PROMPT 3

Lauren Turner
WHAT IS SOCIAL EMOTIONAL
LEARNING? (SEL)

• “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 (Advancing Social and
Emotional Learning, 2024).”
• That is done, collectively, through 5
competencies: self-awareness, self-
management, social awareness, relationship
skills, and responsible decision-making .
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND OF SEL
"BY MAINTAINING A SOUND SYSTEM OF
EDU CATION AND UPBRINGING, YOU
PRO DUCE CITIZENS OF GOOD
CHA RACTER.” – PLATO

The roots of Social Emotional Learning date back as far as

ancient Greece, when Plato wrote about education in The
Republic. His viewpoint consisted of focusing on a holistic
curriculum that consisted of “training in physical education, the
arts, math, science, character, and moral judgment.”

In more recent history, research from the 1980s supported the

importance of collaborative management teams that
supported both behavior and academic progress. In 1994, as
the term social emotional learning began emerging, CASEL
(originally referred to as the Collaborative to Advance Social
and Emotional Learning) formed.

Nine CASEL authors collaborated to publish “Promoting Social

and Emotional Learning: Guidelines for Educators,” which
defined the field. Since that time, CASEL and other
organizations have worked to advance their mission "to
establish social and emotional learning as an essential part of
education.” They continue to study the impacts on children
and work to provide support and teacher training to meet the
social and emotional needs of all students.

This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-SA

 THE CHALLENGES OF SOCIAL EMOTIONAL
LEARNING

Whether to implement SEL

Which program or
in the classroom or How to incorporate SEL Parents or community
curriculum to incorporate
dedicate intentional time competencies throughout members hesitant of SEL
to meet district or state
to explicitly teaching these the day or class period. in the classroom.
standards.
skills.

Success criteria is less

Since SEL is considered a
Lack of training or standardized and more
“soft” subject, it can be
resources may inhibit difficult to define (The
open to more
teachers from carrying out biggest challenges to
interpretation and less
SEL implementing social
research backed practice.
emotional learning).

(The biggest challenges to implementing social emotional learning, n.d.).

PRO- SOCIAL EMOTIONAL LEARNING
VIEWPOINT

• Supporters of SEL indicate that a successful SEL program can have a positive academic impact on
students and also take on an even greater meaning when those skills are transferred to "non-
academic skills, such as resiliency, empathy, goal setting, responsible decision making, and emotional
management (Prothero,2022)."

• Students are able to learn about themselves in a positive way, manage conflict appropriately, and
can have their hierarchy of needs met through implementation of SEL instruction.

• Proponents argue that learning is as much of a social process as it is academic, and students who
participate in Social Emotional Learning will increase their social, emotional, and academic abilities.

• The benefits of SEL are confirmed by neuroscience and students exposed to SEL programs have
shown increased community involvement and reduced criminal behavior (Keane, 2023).

• According to recent meta-analysis, “SEL approaches have consistent, positive effects on student
outcomes, including increased social and emotional skills, attitudes, and academic achievement,
and fewer problems with conduct and emotional distress (Cineas, 2023).”
ANTI- SOCIAL EMOTIONAL LEARNING
VIEWPOINT

• Opponents of SEL consider it a “Progressive Educational Movement” and contend that it takes valuable time
away from content subject areas.

• “What’s new about it is that it has become a lightning rod in the culture war. ... Schools have always been
foci of controversy. But in the case of SEL and CRT, the controversy is about something that is extremely
ambiguous and much less targeted than other battles (Cineas, 2023).”

• Some feel that allowing school, district, and state leaders to decide what the five competencies “look like” is
questionable and could lead to ill-defined narratives or content taught in the classroom.

• Social Emotional Learning encompasses a vast array of skills, which some believe could create ambiguity as
to the purpose. If districts or schools pick and choose certain SEL skills, others may be left out, but this leads to
a debate about which skills are the most critical and why.

• Some religious and political groups argue that SEL allows too much introspection for students or that it
resembles character education, which can be religiously and politically divisive. For example, “Parents
Defending Education,a group tracking what it says is “liberal indoctrination,” say the programs focus too
much on children’s identities (Cineas, 2023) ”
ANTI- SOCIAL EMOTIONAL LEARNING
VIEWPOINT

• “ Anti-SEL campaigns led by conservative parent groups, lawmakers, and

political strategists are gaining momentum across the country. Since 2021,
there have been disputes over social-emotional learning in at least 25 states,
according to NPR— from bills that have tried to remove the concept from
school curriculums altogether to heated parent board meetings where parent
rights’ advocates vehemently denounced it (Cineas, 2023).”

• Opponents would prefer to replace SEL with traditional discipline like

suspensions and expulsions.
MY WORK WITHIN THE
DISTRICT:

During the 2018-2019 school year, I collaborated

with a district wide team of teachers, administrators,
and counselors to write and create the Social
Emotional Learning standards for grades K-12 for
Pasco County School District in Pasco County, FL. As
part of the “D-SEL” (District Social Emotional
Learning) team, and “VLPT (aptly named Very
Large Project Team),” my role was to read, revise,
and write standards for primary grade level students
in the 5 Competencies of SEL, as determined by
CASEL, the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and
Emotional Learning. The standards were written to
be taught and built upon throughout the students’
academic careers in the district.
 MY WORK WITHIN THE
DISTRICT
• As part of this collaborative work, we became school-based
representatives to introduce content and answer questions
related to the introduction of the SEL standards to our staff
and students. This consisted of multiple professional
development opportunities over the course of several
months. Prior to engaging our students in SEL work, we
needed the teachers and staff to understand the importance
of each of the competencies and how they could positively
impact our students socially, emotionally, and ultimately
academically.

• This professional development also included opportunities to

discuss and defend the importance of the program, including
how to approach hesitant teachers. As part of the ongoing
district team, we assessed our school’s culture and beliefs
about the new standards and gathered feedback to help
guide our work.
 Using the 5 SEL Competencies emphasized by
CASEL, I created resources for primary grade
level students to teach and reinforce self
awareness, self management, social awareness,
responsible decision making, and relationship
skills.
SOCIAL EMOTIONAL
LEARNING
RESOURCES
INTEGRATED CLASSROOM
STRATEGIES TO PROMOTE
SOCIAL EMOTIONAL LEARNING

Calm Down Corner Positive Affirmation Morning Meeting Positive Behavior

and Kit Mirror Systems (Earning
points, star student,
character awards)

Kindness Wheel Home and School Social Emotional Social Emotional

Connections & Books/Book of the Learning Portfolio
Communication Month
 IMPACTS ON STUDENT SUCCESS IN MY
CLASSROOM: A REFLECTION

Assigning a safe space and calm down corner allowed students to remain in class,
versus being removed by a counselor or administrator during escalating
frustrations. In these instances, students were still able to listen to academic
content and it made the transition back to class easier for both the student and
teacher.

Students were able to use language and verbal reasoning to explain their thoughts
and feelings about social or academic challenges. This led to fewer physical
outbursts and classroom removals

Students embraced a positive, growth mindset and engaged in positive self talk.
This decreased the likelihood of students giving up or shutting down, and
increased perseverance when academic content became challenging. .

For students with IEPs, or those in the process of qualifying, SEL can have a
meaningful impact on their progress toward behavior goals. Relationship skills,
social awareness, and self-awareness skills can increase a student's ability to
make friends, understand their own emotions, and successfully navigate through
complicated feelings and work towards reaching an appropriate solution.
 • “According to Lieberman's article,
"US Companies: Key Job Skills
Students Need Post-Pandemic,"
many large companies target
potential employees with SEL skills
above other points of interest when
hiring. People with agility and
LONG TERM flexibility, a growth mindset and
resilience, teamwork, and

I MPACTS O N collaboration use these traits to

transition to the workplace efficiently

STUDENT SUCCESS and successfully.”

• “A 2015 study from Columbia
University found that SEL programs
produce $11 for every $1 spent on
them by lowering crime, increasing
wages, and producing better health
outcomes for students who learned
SEL skills. (Cineas, 2023)”
 RESOURCES

Advancing Social and Emotional Learning. CASEL. (2024, February 2). https://casel.org/

Bailey, N. (2021, October 1). Social-emotional learning: The dark side - nancy bailey’s education website. Nancy Bailey’s
Education Website - Revive, Rally and Recover Public Schools. https://nancyebailey.com/2018/03/19/social-
emotional-learning-the-dark-side/

Cineas, F. (2023, February 13). Conservatives’ war on emotions in the classroom. Vox. https://www.vox.com/the-
highlight/23584837/social-emotional-learning-conservative-culture-war-in-schools

Elias, M. J. (2004). The Connection between Social-Emotional Learning and Learning Disabilities: Implications for
Intervention. Learning Disability Quarterly, 27(1), 53–63. https://doi.org/10.2307/1593632

George Lucas Educational Foundation. (2011, October 7). Social and Emotional Learning: A short history. Edutopia.
https://www.edutopia.org/social-emotional-learning-history/

Keene, B. M. (2023). Social and emotional learning (SEL). Salem Press Encyclopedia.

Petrelli, E. (2021, September 7). The Pros and cons of SEL in the classroom. Leadership Program NYC.
https://www.tlpnyc.com/blog/the-pros-and-cons-of-sel-in-the-classroom

Prothero, A. (2022). Building an Effective SEL Program: Lessons From 3 Districts. Education Week, 42(13), 6–10.

The biggest challenges to implementing social emotional learning. Lessonbee. (n.d.). https://lessonbee.com/blog/the-biggest-
challenges-to-implementing-social-emotional-learning