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Social-emotional learning is most successful when research-based programs are implemented with the support of all stakeholders. SEL programs address all 5 Competencies that align with the framework developed by Casel.

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Sanford Harmony Academy provides educators with professional learning and curriculum resources that support healthy relationships.

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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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Legacy Lesson:
Begin by asking students what qualities they admire in themselves or in others. Invite them to write on the board. Make sure students agree on what the terms mean; define different virtues or characteristic as needed.

Next, ask students to determine 10 characteristics they want their legacy to be. Ask them, "What do they want to be known for?" They can use the list from the board or other qualities they think of on their own.

Next, for at least 3 of the characteristics they have selected, have them write three action steps they are going to do in order to develop that characteristic. It is good to complete this lesson after students have had an opportunity to learn how to write S.M.A.R.T goals.

Have them write this list and goals on the front page of their class journals or planners, somewhere that they will see often. Ask students to keep their lists to themselves, not share with other students yet.

At the end of four weeks, ask students to assess themselves. How have they been doing with their legacy goals?

After two months, have students form a class circle. Ask students to guess at least one of the characteristics that other students hope to create as a legacy.

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Ideas for legacy projects.

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18 Legacy Project Ideas for Every Age Group | Cake Blog

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Discover legacy project ideas for students, young and middle-aged adults, and aging adults.

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Implementing Restorative Justices practices in classrooms helps students learn and grow from their behaviors or missteps. In this way students practice making healthy, safe decisions in and out of school.

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The new question-of-the-week is:
What are practical ways to implement restorative practices?
There is more and more interest in moving away from "traditional" school discipline and toward restorative practices. This series will explore what that kind of shift can look like-in practical terms-inside our schools and classrooms.

Today, Dr. Sheila Wilson, Maurice McDavid, Timothy Hilton, Ashley McCall, Bryan Harris, and Kara Pranikoff contribute their commentaries. You can listen to a ten-minute conversation I had with Sheila, Maurice, and Timothy on my BAM! Radio Show. You can also find a list of, and links to, previous shows here.
"When You Know Better, You Do Better!" Dr. Sheila Wilson is a native New Orleanian. She currently works as a 5th grade teacher in Virginia. In addition to instructional leadership, she serves to improve the capacity of students, teachers, and families through her roles as grade chair, lead mentor teacher, family-engagement liaison, and SCA adviser. Dr. Wilson is also an adjunct professor, conference presenter, and self-proclaimed lifelong learner. She is passionate about amplifying instruction, school leadership, and equity:
We are all familiar with the discipline practices of yesteryear, which would likely cause any conscientious educator today to cringe. Corporal punishment/traditional discipline practices were widely accepted and viewed as a means of correcting unwanted negative behaviors. I can vividly remember being a high school sophomore assigned to write 500 lines for being caught passing a note in the classroom. And who can forget the ultimate ... getting paddled in the principal's office! Even though it didn't personally happen to me (really), just the idea evoked fear in students of all ages and deterred most from mischievous acts. So, why was corporal punishment acceptable then? Why is corporal punishment no longer an accepted discipline practice in most places? Is punishment designed for those who obey the rules or for others? These questions make me call to mind the adage, "When you know better, you do better!"

Countless studies have shown that traditional discipline practices are no longer effective in today's schools. In fact, traditional practices were so commonplace in part because the ability to apply an immediate consequence was less time consuming for the one doling out the punishment. However, we now embrace restorative practices because they draw their strength in their ability to empower students to learn from unacceptable choices, to understand their impact, and to grow personally in their ability to make more sound decisions and resolve problems. Restorative practices represent a positive step forward in helping all students learn to resolve disagreements, take ownership of their behavior, and engage in acts of empathy and forgiveness.

There are many ways to implement restorative practices in the classroom. First, teachers can incorporate daily morning meetings to build relationships with students, get a sense of their social/emotional mindset, and set the tone and focus for the instructional day. Teachers can also utilize goal setting with their students as a restorative practice. With goal setting, students take ownership of areas they'd like to improve (academically or socially), and they set realistic and actionable steps to work toward their goal. By providing individual goal conferences, teachers can check in to see if students are on track to meet their goals, and students learn to self-check and refocus as needed. Another useful strategy is when an unacceptable behavior has happened that the teacher allows the offended student to share how the offense made him/her feel. In this way, the offender is able to understand how his/her behavior impacts others and therefore understand the perspective of the other person. Finally, there is great restorative power in having the student who has made an unacceptable choice reflect on his/her behavior in writing by addressing very specific questions like: What choice did I make? How did my choice impact others? Is there a better way that I could have addressed this situation? If I had the opportunity for a redo, would I make the same choice? Why or why not?

There are a number of benefits or restorative practices:

Builds relationships

Strives to be respectful to all

Provides the opportunity for equitable dialogue and decisionmaking

Involves relevant stakeholders

Addresses harms, needs, obligations

Encourages all to take responsibility

Educators have come to realize that you can't punish a child into doing anything. Instead of simply instituting harsh punishment, we need to teach kids the kind of skills, supported by research, to help them improve their behavior. This is why districts are embracing the implementation of restorative structures in schools across the nation. In building socially responsible students, we must arm them with the ability to think critically, problem-solve, and be able to work collaboratively with others. It will be through their mastery of academic knowledge AND their capacity to engage successfully with others that will ultimately guarantee their future success. Therefore, as educators, we must invest our efforts wisely.

Four Restorative Practices
Maurice McDavid earned his bachelor's degree in elementary education with a minor in history and Spanish. He has taught middle school history, English, and Spanish, as well as high school geography. He was dean of students for three years and is now in his first year as assistant principal at a bilingual elementary school.:

There are four restorative practices that I have worked to implement in our school building that all work on the same model of restorative justice: community-building circles, norm setting, community circles for content, and restorative chats.

Community-building circles: This practice is great for the beginning of the year, as well as use throughout the year to build a community of learners. This allows the students to get to know one another, as well as the teacher. This practice builds empathy amongst the students and will reduce the negative attacking behaviors that can exist in classrooms.

Norm setting: This practice is done using the model of a community-building circle but emphasizes the building of classroom norms together. Oftentimes, rules are handed down by authority and are necessary. Through the norm-setting process, students discuss the values (love, kindness, honesty, etc.) that are important to them in a relationship. From there, students take the values and turn them into action statements describing how they could live out those values in the classroom. A list of action statements or norms are created and can then be edited together as a class. What is awesome about this process is that the norms created are not adult-driven but instead are created as a community and thus has more community buy-in.

Community circles for content: This again uses the community-circle model for the base of practice. The difference is that rather than simply looking to build community, you can use the circle to present content in a class. It is a great discussion model. I have used it to introduce units and gather feedback about students' background information. The students are able to share openly and yet in an organized fashion, using the talking piece to moderate.

Restorative chats: Restorative chats are used when students do not meet the norms that were established in the classroom. It can be one on one or can be done with the whole class. It is centered around the following four questions:

What happened? - This differs from what did you do and allows students to tell the whole story and feel heard.

What were you thinking at the time? - This asks students to go back through the mental process they used when making the decision to act outside of the norms. This is a meta-cognitive practice. It allows for reflection on what thoughts and/or emotions may have led to the behavior.

Who or what was harmed? - This question asks the student to be accountable for the idea that their behavior caused harm to someone or something. Students are quick to discover that they have harmed themselves and, oftentimes, see how their behavior has harmed a teacher or classmate. This builds empathy.

How do you repair the harm? - This question asks the student to think about how they can make the situation right rather than simply serving a consequence that is not directly connected to the action. Students may offer to apologize or clean up a mess created. Students get to be a part of deciding what happens rather than having a decision made for them.

Starting "Small" Timothy Hilton is a climate and culture specialist with the Fresno Unified school district, in California, where he coaches teachers on classroom management and class climate. Timothy has over 10 years classroom-teaching experience at every level of social studies, ranging from Advanced Placement to English-language development. Timothy is currently a doctoral candidate at Claremont Graduate University in the field of educational policy, evaluation, and reform:
The Restorative practices world is a world that many educators fear simply because they do not know a lot about it. Educators are rarely trained to an adequate level in how to make Restorative Practices (RP) work in their daily lives. Teachers are usually shown the heavy-duty re-entry circles or conflict mediation to demonstrate the power of RP, but this often leaves teachers intimidated, overwhelmed, and asking how this is going to work for them.

The best, and most practical way, to implement restorative practices in the classroom is to start small with some basic restorative skills that can be practiced in your classroom, and even in your life outside of school. These skills are listening, affective communication, and curiosity questions. Once these skills have been practiced, lived, and embraced, then teacher can begin working into the heavier-duty RP practices.

Listening: While the concept of listening seems self-explanatory, we as teachers do not always do it. We are often trying to do a million things at once and, in turn, never really listen to our students. We hear them, but do we listen? In a restorative classroom, there are a couple ways we can demonstrate that we are listening. First is by mirroring their emotions and feelings about a topic. If they are serious when they are telling you something, then be serious as you listen. Second is by demonstrating active listening and paraphrasing. Saying things like, "What I am hearing you say is ..." Third is by being present and validating their feelings. If they are telling you something, make sure you are in the conversation and not planning your grocery list. A big part of being present is validating their feelings. You can do this by making statements such as, " I understand why you are upset." Or, "I cannot even imagine what you must be feeling, but that you so much for sharing with me."

Affective Communication: Also known as I-messages, these are powerful restorative tools that can be easily used in every classroom. These statements are done to connect the actions of your students to the impact they have on you. Affective statements require teachers to be willing to be honest and share their feelings. Affective statements follow simple formulas that can be used in every affective statement you make, "I feel/felt _____ when you _____." Another example is, "I would like/what I need is _____." The statement frames can be combined or used independently and might look like this, "I felt disappointed when I caught you cheating on the test. " Or,

"I felt sad yesterday when I found out you lied to me because I have always trusted you. I need you to trust me enough to be honest with me. " These questions tie the actions of an individual to the effect they had, something students often forget about.

Curiosity Questions: These are genuine questions you would ask someone to learn more about their situation. Imagine a student just does not seem to be having a good day. You can pull them aside and ask some curiosity questions to find out more. Simple questions like, "How are you doing today?" Or, "You seem kind of off today, is everything OK?" These questions help dive into an issue, but curiosity questions can also help resolve a conflict, "How did it make you feel when Tommy hit you?" or "What do you need Tommy to say to you to feel better?" These are just some very surface-level examples, but many more can be found online and in print resources.

Online Resources for Support Ashley McCall is a 3rd grade English/language arts educator at Chavez Multicultural Academic Center in Back of the Yards (Chicago) where she serves as a teacher representative on the local school council. She is a Teach Plus Teaching Policy Fellowship alumna and a member of the Teach Plus Board:
Many districts that are new to restorative practices are under the impression that it is a program to implement. It is not. Restorative practices are about shifting the mindsets and developing the capacity of stakeholders (students, families, teachers, administrators, receptionists, cafeteria staff, security staff, etc.) so they are invested in the culture and climate of the building and accept responsibility for maintaining a safe, enjoyable, and productive environment for all involved. When stakeholders are invested and properly trained, we are able to effectively sustain healthy school climates and respond effectively to breaches in our social contract.

If you are looking to shift toward more restorative practices in your school, you need buy-in across stakeholder groups. Consider how you (and a diverse group of stakeholders) will make a case for and create a sense of urgency around restorative practices at your school. Consider how you can use data as a reflective tool (rather than a tool for shaming and punishment) to drive conversations around the culture, climate, and current disciplinary practices.

Conflict-Resolution Sentence Starters As a career-long educator, Bryan Harris has served in a variety of roles from classroom teacher to district-level leader. Now working full time as a trainer, his work focuses on topics ranging from student engagement to teacher resiliency. Find out more at his website:
At the heart of restorative practices-in fact, it's right there in the name-is helping students learn how to repair and restore relationships after a conflict, hurt, offense, or fight.

The sad fact is that far too many of our students enter school without effective conflict-resolution skills. This includes the skill of recognizing when you've done harm to someone else and how to fix it. Notice that I didn't say that kids don't have any conflict-resolution skills. The fact is that they do-it's just that many of the skills and communication methods they've acquired are not healthy or productive.

So, as teachers and leaders, what do we do?

The first step is knowing that conflict is normal and cannot be fully avoided as long as you interact with other people. Once we help our students understand this very important idea, helping them develop and refine skills that communicate remorse is a great next step. In other words, teach them the power of an apology.

When students know how to sincerely offer and genuinely accept an apology, it serves as the foundation to restore broken relationships.

Have you ever seen something like this before?

Student A (we'll call them the offender) sheepishly walks over to Student B and says, "Sorry." They mumble the word under their breath while looking directly at the ground, arms folded the entire time.

Student B (we'll call them the victim) reluctantly says, "That's OK," while also looking at the ground and counting the seconds until they can run away.

In this all-too-common scenario, both students are likely embarrassed, and the conflict is not resolved. While some of the right words were used, Student A didn't truly apologize, and Student B didn't authentically accept it.

Imagine how different that interaction would be if students used specific words and phrases that communicate remorse for the offense and acceptance of an apology. It might sound like this:

Student A: "I am sorry for drawing that picture of you and showing it to your friends. I realize that made you feel sad. I promise I'll never do that again. Will you please forgive me?"

Student B: "Since you promised to never do that again, I accept your apology."

Notice the difference in the words. A great first place to start is by teaching students, by the use of sentence starters, which words are most effective at offering and accepting an apology. The following examples are great places to start:
How to Offer an Apology
* I apologize for ...

* It was my fault that _______ happened. I apologize for letting it happen.

* I realize that....

* I realize that _____ was my fault and I am sorry for making you feel ________.

* I am truly sorry that I did this. I want to make things better. Tell me how I can do that.
How to Accept an Apology
* I accept your apology. Make sure this does not happen again.

* Because I know you will not do this again, I accept your apology.

* I'll accept your apology because....

* Because you know that ______ was wrong, I accept your apology.

* Because you know that ______ hurt me, I can accept your apology.

Four Strategies for Promoting Restorative Practices
Kara Pranikoff is an elementary school teacher at a public school in New York City. Her book, Teaching Talk: A Practical Guide to Fostering Student Thinking and Conversation (Heinemann, 2017), shares many ways to keep the balance of classroom discussion in the hands of the students:

It was a beautiful springtime morning in New York. I walked into the yard to pick up my 2nd graders, and they swarmed to me, ready to begin our day.

Hudson stood atypically off to the side. Bending down to meet his eyes, I asked what was going on. "I don't want to talk about it now," he said quietly. "But may I give a public-service announcement when we get up to our room?"

"Public-service announcements" were statements that students needed to share with the rest of the community. Often these were messages that would increase our efficiency. (Can everyone place their jackets on hooks so that the space stays neat?) Or messages that would help us work better together. (Remember, we need to have a calmer science class so we can do our experiment.)

"I'd like to speak with everyone, even before we unpack," he requested. I was unsure about the content of his message, but it was clear that Hudson needed to begin our day.

Students entered the class, placed backpacks at their tables, and moved directly onto the rug. Hudson took a seat in the front corner of our meeting area, and I settled onto the bench in-between his peers.

"I'm feeling a little sad today," he began. "I just want everyone to know that last night my great-grandmother died. I want everyone to know that I might not want to play very much today."

The class responded with care. Some had questions that were typical of 2nd graders trying to get the literal facts: How old was she? How did she die? Then Hunter, Hudson's closest friend, raised her hand. "How can we help you feel better?" she wanted to know.

Restorative practices are essential for a community to care for each other and grow together. Our best learning happens when we feel safe and secure. This priority requires attention each day in order to bring together an entire classroom of diverse students.

The tools which enabled the students to listen and support Hudson in his time of need were put in place in the fall-nurtured and practiced each day-so that by springtime they could be used, with independence. Here are some essential ways to develop these habits of mind:

Have discussion in circle every day

It's said that one way to achieve closeness with others is to eat with them. It's not just the literal nourishment but the connection which is fostered by close physical proximity. The classroom equivalent is to set aside a space where the whole community can gather and face each other in a circle. This creates an area of inclusion where students can share their thoughts and ideas.
Make space for students to speak and respond to each other independently
Students' ownership of their shared space requires the ability for them to express their thoughts freely. Speaking in partnership or small groups can be woven into every day so that sharing and building ideas, independent of the teacher, is a regular practice.
Invite the lives of your students into the classroom
Restorative practice honors the full being of each student. For this to happen, students must have the freedom to share what is on their mind. We must embrace the child as a whole, enabling them to express the joys that happen both inside and outside of school, as well as the struggles.

Begin your day together

Each day we transition from our home space with family to our classroom community. By gathering as a whole class first thing every morning, we make a commitment to welcome our day together. We can set our intentions and get our minds ready for what is coming ahead in our shared learning.

Thanks to Sheila, Maurice, Timothy, Ashley, Bryan, and Kara for their contributions.

Please feel free to leave a comment with your reactions to the topic or directly to anything that has been said in this post.
Just a reminder; you can subscribe and receive updates from this blog via email or RSS Reader. And if you missed any of the highlights from the first eight years of this blog, you can see a categorized list below. The list doesn't include ones from this current year, but you can find those by clicking on the "answers" category found in the sidebar. Look for Part Two in a few days.

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Ways to Implement Restorative Practices in the Classroom (Opinion)

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Educators share their practical experience implementing restorative practices in their schools, such as holding goal-setting conferences with students and teaching them "the power of an apology."

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Peer-mentorship programs help students learn healthy, safe behaviors and allows students to feel connected to their school communitty.

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There are multiple programs and strategies for having students work together in class. As students are building these skills, it is helpful to create Team Roles when working in cooperative learning groups.

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A look at how to distribute the roles-both academic and managerial-that make up group work to boost engagement and learning.

Team roles can support efficient, thoughtful, and equitable collaboration when used well. When used poorly, team roles can have the opposite effect.

Certain role schemes can concentrate power and influence with those who already have it, leading to inequitable participation, effort, and engagement. For example, a student who takes on the role of "synthesizer" or "facilitator" may be expected to do intellectually complex work, while a student who takes on the role of "timekeeper" may limit their engagement to watching their cell phone. Furthermore, students don't always buy into roles or see them as anything but empty titles.

Fortunately, it doesn't have to be this way. Teachers can leverage student roles to promote equitable collaboration that leads to deep learning. To do this, teachers must determine which roles will best support collaboration and learning, and support students to play those roles effectively.

Students Take on Multiple Roles

All roles are not created equal. Different types of roles serve different purposes, and students should take on multiple roles of different types in any given collaborative activity. Consider the following three role categories. For productive and equitable collaboration, every student should have each of the following types of roles within a given project or task.

Professional and field-specific roles: Professional and field-specific roles are ones that mirror the work of real professionals outside of the classroom. Since all students deserve access to intellectually rigorous and meaningful work, all students should take on a meaningful role of this type. That means in a history project all students should take on the role of a historian, in a math project all students should be mathematicians, and so on. In an interdisciplinary project, a single student may take on several different professional roles at different points.

Students may also take on roles that mirror a given job. Within a STEM project, they might take on the role of an engineer, and in a communications project they might take on the role of photojournalist.

Problem-exploring and problem-solving roles: When students work collaboratively on a complex task or project, they will inevitably have to step into a variety of additional roles to effectively explore and problem-solve. At various times, students may step into the role of leader, negotiator, critic, or collaborator. To address interpersonal conflict within the team, a student may need to step into the role of conflict mediator. To help the team incorporate a variety of perspectives, students may need to take on the roles of devil's advocate, synthesizer, or summarizer.

Problem-exploring and problem-solving roles may be fluid, with students moving in and out of the roles based on the problem they are exploring, where they are in the problem-solving process, and their own judgment on what their team needs in the moment.

Team management roles: Effective teams require members to fulfill additional various roles to support their team process. Issues of power, status, and bias can lead to inequitable patterns of participation. Team management roles can help disrupt those patterns by supporting the team with a clear and thoughtful collaborative process. These roles may include facilitator, project manager, timekeeper, notetaker, resource manager, process observer, and participation tracker, among others. In effective teams, students know who is in what management role, as well as the responsibilities that come with each role.

Make the Roles Authentic

A role is much more than a title. Calling a student a facilitator doesn't make them one, nor does encouraging every student to think like mathematicians guarantee that students will. Teachers and students should clearly define the meaning of each role they use by considering the different authentic aspects of each role.

Processes and practices: Students should engage in the processes and practices that are authentic to their roles. In their role as scientists, students should engage in authentic scientific practices such as observing natural phenomena, creating hypotheses, and planning and carrying out investigations. In their role as historians, students should engage in authentic historical thinking, by scouring primary source documents, attempting to make judgements on the veracity of historical accounts, and making arguments about what happened. In their role as engineers, students should engage in an authentic engineering design process.

Tools and technologies: Professionals in different roles use specific tools and technologies to carry out their work. In their role as mathematicians, students should use the authentic tools of mathematics to make sense of and solve problems, such as mathematical models, graphs, and other mathematical representations. In their role as photojournalists, students could use real photo editing software to edit and produce their work. In their role as a project manager, students might use a project calendar, Gantt chart, or project management software.

Materials and resources: Students should engage with materials and resources that are authentic to their roles. In their role as historians, students might engage with primary source documents. In their role as mathematicians, students might use real data sets while engaging in authentic mathematical practices. In their role as scientists, students may engage with real specimens and lab equipment within their investigations.

Leaning into Roles

As members of the classroom community deepen their shared understanding of these roles, they can create supports and scaffolds tied to each role, whether the role is novelist, collaborator, or timekeeper. Resources such as role descriptions, sentence starter guides, anchor charts, role rubrics, and reflection tools can help all students lean into their roles.

When students have opportunities to practice their roles, they'll become more familiar and better equipped to engage with the authentic processes and practices, tools and technologies, and materials and resources associated with their roles. Far more than just a title, these roles can ultimately lead to more effective collaborative learning and more equitable participation in intellectually rich, worthwhile work.

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Roles That Encourage Equitable Collaborative Learning

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A look at how to distribute the roles-both academic and managerial-that make up group work to boost engagement and learning.

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This strategy helps to build relationships with students who need extra support.

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In this Intervention Brief, we explore 2x10 Relationship Building, an intervention that empowers educators to build authentic relationships with students and increase their sense of belonging. You can find the 2x10 Relationship Building strategy in the intervention library of Student Success, Panorama's MTSS intervention management platform for school districts.
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Quick Summary
Intervention Name: 2x10 Relationship Building (or Two-by-Ten Relationship Building)

Tier(s): 2

Grade Levels: K-12

Description: Support students by spending two minutes per day (for 10 consecutive school days in a row) connecting with a student individually and offering extra social-emotional support.

[Free Download] 15 SEL Intervention Ideas for School and District Teams

2x10 Relationship Building Intervention Overview

2x10 Relationship Building-originally coined the "two-minute intervention" by researcher Raymond Wlodkowski and popularized in Allen Mendler's Connecting with Students-is a Tier 2 intervention that helps build teacher-student relationships, reinforce positive behaviors, and convey genuine support to an individual who might be typecast as a "challenging student."

At its core, the 2x10 strategy is about consistently building relationships with students. Educators (or school leaders) select a particular student and set a goal to engage in a 2-minute conversation with that student for 10 consecutive school days. These conversations might happen at the beginning or end of a class period.

Research shows that implementing the 2x10 intervention can lead to significant improvements in individual student behavior and the broader classroom climate.

Not only can the 2x10 strategy create a positive connection between an adult and an individual student, but adults can also use it to model core SEL competencies such as social awareness, self-awareness, and relationship skills through empathy and active listening.

Who Does the 2x10 Strategy Work For?
The 2x10 Relationship Building intervention works best for students who are having a hard time maintaining positive relationships in the classroom, exhibiting disruptive behaviors, or are in need of extra emotional support. It provides students with a safe outlet to communicate their feelings, emotions, and needs to a trusted adult. This targeted intervention can be used as a behavior support for individual students in elementary school, middle school, or high school.

Consider the following criteria when identifying students who will benefit from the 2x10 strategy:

Students who respond positively to adult attention and connection

Students who are struggling to connect with peers (or adults) in the school community

Student who struggle with emotion regulation, social awareness, and disruptive behavior

How to Implement the 2x10 Strategy

1. Choose one student whom you would like to strengthen your relationship with.

2. Select when you are going to approach the student (e.g., at the beginning of a class period).

3. Find the student and start a conversation with them. To build a productive relationship with a student, adults will likely have to initiate the connection.

4. The focus of these conversations should be:

Brevity.These conversations should last two minutes or under.

Student Voice.Invite them to share something non-academic with you about their day or life. Here are some great get-to-know-you question prompts.

Honesty.Model transparency and authenticity by sharing something personal/non-academic with the student.

If you use Panorama: You can select the "2x10 relationship building" strategy when creating an intervention plan for a student. Monitor the student's progress over time by logging notes. Everything will be saved to the student's profile and visible to other educators with access to Panorama.

Example of a student intervention plan in Panorama (mock data pictured)

"After implementing 2x10 relationship building in response to Panorama survey data, we had an increase of over 6 percent of students who felt a favorable sense of belonging and connection to adults. That's about 75 to 80 kids. Those students also improved their attendance, academics, overall sense of well-being, and SEL strengths."
-Luke Rasmussen, Executive Director of Secondary Education (Read the full story)

Tips for Effective 2x10 Strategy Implementation

Keep the content of the conversation focused on the student's personal interests, not their schoolwork or behavior. Use an interest inventory to ask questions, or use context clues (e.g., what the student is wearing or likes to talk about in class) to help drive the conversations. Find out what their favorite food is or what their hobbies are. The goal is to get to know the child outside of school in an authentic manner.

Consistency is key. Even if the conversations are shorter than ten minutes, they can be beneficial if they occur every school day. Holding a 30-second conversation for 10 days in a row with a student conveys more care than having just one 30-minute conversation.

Ask open-ended questions, and don't be afraid to probe if students start to open up.

Be a persistent, positive role model.

Keep the momentum going after the 10 days and continue to engage the student on a regular basis.

Additional Resources on the 2x10 Strategy and Other Behavior Interventions

Download this packet of 15 evidence-based SEL interventions [includes instructions and templates for use].

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2x10 Relationship Building: How to Do It (and Why It Works!)

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The 2x10 Relationship Building strategy is a Tier 2 behavioral intervention that empowers educators to ritualize a classroom management technique to create a personal connection with students

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Talking about identity helps students develop a strong sense of self. When students share their identity posters with their classmates they are able to develop empathy and recognize group similarities and differences.

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By asking the question "Who am I?" students explore the role that identity plays in forming their values, ideas, and actions.

Democracy & Civic Engagement

Using the strategies from Facing History is almost like an awakening.

- Claudia Bautista, Santa Monica, Calif

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By asking the question "Who am I?" students explore the role that identity plays in forming their values, ideas, and actions.

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Learning how to create S.M.A.R.T goals helps students monitor their progress toward personal and academic growth. Writing goals also helps students build their ability to preserve and overcome obstacles.

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Well-Being Lesson Plan: S.M.A.R.T. Goals

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Teach your students how to make S.M.A.R.T. goals using this fun social-emotional learning (SEL) lesson plan from Studies Weekly Well-Being.

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When students play highly engaging games, they practice self-management skills. It is important for the students to create game "rules" for behavior prior to playing math games in class. While establishing appropriate game behavior, have students assess themselves and their teammates while.

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With so many families grappling with the effects of COVID-19 and trying to provide quality home-schooling for their children, I decided to share some of my favourite maths games. All of the games have been selected because they are filled with rich learning opportunities, do not require very much in terms of resources and are both fun and easy to play.

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Greeting students at the door helps to build relationships and model healthy, empathetic relationships.

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Greeting each student at the door with a positive message brings benefits for both students and teacher.

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As educators and parents, we know that our children are quick to pick up on and copy behaviors they see others doing. Observing and modeling - two components of Albert Bandura's Social Learning Theory - are extremely effective methods that students use to learn. This learning happens across multiple environments, including at school and at home.

According to Social Learning Theory, students:

Even more, when students observe people they identify as role models (that's you!), the likelihood of remembering and reproducing the behavior is increased.

For that reason, modeling social emotional learning (SEL) competencies for our students is crucial in aiding their development. Admittedly, it can be difficult to model SEL if we ourselves have never been taught how. In especially challenging and stressful times when we may not feel our best such as during the COVID-19 pandemic, it can be even harder to show our students and children what successful social emotional regulation looks like.

With that in mind, here are 5 easy ways to model SEL for your children using core competencies, either in the classroom or at home:

1. Self-Awareness: be intentional about self check-ins

Find a few minutes during the day to take a deep breath and ask yourself how you are doing. Perhaps as your students settle into an independent activity (such as playing with Wisdom ) you can use this time to jot down a few reflective thoughts or simply focus on breathing. This reflection time is key in order for us to refocus our attention and understand how we are feeling during stressful times. Then, don't be discouraged from sharing these thoughts with your students or children:

Your students will see how important it is to maintain these intentional check-ins and pick up on cues to engage in them on their own. Educators can also lead the entire class in check-ins throughout the day, taking a few seconds to center breathing or have classmates ask each other how they are doing.

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5 Ways Educators and Parents Can Model CASEL's SEL Competencies for Children - Better Kids

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Learning through observing and modeling is key for students developing their social emotional skills. Educators and parents can be excellent role models for their children by showcasing these important skills in the classroom and at home every day. This blog presents 5 easy ways for educators and pa

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Having students participate in classroom circles helps to create a safe, welcoming classroom community. Students can practice listening to their peers and develop empathy by looking at a situations from a different perspectives. A quick and easy way to start classroom circles is by asking students a "question of the day".

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Edtomorrow- Supporting Today's Educators through Restorative Practices PD

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Classroom Circles are used to build relationships and enhance classroom culture and connections. This structure builds and restores relationships through equitable sharing and listening. The Circle process proactively builds the skills individuals need to thrive relationally, resulting in a more positive school climate. When conflicts arise, every individual has the opportunity to speak and be heard. Circles can bond a classroom helping students build trust, empathy, and a sense of belonging.

John Whalen, Sarah Nunn, and Doug Overton have both facilitated over 6,000 circles within classrooms and with adults. They've developed streamlined strategies for educators looking to employ circles within their learning environments.

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Classroom Circles - Edtomorrow- Supporting Today's Educators through Restorative Practices PD

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Classroom Circles are used to build relationships and enhance classroom culture and connections. This structure builds and restores relationships through equitable sharing and listening. The Circle process proactively builds the skills individuals need to thrive relationally, resulting in a more positive school climate. When conflicts arise, every individual has the opportunity to speak and be heard.