SEL
The focus group of teachers all agreed that the problem in today's schools is that SEL is needed more than ever due to increasingly multicultural and multilingual students from diverse social and economic backgrounds. We all agreed that SEL creates a safe and positive environment. This foundation when created increases our student’s chances of success exponentially. But how does one make it a national requirement? That we are still working on.
During the focus group meeting my teacher colleagues and I all agreed that SEL reduces misbehavior, this then reduces the amount of time spent on classroom management. I told my group that it literally creates more time for teaching and learning. My students are more focused and manage their behavior better. From the student’s focused groups I have been informed of improved students' relationships with their teachers, friends and even family members. Other students have informed me that they have become more committed to school and their academic success because of SEL. When a teacher hears this type of news it just does not get any better. This is what keeps us teaching. Seeing students applying SEL daily in their lives and witnessing their self-discipline and motivation makes me wonder why it is not part of the curriculum nationwide. The five elements that we constantly focus on and research are:
- SELF-AWARENESS
- SELF-MANAGEMENT
- SOCIAL AWARENESS
- RELATIONSHIP SKILLS
- RESPONSIBLE DECISION MAKING
Almost Genius
During our video conferencing and face to face discussions our focus group touched upon how we need to motivate students to keep up their interest in their topic. We agreed that usually students are willing to learn and work hard if the topic is new and interesting this then sparks their curiosity. Also praising and rewarding the students encourages them to stay on track and keeps them engaged.
With my students we brainstormed the skills that will be sharpened by the Almost Genius project, they are:
Researching Goal Setting Organizing Problem Solving
Citing Showcasing Creating Writing
Reflecting Reading Speaking Listening
SEL
For our social emotional activities teachers who visit my room regularly are asked to model appropriate social behaviors and provide opportunities for students to develop new social-emotional skills. Students are encouraged to show respect and value each other’s cultures and languages. This leads students to be empathic thinkers attending to others who need help socially, emotionally or academically. Positive changes in maturity and behavior have been noticed both by the staff and the students since SEL has been implemented into the curriculum.
With my students we brainstormed the skills that will be sharpened by SEL, they are:
Kindness, Humility, Appreciation, Fortitude, Open Mindedness, Caring, Respect, Mindfulness, Humor, Trust, Tolerance, Self-Control, Empathy, and creating a Positive Attitude.
During our video conferencing and face to face discussions our focus group touched upon how we need to motivate students to keep up their interest in their topic. We agreed that usually students are willing to learn and work hard if the topic is new and interesting this then sparks their curiosity. Also praising and rewarding the students encourages them to stay on track and keeps them engaged.
With my students we brainstormed the skills that will be sharpened by the Almost Genius project, they are:
Researching Goal Setting Organizing Problem Solving
Citing Showcasing Creating Writing
Reflecting Reading Speaking Listening
SEL
For our social emotional activities teachers who visit my room regularly are asked to model appropriate social behaviors and provide opportunities for students to develop new social-emotional skills. Students are encouraged to show respect and value each other’s cultures and languages. This leads students to be empathic thinkers attending to others who need help socially, emotionally or academically. Positive changes in maturity and behavior have been noticed both by the staff and the students since SEL has been implemented into the curriculum.
With my students we brainstormed the skills that will be sharpened by SEL, they are:
Kindness, Humility, Appreciation, Fortitude, Open Mindedness, Caring, Respect, Mindfulness, Humor, Trust, Tolerance, Self-Control, Empathy, and creating a Positive Attitude.
Aha moments with SEL
Teens at the high school level want to be more and more independent. This seems only natural, so needless to say I was pleasantly surprised when the aha moment occurred during one of our frank discussions. Some of the students admitted that they still needed guidance to stay on track. They said they did not mind good advice as long as it was logical and helped them. Another aha moment occurred when I discussed students SEL development with faculty members and a few said that each student’s SEL development is different and we teachers need to use differentiation strategies to reach each student at their level. This is almost naturally done by seasoned teachers who have experience with SEL. To be able to teach this to new teachers coming in is going to be challenging, but well worth it.
Another key or aha moment came when some students said that writing in their journal or as I call it the captains log helped clarify their feelings. It seemed like a logical way to get in touch with one’s feelings. Writing out one’s feelings concerns etc. and then reflecting on them gives the student an outlet for their emotions and allows them time to develop their self-awareness.
Teens at the high school level want to be more and more independent. This seems only natural, so needless to say I was pleasantly surprised when the aha moment occurred during one of our frank discussions. Some of the students admitted that they still needed guidance to stay on track. They said they did not mind good advice as long as it was logical and helped them. Another aha moment occurred when I discussed students SEL development with faculty members and a few said that each student’s SEL development is different and we teachers need to use differentiation strategies to reach each student at their level. This is almost naturally done by seasoned teachers who have experience with SEL. To be able to teach this to new teachers coming in is going to be challenging, but well worth it.
Another key or aha moment came when some students said that writing in their journal or as I call it the captains log helped clarify their feelings. It seemed like a logical way to get in touch with one’s feelings. Writing out one’s feelings concerns etc. and then reflecting on them gives the student an outlet for their emotions and allows them time to develop their self-awareness.