SEL Essentials
Let's take a moment to review some of the most important points about social and emotional learning (SEL)...
WHAT IS SEL
The best explanation of SEL comes from CASEL - the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning
HOW TO TEACH IT
SEL is most effectively taught in small doses (30 sec - 3 min) spaced throughout your day ~DOSING AND SPACING*. The best way to do this is by modeling and thinking aloud. Essentially, this means incorporating it into who you are as a teacher, what you bring to the classroom: your language, your routines, your practices ~YOUR SEL BEFORE STUDENT SEL. SEL doesn't have to be an 'add-on', it can be integrated into what you already do and teach ~CURRICULUM INTEGRATION.
WHAT SEL IS NOT
It is not a behavior management system. Although, because it increases both teachers' and students' social emotional skills and agility, it will help tremendously to reduce student dysregulation and challenging classroom behaviors.
REMEMBER TIPs BEFORE SEL
Just like with ELA, math, sciences, etc., effective teaching and learning (i.e. reasoning) come AFTER regulating and relating. To help all students be able to access the content you are teaching, prioritize trauma-informed practices: predictability, relationships, agency, and opportunities to regulate the central nervous system. Incorporate these into your daily schedule, lessons, and routines.
WHY SEL
We can't always choose what happens to us or how it makes us feel (i.e. our immediate reaction), but we can influence how big our feelings get and how long they last. Most importantly, we can choose how we respond.
If, in the 'space between stimulus and response', we reflect with curiosity, compassion, and openness (without judgement) on our own thoughts and emotions, as well as those of others, we can respond with intention - aligning our responses with our values and representing our best selves.
*The terms "dosing and spacing" and "regulate, relate, reason" come from Dr. Bruce Perry: www.neurosequential.com/covid-19-resources