5 Ways to Infuse Social-Emotional Concepts Into Your Sessions
What is social emotional learning?
Social/emotional learning (SEL) is a broad concept that involves five main areas of competency: self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills, and responsible decision-making. Many of these areas overlap and build off of each other, as well.
Self-awareness: recognizing patterns in behavior and understanding one’s emotions
Self-management: being able to navigate emotions and develop intrinsic motivation (that is, motivation that does not come external causes)
Decision-making: thinking about consequences of actions and goal setting
Relationship skills: recognizing patterns in behavior of others, using empathy
Social awareness: understanding the emotions of others/empathy
Social-emotional learning is an integral part of how we understand and navigate ourselves in social settings, and it applies to everybody - especially students! The concepts contained in SEL are extremely relevant to how our children conduct themselves in various situations throughout their education. Studies have also shown that SEL leads to beneficial outcomes that are related to attitudes about the self, school, and civic engagement as well as social behaviors and academic performance.
Now that we know what it is, why is it important?
As educators, we all know that it’s important to be connected with our students. We care about what’s going on with our student and want them to get the most benefit out of their academics now so they can be successful later. Often, if our students don’t feel comfortable, it provides road-blocks in learning. Students will be less likely to ask questions and clarify what they don’t understand if they don’t have a healthy self-concept. In that respect, they may think that asking questions makes them seem dumb or foolish. Other students are shy, and some can have a learning disorder that discourages from engaging with their work. SEL is a great way to reduce these occurrences and strengthen your student’s management skills, interpersonal interactions, and overall confidence.
How can we incorporate this into our learning space?
We want to make a connection with our students and allow them to have a space for their emotions in the classroom if they allow it. Taking a few minutes to incorporate some of these activities can possibly deepen the bond that you and your buddy already have. It is important to note that you do not have to do everything in each session, and maybe there are some situations where there isn’t a place for them. With that, be aware of these tools you can use going forward!
#1: Start the Day with a Check-in
Presenting your buddy with a variety of faces and emotions helps them to easily identify with how they’re feeling, and this is a critical part of emotional learning. Doing this for every session can help your buddy feel more aware of themselves as they come into learning, and can also help for you to identify possible patterns in your buddy’s behavior. If your buddy often feels nervous, tired, or sick before you start, this may be a concern for other underlying issues.
#2: Setting goals and helping them track their progress
Goal setting is another integral part of social-emotional learning, as it helps students make informed decisions about themselves, and also provides a way for them to take ownership over their learning. You can help students make realistic goals by evaluating their strengths and weaknesses, and use this information to create a reasonable timeframe for their learning. Goals are not static, and can feel easier to reach if there are smaller, more discrete goals that track our progress along the way. Have your buddy revisit their goals every so often to ensure that there is a clear direction for them to work towards.
#3: Integrate Mindfulness
Mindfulness is one of many ways that we can be more aware of our emotions and reduce anxiety. After teaching a difficult or overwhelming concept, it may be beneficial to take a step back and give our student a few minutes to themselves. Rather than allowing an unsupervised break, use this time to allow a guided reflection, a few moments to stretch, or some deep breathing exercises. This time gives power back to them in the sense that they can re-establish control over their own thoughts. After a student has a few peaceful minutes to themselves, hearing the information again can allow it to sink in better, as they have already been exposed to it.
#4: Use games and allow students to work in teams
Games are a fun way to practice and refresh concepts, and tend to involve fast decision making and a strong self-awareness. One way to take these games to the next level would be to allow students to work in pairs or teams to tackle difficult problems together (if applicable). Working alongside other students is a fantastic way for buddies to learn how to interact and communicate with others, and also fosters a sense of helping and belonging amongst everyone involved.
#5: End each day with a reflection
After each session, it’s easy to get lost or bogged down into issues that your buddy may have been encountering with the material. Use this time at the end of the session together to reflect on what you learned and check on how your buddy is feeling. Look to end the session by planning goals for your next meeting. By focusing on what your buddy did well in your reflection, setting small goals will motivate your buddy to work towards them and apply themselves. Reaching a goal that you set for yourself boosts self-esteem and self-efficacy; you are more likely to think higher of yourself and feel that you are capable of doing certain tasks.