two articles, some of the biggest takeaways were the different aspects that contribute to SEL, and appreciating the different ways children use these aspects to learn and live their everyday life. Elias and Moceri describe SEL skill areas to be the CASEL five: self awareness, self management, social awareness, relationship skills, responsible decision-making and problem solving. We see the connection of these skills used in a real life classroom example from Marcia Perth’s classroom where students used social awareness, relationship skills as well as responsible decision making and problem solving. It wasn’t about what the correct answer was, more about exploring ideas and communicating those while analyzing the text or questions asked. I took away from this article that SEL can be used in the classroom with every student, but it may just look a little different, but thats when we can adapt and help students develop in the classroom. SEL in the classroom is more beneficial to students than many people would think, but it can lead to success and growth in the classroom for all students, since it is universal.

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There are various takeaways from these two articles, but both authors emphasized the significance of SEL skills. Students are affected by the impact of social and emotional learning in the classroom from an early age. Both authors also emphasize the importance of children being challenged every day in the classroom because this all adds to their development. Contributing to a student's growth inside the classroom will prepare the student for events that occur outside the classroom; the student's growth can be aided by employing SEL skills. In the classroom, social and emotional learning skills develop a better and higher style of thinking.

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While reading both articles, I discovered that the articles both were looking out for the best interest of the students and how to shape teachers to help students. I think the biggest take away is to understand students thought process and feelings. Once you dig deeper into knowing your students, you can develop lessons that will benefit the way they think and learn. I really liked how in "The Puzzling Child" article acknowledges that the teacher did not see the true value of the students ideas until the end. The author states, :the way in which Elena acted out growth was her intonation and her nose was, I think, valuable to her thinking and to the other children, but it is not something I would have noticed without time spent poring over the tape." I think this quote really shows how much impact a student can have on a teacher and class if the teacher gives the student an opportunity. It is all about hearing ideas, perspectives, feelings etc and trying to make sense of them for not only the student, but for yourself. Both have a common theme of communication. During SEL and science lessons communication is prominent. One thought can change an entire idea and may lead to further discuss in a classroom. It is important create a positive environment where discourse is encourage.

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The Puzzling Child and SEL- Gianna Rafanelli

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The Puzzling Child and SEL- Gianna Rafanelli

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I found it interesting how in “The Puzzling Child,” the author noted that it is important for teachers to reevaluate our assessment of student’s abilities. The author also states that teachers need to expand their views regarding what we consider knowledgeable. In this reading, Elena brings many astute observations and comments to the conversation. These comments, however, might not seem knowledgeable at first glance. After further consideration, Elena’s participation in the discussion was crucial for the entire class. In the “Developing the Social and Emotional Aspects of Learning,” I found it interesting how students performed better academically after participating in SEL skills. While this should come as no surprise, I find it upsetting that SEL a new addition to most schools. My one big takeaway is that teachers need to show students how to be well-rounded individuals in or succeed both inside, and outside of school. When teachers breakaway from the boring, dry curriculum that focusses solely on test scores, students learn to love learning and they become great achievers.

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“The Puzzling Child” and “Developing Social & Emotional Aspects”

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“The Puzzling Child” and “Developing Social & Emotional Aspects”

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“The Puzzling Child” and “Developing Social & Emotional Aspects” both emphasized that high academic test scores alone are not the main purpose of schooling. The Ballenger article opened my eyes up to a new perspective of how students learn and express their knowledge in different ways. Even though some students may not excel in “standard” educational assessments, such as standardized tests, that does not mean that they do not understand the material. I liked how the article mentioned that teachers should listen and observe students as they are working and discussing with their classmates. Teachers can gain a better understanding of what their students know and don’t know in an environment that is less formal and less stressful than other assessments. I also like how the Elias article mentioned that students and teachers should not equate “school success” (test scores) with life success. I connected with this article because I believe that social emotional learning is so important to focus on in the classroom.

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"Developing SEL" and "The Puzzling Child"

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"Developing SEL" and "The Puzzling Child"

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Both "The Puzzling Child" and "Developing SEL" highlighted the fact that achieving good academic performance is not the sole purpose of school. The authors of both readings support that children are complex individuals, causing them to have many factors that influence the way they learn and perform. Elias and Morceri state that "relationships and strong emotions influence learning and it is patterns of interpersonal interaction that determine the effectiveness of classrooms, other school settings, and the school as a whole." And similarly, Balenger explains that "it is often difficult to appreciate the ways in which children learn and make their knowledge known." Where traditionally, testing scores and other academic achievements are stressed as the most important part of school, from these author's present the insight that SEL is not just a positive thing to incorporate every now and then, but an essential part of learning. Allowing students to part take in social emotional learning allows them to, according to Elias and Moceri, "acquire knowledge, skills, attitudes, and beliefs to identify and manage emotions; to care about others; to make good decisions; to behave ethically and responsibly; to develop positive relationships and to avoid negative behaviors." These are the skills that are necessary for students to be able to succeed in and outside of their academics, communicate their knowledge in clearer ways, and for overall positive feelings about school.

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My biggest takeaway after reading these two articles is how important it is for students to develop these SEL skills and how they will be used in different aspects around the classroom. Ballinger discusses the importance of understanding that every child learns in a different way, and that the language in which they use to express their understanding will come in different forms and contexts. Ballinger states, "As educators, many of us are aware of this work and yet, in the routine practice of teaching, it is often difficult to appreciate the different ways in which children learn and make their knowledge known." I believe this quote encompasses the main idea Ballinger wants to get across through the article, that all children will express their thinking and knowledge in different ways and that no one way is more correct than another. Elias talks about "the CASEL five" which are self awareness, self management, social awareness, relationship skills, and responsible decision making and problem solving as these are important skills that can help children succeed in both the classroom and within their community. These two articles discuss the importance of understanding our students from year to year and helping them grow not only academically but socially and emotionally as well, as these are two proponents that will benefit them academically as well. I also understand now how important connections and relationships are within the classroom, not only between me (teacher) and the students but between the students as well, as positive environments and engagement will only benefit the students while in school.

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I found these two readings really interesting as well as very informative of the many ways in which children can express their knowledge, and what helps them do so. Across these two readings, it is clear that there is not just one way to demonstrate knowledge, and that it needs to be looked at in new ways in order to help students succeed. A big takeaway for me was in the "Puzzling Child" article, where Ballinger talks about the way Elena demonstrated her knowledge about the plant's growth. Ballinger discussed how although Elena's responses may not have been as technical, she used her real experiences in order to question and make assumptions about the plant's growth. This is a great example of how children can demonstrate their knowledge in many different ways, which also ties into the Elias SEL article. What I really took away from both articles was that we need to look beyond what we traditionally consider as knowledge, and be more open-minded to the ways in which children express their knowledge. These articles also further emphasized how important SEL is to learning and helping students not only in school, but in their families and communities as well.

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Jessica Peterson- "The Puzzling Child" & "Developing Social & Emotional Aspect"

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Jessica Peterson- "The Puzzling Child" & "Developing Social & Emotional Aspect"

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The main take away I received from these two articles is that you need to look at each individual student as a whole. This including their Social Emotional Learning (SEL) aspects. Finding where certain emotions stem from and how can teachers change their tools or approach in their tasks to better support the individual student. Instead of trying to change aspects of the students learning, reflecting as their teacher I think is ideal. Both articles demonstrate a good point that learning and performing do not always go together for each student. Some students can perform well but not fully understand the big takeaway from the lesson. That is why in my classroom along with assessment I want to hear their personal understanding verbally or through an exit ticket written down. Specifically, in the Ballinger “The Puzzling Child” article I found it interesting the researchers compare and contrasting culture and schooling dynamics. It was interesting reading about ways of talking and learning practiced at home in different communities like African American and Hawaiian for example compared to their ways of talking and learning in school. What specifically spoke out to me and I found interesting in Elias article “Developing Social & Emotional Aspect” was the ways in which teachers can better support students in their SEL. I appreciated the resources and tools they describe in this article to not just say that teachers need to prioritize the well-being of the student but ways you can support your students. For example the SECD- related interventions and online resources like www.edutopia.org,  www.CASEL.org;www.character.org and http:// earnedwisdomtech.org/.

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My biggest takeaway after reading these two articles is the importance of students developing these SEL skills and understanding how they will be applied in different aspects around the classroom. Understanding our students from year to year encouraging them and helping them grow both inside and outside of the classroom and socially and emotionally. That said, Ballinger mentions that sometimes teachers don’t appreciate the different ways their students learn and demonstrate their knowledge. When Ballinger stated this, it stuck with me because it encompasses the main idea of the article. All students will express their learning and knowledge in various ways and no way is wrong or better than the next. Elias discusses “the CASEL five” which includes: self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills, and responsible decision-making and problem solving. All five of these being important skills to recognize that will help students be successful both inside and outside of the classroom. Saying this, the two articles together further emphasize how important SEL skills are to helping students learn and grow both inside and outside of the classroom.

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My biggest take away from both articles is both authors can not stress enough how important is for a teacher to help their student reach their full potential by giving them the space and opportunity to express their knowledge socially and emotionally. Both readings emphasize that students are complex learners which effects the way they obtain and use the information being taught to them. In "Developing Social & Emotional Aspects" the authors discuss and define was SEL and CEP are as well as focus on 'the CASEL five' skill areas. One quote that stood out to me from Elias and Moceri is, "Relationships and strong emotions influence learning and it is patterns of interpersonal interaction that determine the effectiveness of classrooms, other school settings, and the school as a whole". Depending on how positive the relationships and emotions are that will provide us with insight whether or not the classroom, other school settings and the school as a whole is doing any good for the student. This is why incorporating SEL into the classroom can help teachers achieve the goal of creating strong relationships with their students and help them succeed in various ways. In the "Puzzling Child", Ballenger focuses on the importance of students learning and conversations about science. Prior to reading this article I knew that as a teacher I need to give my students the opportunity for choice and to use their voice because it helps them feel personally invested in what they are learning and gives them a role in the classroom. Ballenger takes a close look at, Elena, a student she considers to be puzzling, whose ideas and ways of speaking has been of value to her classmates, she states, "I believe it was largely Elena's approach that led both to unprecedented participation from so many of her classmates and to a depth and clarity in their understanding of science issues unusual for their age." This further proves my point and gives me another reason why encouraging students to communicate is beneficial to all. Through SEL teachers can provide students with emotional support and opportunities to use their voice and have freedom to result in positive student-teacher relationships and promote student engagement.

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After reading both articles, Ballenger's "The Puzzling Child" and Elias' "Developing Social and Emotional Aspects", the biggest takeaway that I got is the importance of social and emotional learning, as well as the importance of allowing students to develop these skills within the classroom. Ballenger discusses how all children learn and express themselves in different ways, and how it is extremely important to recognize this as teacher. I found it interesting that researchers in the article compared culture and schooling, and how the ways of talking and learning practiced at home in various communities such as African-American and Hawaiian, and the ways of talking and learning practiced at school are very different. Elias and Moceri look mainly at "The CASEL Five", which includes self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills, and responsible decision-making and problem solving. These five skills are all beneficial for students to have in the classroom as well as outside of the classroom. Both articles go over the importance of SEL skills in helping students to learn and grow in a classroom setting as well as their everyday lives.

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SEL & Puzzling Behavior - Vivian Quinlan

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SEL & Puzzling Behavior - Vivian Quinlan

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After reading Ballenger’s “The Puzzling Child” and Elias’ “Developing Social and Emotional Aspects of Learning,” one thing that spoke to me across these two readings was that every child is a unique individual who learns differently and demonstrates their knowledge differently. Thus, it’s important for teachers to provide multiple opportunities for students to show what they know and cater to their strengths - just because a student does not excel academically does not mean that they do not understand what is being taught. I truly believe that we need to prioritize social-emotional learning (SEL) over measuring students’ academic success based on test scores. According to the Elias’ reading, SEL was defined as “the process of acquiring knowledge, skills, attitudes and beliefs to identify and manage emotions; to care about others; to make good decisions; to behave ethically and responsibly; to develop positive relationships and to avoid negative behaviors.” Social-emotional learning provides children with the skills necessary to succeed in all aspects of life: self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills, and responsible decision-making and problem-solving (the CASEL five). My one big takeaway from these two readings is that, as future educators, we need to teach children how to be good human beings rather than good test-takers. There are many factors that can influence a child’s academic performance (i.e. the achievement gap) and school success does not necessarily lead to life success, so we need to support children academically, socially, and emotionally.

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Lauren Whalen: Puzzling Child & Developing SEL

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Lauren Whalen: Puzzling Child & Developing SEL

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After reading both Ballinger “The Puzzling Child” and Elias “Developing Social & Emotional Aspects” articles, I gained a lot of knowledge on the importance of social and emotional learning (SEL). In Elias’s article it talked about the benefits that came with social and emotional learning. With trying to improve social and emotional learning, it “generated improvements in positive behaviors, learning-to-learn behaviors, self-efficacy and academic performance, as well as declines in problem behaviors such as aggression, withdrawal, anxiety and substance abuse (Goleman 1995)”. This proves the fact that SEL has a great impact on students in a positive way. In general, I think one of my biggest take aways was simply the importance of social and emotional learning. “SEL is connected to academic achievement, because it embodies skills necessary for succeeding in the classroom, in the life of the school, in the family, in the community, in the workplace and, indeed, in life in general”. SEL is not something that will only help them improve in the classroom but it will help them succeed in numerous aspects of life including their emotional intelligence.

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In Ballinger’s “The Puzzling Child” article, I found the idea of shifting the control of the conversation to the children, or “exploratory talk”, to be very important. This idea allows children to develop knowledge instead of displaying what they already know. By doing so, students are using their critical thinking skills but also incorporating their own experiences into their learning, which is a part of SEL. Teachers will improve their teaching if they use SEL as a part of their daily instruction. Elias article “Developing Social & Emotional Aspects” also discusses the importance of SEL in the classroom and how to improve those skills over time. In order to truly be successful in the classroom, teachers must build a comfortable environment for their students to thrive. If students are more self-aware, their academics will improve, according to Elias.

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Across these two readings, what spoke to me the most is the connection between SEL and helping the puzzling child feel more validated about their knowledge and real thinking. In Ballenger's work the puzzling child is described as "…those whose ideas are less the result of problematic social lives or lack of ability as we often assume, than the reflection of intellectual lives that we as educators need to puzzle our way through" continuing to emphasize the need as educators to widen our horizons on what we consider to be knowledge. In Elias's work, there is an emphasis on the deeper meaningful effects of SEL as it supports higher intellectual thinking and the CASEL Five associated with SEL curriculums. What I see however between the two, is with SEL incorporated in our day, students can gain a self-awareness and almost a more organized, subjective to the individual of course, way of thinking that can better support their communication of these thoughts and making connections using their knowledge even if it considered to be puzzling. Additionally, Elias touches upon the two core insights of how emotions can effect how and what students learn, and that relationships provide foundations for long lasting learning. Through SEL, we as educators develop a better relationship with students, naturally by the content of the subject, that can develop a trust and safe, welcoming space for these puzzling students to feel comfortable in contributing their knowledge, which helps us as teachers expand our own understandings. With this connection, these puzzling students can feel incorporated in the content, and develop a relationship through discussions with peers, subjects of interest, and teachers to further encourage their learning and using their unique perspectives in the future.

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One of the biggest takeaways after reading these articles is that SEL can be seen in various ways and contributes to how children learn. In the puzzling child, we are able to see that each child views "growing" in a different manner. This can be because of the SEL component because of the experiences, how children were raised and how they make connections to their life and class. By having the SEL foundation and make the connections in the class and life, students are usually more successful. Something that I took away is that there are 5 components of SEL which are self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills, and responsible decision-making and problem solving. To connect the 2 articles, we can see the application of SEL in the classroom when we refer back to the puzzling child. It is seen when children have to brainstorm, work together, and problem solve to find how they view what "growing" means and how we can describe it. In both articles, we can see how SEL can be applied and useful in the "real world". It allows us to be challenged, build foundational skills, form relationships, become more self-aware, and can help improve problem behaviors. SEL can be directly applied in the classroom and is something to consider and implement when creating a classroom of my own.

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The biggest takeaway that I took from these articles was the different aspects that contribute to SEL. Both authors describe SEL skill areas to be the CASEL five: self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills, responsible decision-making and problem solving. Schools that implement SEL can increase academic development and success. This is because SEL prepares children for the outside world and can help build their character. To continue, the authors emphasized the importance of children being challenged in the classroom. By being challenged, children will try to the best of their ability which improves their development. Elias explained how doing this can help students reach their fullest potential. This reminded me of my time in field study last semester. The teacher that I was paired with was always thinking of new ways to challenge her students, which always seemed to benefit them.