Join Us to Revolutionize the Teaching and Learning of Social Emotional Skills

Who are we?

This research team, led by ETS in collaboration with SAIL CoLab and Pennsylvania State University, is developing and studying innovative approaches for teaching and assessing students’ social-emotional skills. The project is jointly funded by the U.S. Department of Education’s Education Innovation and Research (EIR) program (Award No. S411C230179) and the ETS Research Institute. 

Evidence-Based Curriculum Aligned with CASEL Framework 

Our social emotional curriculum has been recognized by the U.S. Department of Education’s What Works Clearinghouse (WWC) as having strong Tier 1 efficacy and has been adopted by hundreds of schools worldwide. Learn more about the original curriculum here: Social Skills Improvement System Classwide Intervention Program (SSIS-CIP).

Lessons Included in the Program

Cutting Edge Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning System

Our research-based digital platform integrates the best practices to scaffold computer-supported collaborative learning.

How Does the Program Support Students and Teachers?

• Efficient–The platform organizes lessons, group work, and classroom flow in one place.

• Engaging–Students practice social emotional skills through structured discussion and collaboration with peers.

• Evidence-based–Teachers can see student responses and interaction patterns in real time and provide individualized feedback to students.

Testimonials from Teachers and Students

We surveyed teachers and students about their perceptions of the tasks and the system. Both groups gave positive feedback. 

More Info from Our Paper

Hao, J.,  P. Kyllonen, E. Kerzabi, W. Cui, E. Guo, J. Andrews-Todd, Y. Jiang, and S. Elliott. (2026). "Leveraging CSCL for Social Emotional Learning: Early Insights From a Large-Scale Classroom Study."  In Proceedings of the International Conference on Computer Supported Collaborative Learning (CSCL2026). EdArXiv: https://osf.io/preprints/edarxiv/9cbe2_v2

Benefits of Participation

Schools will receive:

• the digitally-adapted Social Skills Improvement System Classwide Intervention Program (SSIS-CIP) curriculum, standard curriculum valued at $359 per teacher

• the Social Skills Improvement System Rating Scales (SSIS-RS) and the Academic Competence Evaluation Scale (ACS), valued at $1,000 per instrument; may be available for use across each school with a participating classroom if desired 

• over 30 structured role plays for students to act out and talk through in class

• additional classroom resources to support high-quality implementation, specifically developed for this version release

• professional development resources for teachers, including guidance on integrating SEL into classroom practice

Teachers will receive a rate of $50/hour to complete activities outside of regular teaching duties:

• up to $100 for teacher surveys ($25 for the pre-survey and up to $75 for one to three post-surveys), approximately 15–20 minutes per survey

• up to $600 for completion of SSIS and ACS rating scales and, teacher forms ($300 for fall assessment and $300 for spring assessment; approximately 10–15 minutes per student or $12.50 per completed survey), up to 6 hours per assessment window

• $200 for completion of virtual training in September and/or October, usually in 2–3 sessions after school with synchronous and asynchronous components, totaling 4 hours

• up to $185 for completion of post-lesson surveys (37 brief feedback surveys, $5 each), approximately 5–7 minutes per survey

Want to Participate?

Because this is a research study involving student data, participation requires:

• school or district approval

• parental consent for student classroom data collection

• a commitment from teachers and schools by June 30, 2026, so that everything can be put in place for a fall start

Participating classroom must have a stable internet connection and students must have access to Google Chrome browser. 

If you have any questions, please reach out to our Project Manager, Emily Kerzabi, at ekerzabi@ets.org.