How can social emotional learning help the students in our classrooms?

How are culture and SEL related?

How are Trauma informed practices and SEL related?
What does SEL look like in the context of the pandemic?

How does SEL look in a Secondary setting?

“This article outlines steps to make Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) feel authentic and in alignment with the cognitive and psychological development of high school aged learners. This article addresses how much of the current SEL practices are tuned out by adolescents and feels patronizing to many of these students. They fail to address the core psychological needs and motivations of many learners in this age group. This article details five steps for incorporating SEL into high school classrooms and also provides tips for how to make these feel authentic to the learners. The first step is to integrate SEL into academic learning by engaging in discourse and dialogue on subject-specific SEL  and focusing on organizational skill sets with learners and scaffolding social-emotional implications into lessons. The next step is to focus on a cohesive SEL practice across classrooms and subject areas. Step three focuses on how staff can model SEL practices in our work and school culture. For this to work, schools need to have a student-centered model at the heart of their school climate. The fourth step is to incorporate SEL into extracurricular activities and looking beyond the classroom for opportunities. The last step is to consider peer mentoring opportunities this gives learners the opportunity to lead and model SEL skills in meaningful ways. This article has a lot of  practical steps for educators to incorporate SEL at the secondary level regardless of subject or school culture. - Courtenay Sopko”

This article from the Collaboration for Academic, Social and Emotional Learning (CASEL) outlines five ways to help create a clear understanding of Social Emotional Learning. I find articles such as this useful because of its accessibility. It is succinct, backed by research and easy to understand. The five key takeaways from the article are that SEL: is for everyone, is grounded in science, bolsters academic learning, builds on strengths, extends across schools, homes and communities. Each category is backed up with links to more resources.

This article discusses the importance of exploring our own cultural identity and biases as educators and also getting to know the culture of our students before we engage in SEL. Understanding the diverse experiences of our students and creating a safe space for them to share their realities is step one in doing  SEL work, especially because through SEL, we are sharing our values and norms with our students both consciously and subconsciously. This idea of culturally relevant practice reminded me a lot of place-consciousness. The ideas in this article reinforced what we've been learning about grounding our practice in community, culture, history, and stories of a place and people.

This document discusses the state efforts to prioritize and increase social and emotional learning during the pandemic. After surveying 37 states on their educational policies related to SEL, the authors provide 6 recommendations for states to prioritize students’ and adults’ SEL during the current COVID 19 context. Though the recommendations are specifically addressed to state policymakers, they can be adapted to the classroom or school setting as well. One of the biggest takeaways from this report for educators is that we have to acknowledge the added importance of SEL during the pandemic and explicitly bring SEL strategies into our classrooms and schools to support student and adult well-being. Throughout the document, there are also a lot of other SEL resources embedded that can provide more practical tools.

This article outlines the 5 assets teachers can incorporate in their classrooms to create better self integration for students. The idea is that self integration supports self regulation through these 5 assets: mindful awareness, interpersonal effectiveness, emotion regulation, resilience and thriving, and lastly, connectedness and contribution. The take 5! approach is grounded in theory but is able to be applied into the classroom in a hands on manner. This article does not provide concrete steps or activities to incorporate into the classroom but does reinforce that these are important things to think about when creating an environment for self regulation to take place. This could be a great starting point reference for the case study because it emphasizes important values for an anti-racist environment such as mindful awareness and interpersonal effectiveness. 

In this Article Mulholland and O’Toole examine how teachers can support students' wellbeing and offer support during the pandemic and just in general for all. It outlines the importance of addressing Trauma and how to implement Trauma informed practices. It also goes into the benefits of combining trauma informed practices and the outdoors which is very important to use when we need to social distance. Throughout this article it offers resources as well as lesson plans that teachers can use with their own planning and creativity.   

This short video provides an introduction to social and emotional learning (SEL). SEL skills are essential to student success, both within and outside of the school environment. Studies show that social and emotional learning conditions reduce aggression and emotional distress in students, increase helping behaviors in the classroom environment, promote a positive attitude toward self and others, and increase academic performance. The five keys to social and emotional learning are:

In each of these key areas, the video provides a few tools to support educators and learners. However, SEL cannot be a “binder off the shelf” that is addressed only during certain parts of the day. It has to be part of the school culture. This video might support our case study teacher by breaking down the social and emotional needs of their students and offering ways to support the class’ changing needs. A critique of this video is that it does not offer many SEL strategies, although it does highlight the importance of using tools to support SEL.

This document gives an informative summary of SEL and it’s relation to culture. It defines access to SEL, culturally proficient SEL, and culturally responsive and sustaining SEL. Each of these terms builds on each other to provide opportunities for all students to engage in SEL. The document was created primarily for districts, administrator and teachers in the United States. It also outlines ways of integrating culture into the curriculum and SEL.

“Positive personal and cultural identity” is found in the personal and social core competencies on the BC Curriculum website. The page outlines the importance of awareness, understanding and appreciation of one’s background, heritage, languages, beliefs and perspectives - these being directly linked to a healthy sense of oneself. The page outlines facets, profiles, connections to core competencies and illustrations related to the topic, such as identifying personal strengths and abilities.

 1. Foster safety and equity.

 2. Build community. 

3. Work with community partners to support student and staff mental health.

 4. Acknowledge and address grief. 

5. Re-establish routine and connection. 

6. Use mindfulness to teach self-regulation at home and at school.

 7. Create a vision for a better future together.

Brings it all together through implementing Universal Design for Learning and connects with resources like CDC or World Health Organization.