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Nearpod: Foster a love of learning in every student

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Create active learning experiences students can’t wait to be a part of.

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This comic book activity gives an insight onto how feelings come and go and how students can identify their different feelings. It scaffolds this idea really well by using a story, then a word bank puzzle, then asking students to identify their own emotions.

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This Feelings Are Like Visitors comic and activities are 1 of 8 chapters included in The Feelings Comic Book for Kids! If you're looking for an engaging way to help children build skills to relate to their feelings in kind and compassionate ways, be sure to check out the full 50+ page resource. Perfect for lessons, small groups, individual counseling, and reading at home.

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FEELINGS ARE LIKE VISITORS Social Emotional Learning Comic Lesson + Activities

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This Feelings Are Like Visitors comic and activities are 1 of 8 chapters included in The Feelings Comic Book for Kids! If you're looking for an engaging way to help children build skills to relate to their feelings in kind and compassionate ways, be sure to check out the full 50+ page resource.

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Create a circle of control chart with the classroom. This will help the students realize what they can and cannot control, which in turn will help with anger, anxiety and frustration over situations. This will also help with student accountability.

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An activity I found was a gratitude journal which is great for self-management and regulation.

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https://www.thepathway2success.com/25-ways-to-integrate-social-emotional-learning/

There are tons of great ideas here, but my favorite is using read alouds (for younger grades). Since it is something that is already built into many classroom schedules, it is just a matter of carefully choosing books that can promote social emotional learning.

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Use a mindful morning check-in to start the day. It is a five-step process that involves taking 5 deep breaths, listing 4 things you notice around you, identifying 3 things you are grateful for, saying 2 positive self-talk statements, and naming 1 thing you are looking forward to for the day. This would most likely happen during morning meetings and in this case we would be having circle time and the students are in their learning positions. This sets the atmosphere for the morning & prepares them for the day!

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This is a fine motor emotions activity which teaches students about the different feelings they may have. This would help them develop self awareness as they use play doh to create the facial expressions of different emotions!

https://www.teachingexpertise.com/classroom-ideas/sel-activities-to-build-social-skills/

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Students can identify their emotions in the morning to help the teacher understand where the students’ are at for the day. You also change the characters on the chart depending on the students’ interests!

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An activity I found that can be used inside the classroom for k-5 is doing a self reflection drawing. That’s a good way for students to be free and authentic.

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https://empoweringeducation.org/blog/social-emotional-learning-in-texas/

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The Texas Model and TEKS Standards

Everything is bigger in Texas, right? Even social-emotional learning!

That's why this month, our team took a deeper dive into the social-emotional learning standards for the biggest state in the US: Texas. Specifically, we focused on the connection between the Empowering Education curriculum, Empowering Minds, and the Texas Model and the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills standards (TEKS).

TEKS & SEL

TEKS are the state standards for what Texas students should know and be able to do. While there are Texas state guidelines for social-emotional learning (SEL) for early childhood education, there are no specific SEL TEKS standards for older grades other than the existing Health Standards. The current Texas Health Standards cover all of the core SEL competencies as outlined by the Collaborative for Academics and Social-Emotional Learning (CASEL).

The Texas Model and Empowering Minds

The Texas Model describes what constitutes a quality school counseling program and which provides equal opportunities for all students to receive both guidance and counseling at school. As counseling happens both one-on-one as well in a classroom setting, the Texas Model supports counselors' role assisting educators in the integration of counseling objectives with the instructional goals of the classroom.

To break down the model to its specifics, quality school counseling programs must include the following four components:

1. Guidance Curriculum: "to help students develop their full educational potential, including the student's interests and career objectives;"

2. Responsive Services: "to intervene on behalf of any student whose immediate personal concerns or problems put the student's continued educational, career, personal, or social development at risk;"

3. Individual Planning: "to guide a student as the student plans, monitors, and manages the student's own educational, career, personal, and social development;"

4. System Support: "to support the efforts of teachers, staff, parents, and other members of the community in promoting the educational, career, personal, and social development of students."

Surprise, Empowering Minds covers all four! Let's take a closer look at each of them.

Guidance Curriculum

As a K-8, evidence-based, social-emotional curriculum, Empowering Minds' connection to the Texas Model is through the curriculum component. Texas public school counselors are encouraged to use curricula that are designed to facilitate growth and development for students in four areas: interpersonal effectiveness, intrapersonal effectiveness, post-secondary education, and personal health and safety.

The Empowering Minds program is based on CASEL's five SEL competencies, which are directly applicable to the Texas Model content areas. For example, intrapersonal effectiveness deals with self-awareness and self-regulation. Interpersonal effectiveness is tied to CASEL's social-awareness and relationship skills. Finally, both career readiness and personal health are both connected to CASEL's responsible decision-making competence.

Responsive Services

While Empowering Minds is primarily used as a Tier 1 resource, it is often used as part of an intervention for students seen in small groups or 1:1 counseling. Directly from the Texas Model 5th Edition, " The purpose of the responsive services component is to intervene on behalf of those students whose immediate personal circumstances, concerns, or problems interfere with their healthy personal, social, educational, and career development."

Individual Planning

The purpose of individual planning in the Texas Model is "to guide a student as the student plans, monitors, and manages the student's own educational, career, personal, and social development." Specific lessons throughout the Empowering Minds program focus on helping students with goal-setting, using a growth-mindset, and discovering their own strengths and weaknesses. These foundational skills help students effectively set and manage their personal goals.

System Support

Finally, counseling programs need to focus on the systems supporting, meaning "to support the efforts of teachers, staff, parents, and other members of the community in promoting the educational, career, personal, and social development of students."

Empowering Minds' scope and sequence was designed to benefit students throughout the entire school campus with differentiated units taught through a schoolwide approach. The Empowering Minds program includes academic extensions to connect all curriculum subjects to SEL as well as at-home resources to ensure families are involved in the learning process. Empowering Minds uses evidence-based assessment tools such as the Child Trends survey to evaluate student growth.

We've included below a brief outline of the Health Standards skills connected with the five CASEL SEL competencies covered by Empowering minds:

Empowering Minds in Your School

Want to bring Empowering Education to your school in Texas? We are excited to connect with teachers, counselors, and administrators from Texas schools and share our evidence-based program with your school as a strong partner of your Texas Model.

Need a one-pager on all the facts and figures of our program? Here you go!

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The Comprehensive School Counseling Program sets clear guidelines for how SEL should work in Texas. Here's how Empowering Minds fits.

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https://www.nea.org/advocating-for-change/new-from-nea/truth-about-sel-it-works

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Embedded in School Culture

Success may depend on whether a school avoids a common pitfall, Jaede cautions.

"They see it as a one-off, a professional development day or maybe a week for teachers and other school staff," Jaede says. "SEL isn't a side lesson. SEL should be however you teach, whatever content you're teaching. It's how you structure the spaces where learning happens."

In a large, urban district like Ohio's Columbus City Schools (47,000 students, 116 schools, and 9,000 staff), implementing SEL in a comprehensive way takes a lot of resources and partnerships. Jaede is the executive director of Partnership4Success, an equity- focused organization that brings together stakeholders to improve the social and emotional well-being of children. The organization works alongside Columbus City Schools to train educators and help schools create safe, positive learning environments.

Tyree Rivers, climate and culture coordinator at Columbus City Schools, has seen the work evolve over the past two decades.

"Over the years, we've tied our trauma-informed and restorative practices to SEL. These have always been districtwide initiatives, and the partnerships provide a level of expertise that enables us to do a deep dive into equity," she says.

Rivers works with a team of full-time SEL coaches who collaborate with teachers in incorporating SEL into everyday instruction. The coaches are an indispensable addition to the staff made possible by the advocacy of the Columbus Education Association (CEA).

In 2018, CEA members compiled a list of concerns for bargaining, including the need for additional SEL supports. They demanded dedicated staff to coach and help lead these efforts-and they succeeded.

"They help teachers make alignments in the curriculum, how they can tap into SEL on a regular basis," Rivers explains.

This is crucial so educators will not see SEL as that "one more thing" that is asked of them. SEL coaches walk teachers through the challenges of embedding or restructuring the curriculum. Partnership4Success has also added new training for adult SEL.

"We can be more intentional in how we embed SEL, without it being too heavy a lift," Rivers says. "It is intrinsically part of our jobs."

SEL: What Good Educators Do

Strategies that work in the largest district in Ohio can also work in the smallest district in North Carolina. The Edenton-Chowan district has only four schools and 1,900 students. Forty-five percent of students are economically-disadvantaged.

"We are Title I schools, and we have a lot of kids coming into class not being able to control their emotions, not knowing how to process things," says Stacey Banks, a fifth-grade teacher at D.F. Walker Elementary School, in Edenton.

Since 2018, the district has gradually but steadily weaved SEL practices and instruction into every facet of school life. Schools began by creating calm spaces and introducing mindfulness exercises in elementary classrooms, and the district is now transitioning SEL into middle and upper grades, with a focus on mapping SEL to state aligned practices.

"By the time the kids reach my fifth-grade class, SEL is already part of the culture," Banks says. "They have the background and foundation to help us meet their emotional needs. And they are more prepared for the curriculum."

At D.F. Walker, SEL development teams in each grade work with teachers to integrate SEL into their professional learning communities. "Every step of the way, we are pushing this stuff into our classrooms," Banks says.

The underlying ideas and practices are not too far removed from what Banks was taught as a child-or what she has tried to do in her own classroom for years. The scope, structure, and sense of mission sets the district's initiative apart, but fundamentally SEL should not be a huge leap for any educator who wants a classroom where students feel safe and included, she says.

"It helps to understand that this isn't really new," she adds. "Good teachers have been doing this for a long time."

SEL is For Everyone

For all the careful, deliberate planning and implementation of SEL, a school's program could still stumble out of the gate. How? By not adequately supporting the social and emotional well-being of educators.

"I do think it's a missing part of the conversation," says Brytan Felter, a special education occupational therapy assistant in Fairbanks, Alaska, who gives presentations on well-being and SEL for educators.

"I've been in these meetings ... with practitioners, and even though they say SEL is also for educators, I'm not hearing a lot of details. You have to be able to deescalate before you can have a positive impact in the classroom."

"We can be more intentional in how we embed SEL, without it being too heavy a lift. It is intrinsically part of our jobs."

Jaede agrees. "If you don't have self-awareness, you can't teach it to somebody else," she says. "You can't expect an adult to foster something in an environment which doesn't exist in the environment you work in." An already stressful job could easily be compounded by the new expectations around SEL. Just because educators are usually the most vocal champions for SEL, the support and resources must come from the top down, Banks says.

"We've got a lot of pots on the stove and they're boiling over," she says. "But we're taking this slow, and it may take a while to get the buy-in from everyone and see the results we want to see. But we want to move forward. This is it. We're not turning back."

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Six Ways You Can Speak Up For SEL

Aaliyah A. Samuel is the President and CEO of CASEL, the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning, which provides a framework for SEL instruction across the nation.

"Educators have incredible insight into how learning happens," Samuel says. "Their voices are so essential to the conversation." Here are steps she says educators can take to share accurate information and real stories about social and emotional learning.

1. Focus on building authentic partnerships with families in order to have meaningful conversations about the importance of SEL.

2. Begin conversations around shared goals: What do we all want for students? What should they know and be able to do upon graduation? What type of classroom will help them get there?

3. Use high-quality, evidence-based SEL approaches and continuous improvement practices to ensure every student benefits.

4. Help demystify SEL by sharing what it actually looks like day-to-day in classrooms.

5. Share real stories about the impact that social and emotional learning has had on your life or your students' lives.

6. Contact local leaders, such as school board members or legislators, to share support for SEL.

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Despite political attacks, support for social and emotional learning is strong. But schools and educators should never stop championing its importance.

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https://www.nea.org/professional-excellence/student-engagement/tools-tips/resources-social-emotional-learning-sel-and-student-and-educator-mental-health

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Webinars

Grief and Self Care during the COVID-19 Pandemic
This webinar provides an overview of the impact that profound personal losses suffered during the COVID 19 pandemic have had on many and suggests strategies that can be utilized to facilitate mourning as well as promote self-care, wellness, and resiliency.
Social Emotional Learning in a Virtual Space
Learn about different strategies, exercises, and activities that put SEL at the forefront in an intentional and transparent way.
Wellness Skills for Self Care and Health for ESPs
Based on popular education and energy-based methods, these self-care practices from Capacitar International empower people to deal with traumatic stress, stabilize and balance strong emotions, and awaken their own healing process.
Webinar Series: Teaching and Leading with Trauma-Informed Care
Educators now more than ever need trauma-informed care to meet the challenges of today's educational environments. The Center on Great Teachers and Leaders collaborated with NEA and other national partners, as well as leading educators, to produce a webinar series focused on the developing the use of evidence-based trauma-informed practices.
Harnessing SEL to Support the Well-being of ESPs during the COVID-19 Crisis
Dr. Chris Cipriano, Assistant Professor and Director of Research at the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence, provides social and emotional learning (SEL) strategies to support ESPs within the school ecosystem to navigate the challenging emotions of these rapidly evolving times.

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Resources on Social Emotional Learning (SEL) and Student and Educator Mental Health | NEA

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Supporting our students' and educators' mental health with social emotional learning (SEL) helps the whole school community thrive.

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https://www.nea.org/social-emotional-learning-sel-courses

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Educators in the United States are grappling with uncertainty about the upcoming school year, which in some states kicks off as early as mid-August. Many of them wonder how they will reengage students who may have suffered academic learning loss or help those that are overly anxious while meeting their social-emotional learning needs―due to the yearlong-plus pandemic.

In response to this concern, NEA is offering its members an opportunity to re-energize and enroll in virtual social-emotional learning (SEL) courses to learn how important it is to attend to the social and emotional needs that arise during times like these. NEA's SEL courses offer a powerful means to explore and express our emotions, build relationships, and support each other―children and adults alike.

We're offering the following five fall SEL blended learning (facilitated) courses:

SEL: Self-Awareness
Learn how to accurately recognize emotions, thoughts, and values to accurately assess one's strengths and limitations, with a well-grounded sense of confidence, optimism, and a "growth mindset."

SEL: Relationship-Skills
Learn how to establish and maintain healthy and rewarding relationships with diverse individuals and groups to communicate clearly, listen well, cooperate with others, and to seek and offer help when needed.

SEL: Social-Awareness
Learn how to take the perspective of and empathize with others to understand social and ethical norms for behavior and to recognize family, school, and community resources and supports.

SEL: Self-Management
Learn how to regulate emotions, thoughts, and behaviors in different situations to set and work toward personal and academic goals.

SEL: Responsible Decision-Making
Learn how to make constructive choices about personal behavior and social interactions based on ethical standards, safety concerns, and social norms.

*Social-emotional learning fall courses will be facilitated by NEA-trained blended learning facilitators―and all SEL courses provide a certificate for 15-hours of professional development upon completion.

Enrollment is now open for our NEA SEL fall session (September 20 - October 29, 2021)
Register here
Registration will end by close of business on September 10, 2021.

You must be an NEA member to participate in these national blended learning courses.
Read what recent SEL course participants are saying about their experience.
Questions? Contact: Luis-Gustavo Martinez ([email protected] )

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Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) Courses | NEA

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Educators in the United States are grappling with uncertainty about the upcoming school year.

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https://place.fi.ncsu.edu/local/catalog/course.php?id=20

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Social Emotional Resources - North Carolina 

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Social Emotional Resources - North Carolina 

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https://youtu.be/gXylAfgspAU

This video demonstrates how to build resilience through social emotional learning in the class room. This showcases a new way of approach. Instead of saying “what’s wrong with you” saying “what happened to you”. This is a way to build and gain trust in the classroom.

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Building resilience through social and emotional learning

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https://education.mn.gov/MDE/dse/safe/social/imp/

5 competencies framework:
1. Relationship skills competencies
2. Self awareness competencies
3. Self management competencies
4. Social awareness competencies
5. Responsible decision making competencies

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The purpose of the Social and Emotional Learning Implementation Guidance is to provide schools with guidance and resources to help schools integrate social emotional learning (SEL) into schoolwide teaching and learning practices, so that students will learn, practice and model essential personal life skills that contribute to academic, vocational, and personal success. Integrating SEL into school helps students learn to: be caring and civil; make healthy decisions; problem-solve effectively; value excellence; be respectful and responsible; be good citizens; and be empathic and ethical individuals.

Collaborating with Experts to Develop SEL Guidance

Guidance Development Process and Contributors
The School Safety Technical Assistance Council formed a work group in 2015 that focused on finding and developing SEL resources. Since these initial efforts, School Safety Technical Assistance Center staff have worked with experts in the field to develop the SEL guidance.

Ensuring Effective SEL Implementation

Great Lakes Equity Center (GLEC) experts provided feedback on the SEL guidance and competencies. To assist schools and districts throughout the nation with implementing culturally responsive SEL, GLEC provides additional guidance. Read the Great Lakes Equity Center SEL Implementation Guidance.

SEL Framework: Five Competencies

The work group selected the Collaborative for Academic and Social Emotional Learning's (CASEL) framework of five Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) competencies that are important for students to possess: self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills and responsible decision-making. In the documents that follow, we define each of five SEL competencies separately and outline learning goals under each competency, which set expectations for what students should learn and be able to do for each of the competencies.

Social Emotional Learning
Social Emotional Learning District Implementation and Professional Development Guidance
This guidance will take you through the SEL implementation process from the foundational work to assess capacity and develop plans for implementation to detailed guidance on implementation and assessment.
District Focus
The most effective SEL implementation requires districts and schools to use a strategic, systemic approach that involves everyone from district and school leaders to community partners and families. Everyone needs to work together to ensure students receive the support they need. Successful SEL implementation is not achieved through a stand-alone program or an add-on lesson; it must be a central part of how schools, communities and families value and support the social, emotional and academic development of their children.

This SEL implementation guidance is a suggested framework for comprehensive districtwide SEL implementation using CASEL's Theory of Action framework, which is outlined below.

Develop a vision that prioritizes academic, social and emotional learning.

Conduct an SEL-related resources and needs assessment to inform goals for schoolwide SEL.

Design and implement effective professional learning programs to build internal capacity for academic, social and emotional learning.

Adopt and implement evidence-based programs for academic, social and emotional learning across all grade levels.

Integrate SEL at all three levels of school functioning (curriculum and instruction, schoolwide practices and policies, family and community partnerships).

Establish processes to continuously improve academic, social and emotional learning through inquiry and data collection.

Assessing SEL Practices and Outcomes

Social and Emotional Learning Assessment Guidance
To better understand how district, school, and classroom practices support the social and emotional development of all students, it is important to assess both SEL practices and outcomes. This guide outlines the purpose of SEL assessment as well as the types of SEL assessment such as outcome and process-based assessments.

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The purpose of the Social and Emotional Learning Implementation Guidance is to provide schools with guidance and resources to help schools integrate social emotional learning (SEL) into schoolwide teaching and learning practices, so that students will learn, practice and model essential personal life skills that contribute to academic, vocational, and personal success.

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In Maryland many school districts are now required to include more social and emotional learning practices in their schools.
At my intern school we hosted morning meetings to engage in SEL and build trust with students.

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https://www.washoeschools.net/site/default.aspx?PageType=3&ModuleInstanceID=38824&ViewID=7b97f7ed-8e5e-4120-848f-a8b4987d588f&RenderLoc=0&FlexDataID=46216&PageID=557

https://www.washoeschools.net/Page/569

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Access resources, implementation supports and all information on SEL in WCSD!

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https://www.decal.ga.gov/InstructionalSupports/Seeds.aspx

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Bright from the Start Georgia’s Department of Early Care and Learning. Meeting the child care and early education needs of Georgia’s children and their families.

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https://www.nj.gov/education/safety/wellness/selearning/

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An Introduction to Social and Emotional Learning

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* What are specific strategies to employ SEL in the classroom?
* What activities can be used to promote SEL?
* What does SEL /really/ mean?
* What is the relationship between SEL & classroom management? How do you balance the two?
* What does it look like to use SEL in the classroom? (Find videos)
* How can we use SEL unique to our teaching styles? (Mock teaching)

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This topic is important because it creates a positive environment inside and outside of the classroom. It also helps build relationships towards students and teachers, which is extremely important in the school setting.

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This topic is important because it has acknowledges the student as a human before their knowledge and test scores.

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Ask questions!

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SEL is important in the classroom because it takes into consideration the whole child through their learning experience. It embraces the students’ mental health as well as their background when in the classroom.

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SEL focuses on topics outside of ‘traditional’ content areas and works with behavior and interaction. It can span across many different fields and is very useful for students of any age to be healthy individuals and members of their community.

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Be respectful of each other and our identities and those voices and/or identities that may not be present or represented in the room

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Share pins. :)

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what i know about social emotional learning is that it is how students are able to use their self-awareness skills to learn.

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Say what you need to say! Don't speak over each other, but don't be afraid to share what's on your mind.

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social emotional learning recruits interpersonal skills as a means of  developing self awareness and or self control with vital social settings such as a classroom

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My high school had a dedicated time on Monday mornings for social emotional learning when Covid made all the schools shut down. We would meet on zoom and a teacher led an activity where we got to express our current feelings and talk about ways to decompress. The activities themselves would sometimes help us feel less stressed or anxious.

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Social-emotional learning reminds me of the development of student interactions. How students behave together in community settings within their classrooms, respond with appropriate norms, and interact with their emotional side healthily.

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I’m not sure what it involves, but I’d guess it is using strategies in the classroom to make connections with your students and their cultures in lessons. maybe🤣

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I know that learning can be based off several different factors and I believe that social emotional learning is a big one. In life students are surrounded by a lot and they go through many emotions daily which can play a huge factor on what or how they learn. This is also a type of learning that helps one learn about themselves.

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Social emotional learning (SEL) is "an integral part of education and human development. Social emotional learning is the process through which all young people and adults acquire and apply the knowledge, skills, and attitudes to develop healthy identities, manage emotions and achieve personal and collective goals, feel and show empathy for others, establish and maintain supportive relationships, and make responsible and caring decisions.

Social emotional learning advances educational equity and excellence through authentic school-family-community partnerships to establish learning environments and experiences that feature trusting and collaborative relationships, rigorous and meaningful curriculum and instruction, and ongoing evaluation. Social emotional learning can help address various forms of inequity and empower young people and adults to co-create thriving schools and contribute to safe, healthy, and just communities." ( CASEL, 2022))

Oregon's Adopted Transformative SEL Framework and Standards

We are excited to share Oregon's Transformative Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) Framework & Standards, adopted by the State Board of Education on June 15, 2023 and to be implemented in districts by July 1, 2024. Use thisCASEL, n.d.) Oregon's Transformative SEL Framework and Standards utilizes and expands on CASEL's definition of Transformative SEL to help build capacity for strengthening school cultures that center equity, and support student and adult well-being through a systemic approach.

The framework and standards create coherence and clarity for Transformative SEL in Oregon that:

SEL Research and Resources

In the short term, Social and Emotional Learning helps us know ourselves, understand the perspectives of others, and make sound personal and social decisions. In the long term, the following results are shown by research:

1. Boost diversity, equity, and inclusion effort s: Social Emotional Learning is a dynamic process that fundamentally transforms how optimal teaching and learning happen, including how both competencies and conditions come together to advance equity. Equity in education and Social Emotional Learning are complimentary priorities that must be mutually reinforcing in Oregon's classrooms for each to succeed. Learn more through EdTrust.
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2. Positive social behavior: Students get along better with others with improved social interaction skills and self-knowledge. They gain greater "self-efficacy, confidence, persistence, empathy, connection and commitment to school, and a sense of purpose." ( Weissberg, 2016) When students have positive, productive relationships with peers, family members, and educators, they also perform better in school.
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3. Prepares students for their future lives and careers: Social Emotional Learning promotes skills like resilience, collaboration, self-regulation, self-awareness, empathy, and growth mindsets in particular-key skills expected when people enter the workforce. Students also gain a sense of purpose and belonging and learning to be civically engaged and culturally responsive. ( CASEL, 2022)
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4. Student academic performance: Social Emotional Learning is shown to raise students' achievement scores by an average of 11 percentile points while improving attitudes towards school and increasing their performance in the classroom, including attendance and graduation rates.

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5. Reduced emotional distress and lower discipline rates: When students are engaged in Social Emotional Learning​, students have better relationships and fewer occurrences of depression, anxiety, stress and social withdrawal. There are also less disruptions and bullying. Studies show that students have less psychological, behavioral, or substance abuse problems in the long term.​​

Social Emotional Learning Key ​Points​

1. ​​Social Emotional Learning is not a replacement for mental health care, but mental health is one important component of Social Emotional Learning. ODE believes that mental health is centered within a continuum of care that meets each person's needs for physical and emotional safety, security, social connection, identity, diversity and purpose. Go to the Integrated Model of Mental Health.
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2. ​Co-constructing equitable learning environments means making sure power and privilege related to race are understood as part of social and emotional learning, but is not about shame or blaming anyone because of their identities. The goal is for educators to be able to "address challenges in inequities, including building on students' already-existing cognitive, social, and emotional competencies, addressing injustice and related trauma, mitigating stereotype threat in the classroom, building healthy school culture and climate, and engaging families and communities." (Aspen Institute, 2018)

3. ​Social Emotional Learning works best when educators, students, families, and community members have "trusting and collaborative relationships, rigorous and meaningful curriculum and instruction, and ongoing evaluation." (Jagers, Skoog-Hoffman, Barthelus, and Schlund, 2021)

4. ​Social, emotional, and academic skills are interrelated. Teachers know from experience that a child can't focus on academic skills alone because they aren't learning in a vacuum. Social Emotional Learning​ supports positive developmental and learning outcomes. When schools, families, and community partners work together to prioritize the social and emotional experiences young people have at school, we can make sure all students have rich opportunities to learn and practice important skills that help them collaborate, solve problems, and succeed in school, college, career and life.​

5. ​Social-emotional learning must be embedded throughout the formal education spaces we are responsible for. It can't be an add-on, afterthought, or alternative. That means we build social and emotional skills into the entire learning experience both in targeted and integrated ways.​

Background of Oregon's Transformative SEL Framework & Standards

In 2021, the Oregon Legislature passed House Bill 2166, Section 4, requiring the development of social emotional standards and a framework for K-12 public school students in Oregon. ODE approached this bill as a multi-phase process and is grateful for the many contributions in developing Oregon's Transformative SEL Framework and Standards.

Phase 1 of implementation fulfilled the bill requirement of ODE in consultation with the Early Learning Division (ELD) and the Teacher Standards and Practices Commission (TSPC), to convene an Advisory Group (Phase 1 SEL Advisory Group) to develop an initial report:Preliminary Description of the Proposed Social Emotional Learning Standards Framework for Oregon: HB 2166 of the proposed SEL standards and framework that was to be used by the State Board of Education (SBE) when considering the standards and framework for adoption on June 15, 2023.

Phase 2 of implementation established a Phase 2 SEL Advisory Group charged with developing the SEL framework and standards for adoption by the State Board of Education (SBE) by September 15, 2023. This Advisory Group was guided by the bill text as well as the contents of the Preliminary Description of the Proposed Social Emotional Learning Standards Framework for Oregon: HB 2166 report created by the Phase 1 SEL Advisory Group. School districts will be required to implement the adopted SEL Framework and Standards on July 1, 2024.

For questions regarding the ODE Social Emotional Learning program, please email ODE SEL.

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Social emotional learning (SEL) is "an integral part of education and human development. Social emotional learning is the process through which all young people and adults acquire and apply the knowledge, skills, and attitudes to develop healthy identities, manage emotions and achieve personal and collective goals, feel and show empathy for others, establish and maintain supportive relationships, and make responsible and caring decisions.

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Transformative SEL Conditions for Thriving - Social and Emotional Learning (CA Dept of Education)

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Guidance to support adults across the California education system to co-create Transformative Social and Emotional Learning (T-SEL) Conditions for Thriving.

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Foster knowledge, skills, and attitudes across five areas of social and emotional competence;

Establish equitable learning environments and coordinate practices across four key settings that support students' social, emotional, and academic development.

Download more information on the framework (available in and Spanish).

Use our reflection protocol to facilitate a discussion on implementation efforts in your school, district, or other setting.

Read more about the 2020 update to our framework, which highlighted the potential of SEL in promoting educational equity and excellence.

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Communities

Communities. Community partners often provide safe and developmentally rich settings for learning and development, have deep understanding of community needs and assets, are seen as trusted partners by families and students, and have connections to additional supports and services that school and families need. Community programs also offer opportunities for young people to practice their social and emotional skills in settings that are both personally relevant and can open opportunities for their future. To integrate SEL efforts across the school day and out-of-school time, school staff and community partners should align on common language and coordinate strategies and communication around SEL-related efforts and initiatives.
Learn more: CASEL Guide to Schoolwide SEL - Community Partnerships

Families & Caregivers

Families & Caregivers. When schools and families form authentic partnerships, they can build strong connections that reinforce students' social and emotional development. Families and caregivers are children's first teachers, and bring deep expertise about their development, experiences, culture, and learning needs. These insights and perspectives are critical to informing, supporting, and sustaining SEL efforts. Research suggests that evidence-based SEL programs are more effective when they extend into the home, and families are far more likely to form partnerships with schools when their schools' norms, values, and cultural representations reflect their own experiences. Schools need inclusive decision-making processes that ensure that families-particularly those from historically marginalized groups-are part of planning, implementing, and continuously improving SEL.

Schools can also create other avenues for family partnership that may include creating ongoing two-way communication with families, helping caregivers understand child development, helping teachers understand family backgrounds and cultures, providing opportunities for families to volunteer in schools, extending learning activities and discussions into homes, and coordinating family services with community partners. These efforts should engage families in understanding, experiencing, informing, and supporting the social and emotional development of their students.
Learn more: CASEL Guide to Schoolwide SEL - Family Partnerships

Schools

Schools. Effectively integrating SEL schoolwide involves ongoing planning, implementation, evaluation, and continuous improvement by all members of the school community. SEL efforts both contribute to and depend upon a school climate where all students and adults feel respected, supported, and engaged.

Because the school setting includes many contexts-classrooms, hallways, cafeteria, playground, bus-fostering a healthy school climate and culture requires active engagement from all adults and students. A strong school culture is rooted in students' sense of belonging, with evidence that suggests that it plays a crucial role in students' engagement. SEL also offers an opportunity to enhance existing systems of student support by integrating SEL goals and practices with universal, targeted, and intensive academic and behavioral supports. By coordinating and building upon SEL practices and programs, schools can create an environment that infuses SEL into every part of students' educational experience and promotes positive social, emotional, and academic outcomes for all students.
Learn more: CASEL Guide to Schoolwide SEL

Classrooms

Classrooms. Research has shown that social and emotional competence can be enhanced using a variety of classroom-based approaches such as: (a) explicit instruction through which social and emotional skills and attitudes are taught and practiced in developmentally, contextually, and culturally responsive ways; (b) teaching practices such as cooperative learning and project-based learning; and (c) integration of SEL and academic curriculum such as language arts, math, science, social studies, health, and performing arts. High-quality SEL instruction has four elements represented by the acronym SAFE: Sequenced - following a coordinated set of training approaches to foster the development of competencies; Active - emphasizing active forms of learning to help students practice and master new skills; Focused - implementing curriculum that intentionally emphasizes the development of SEL competencies; and Explicit - defining and targeting specific skills, attitudes, and knowledge.

SEL instruction is carried out most effectively in nurturing, safe environments characterized by positive, caring relationships among students and teachers. To facilitate age-appropriate and culturally responsive instruction, adults must understand and appreciate the unique strengths and needs of each student and support students' identities. When adults incorporate students' personal experiences and cultural backgrounds and seek their input, they create an inclusive classroom environment where students are partners in the educational process, elevating their own agency. Strong relationships between adults and students can facilitate co-learning, foster student and adult growth, and generate collaborative solutions to shared concerns.
Learn more: CASEL Guide to Effective SEL Programs

Self-Awareness

Self-awareness: The abilities to understand one's own emotions, thoughts, and values and how they influence behavior across contexts. This includes capacities to recognize one's strengths and limitations with a well-grounded sense of confidence and purpose.

Such as:

Integrating personal and social identities

Identifying personal, cultural, and linguistic assets

Identifying one's emotions

Demonstrating honesty and integrity

Linking feelings, values, and thoughts

Examining prejudices and biases

Experiencing self-efficacy

Having a growth mindset

Developing interests and a sense of purpose

Check out this video from PBS Learning Media for more information.

Self-Management

Self-management: The abilities to manage one's emotions, thoughts, and behaviors effectively in different situations and to achieve goals and aspirations. This includes the capacities to delay gratification, manage stress, and feel motivation and agency to accomplish personal and collective goals.

Such as:

Managing one's emotions

Identifying and using stress management strategies

Exhibiting self-discipline and self-motivation

Setting personal and collective goals

Using planning and organizational skills

Showing the courage to take initiative

Demonstrating personal and collective agency

Check out this video from PBS Learning Media for more information.

Social Awareness

Social awareness: The abilities to understand the perspectives of and empathize with others, including those from diverse backgrounds, cultures, and contexts. This includes the capacities to feel compassion for others, understand broader historical and social norms for behavior in different settings, and recognize family, school, and community resources and supports.

Such as:

Taking others' perspectives

Recognizing strengths in others

Demonstrating empathy and compassion

Showing concern for the feelings of others

Understanding and expressing gratitude

Identifying diverse social norms, including unjust ones

Recognizing situational demands and opportunities

Understanding the influences of organizations and systems on behavior

Check out this video from PBS Learning Media for more information.

Responsible Decision-Making

Responsible decision-making: The abilities to make caring and constructive choices about personal behavior and social interactions across diverse situations. This includes the capacities to consider ethical standards and safety concerns, and to evaluate the benefits and consequences of various actions for personal, social, and collective well-being.

Such as:

Demonstrating curiosity and open-mindedness

Learning how to make a reasoned judgment after analyzing information, data, and facts

Identifying solutions for personal and social problems

Anticipating and evaluating the consequences of one's actions

Recognizing how critical thinking skills are useful both inside and outside of school

Reflecting on one's role to promote personal, family, and community well-being

Evaluating personal, interpersonal, community, and institutional impacts

Check out this video from PBS Learning Media for more information.

Relationship Skills

Relationship skills: The abilities to establish and maintain healthy and supportive relationships and to effectively navigate settings with diverse individuals and groups. This includes the capacities to communicate clearly, listen actively, cooperate, work collaboratively to problem solve and negotiate conflict constructively, navigate settings with differing social and cultural demands and opportunities, provide leadership, and seek or offer help when needed.

Such as:

Communicating effectively

Developing positive relationships

Demonstrating cultural competency

Practicing teamwork and collaborative problem-solving

Resolving conflicts constructively

Resisting negative social pressure

Showing leadership in groups

Seeking or offering support and help when needed

Standing up for the rights of others

Check out this video from PBS Learning Media for more information.

Social & Emotional Learning

Social and emotional learning (SEL) is an integral part of education and human development. SEL is the process through which all young people and adults acquire and apply the knowledge, skills, and attitudes to develop healthy identities, manage emotions and achieve personal and collective goals, feel and show empathy for others, establish and maintain supportive relationships, and make responsible and caring decisions.

SEL advances educational equity and excellence through authentic school-family-community partnerships to establish learning environments and experiences that feature trusting and collaborative relationships, rigorous and meaningful curriculum and instruction, and ongoing evaluation. SEL can help address various forms of inequity and empower young people and adults to co-create thriving schools and contribute to safe, healthy, and just communities.

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Our SEL framework, known to many as the "CASEL wheel," helps cultivate skills and environments that advance students' learning and development.

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Webinars

Grief and Self Care during the COVID-19 Pandemic
This webinar provides an overview of the impact that profound personal losses suffered during the COVID 19 pandemic have had on many and suggests strategies that can be utilized to facilitate mourning as well as promote self-care, wellness, and resiliency.
Social Emotional Learning in a Virtual Space
Learn about different strategies, exercises, and activities that put SEL at the forefront in an intentional and transparent way.
Wellness Skills for Self Care and Health for ESPs
Based on popular education and energy-based methods, these self-care practices from Capacitar International empower people to deal with traumatic stress, stabilize and balance strong emotions, and awaken their own healing process.
Webinar Series: Teaching and Leading with Trauma-Informed Care
Educators now more than ever need trauma-informed care to meet the challenges of today's educational environments. The Center on Great Teachers and Leaders collaborated with NEA and other national partners, as well as leading educators, to produce a webinar series focused on the developing the use of evidence-based trauma-informed practices.
Harnessing SEL to Support the Well-being of ESPs during the COVID-19 Crisis
Dr. Chris Cipriano, Assistant Professor and Director of Research at the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence, provides social and emotional learning (SEL) strategies to support ESPs within the school ecosystem to navigate the challenging emotions of these rapidly evolving times.

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Resources on Social Emotional Learning (SEL) and Student and Educator Mental Health | NEA

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Supporting our students' and educators' mental health with social emotional learning (SEL) helps the whole school community thrive.

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https://sel4nj.org/