The Connection Between Academic and Social Emotional Learning
Summary: This comprehensive guide to emotional intelligence (EI) is a state-of-the-art collection of proven best practices from the field’s best and brightest minds. Edited by educational leaders Maurice Elias and Harriett Arnold, this guide creates a new gold standard for bringing social-emotional learning into every classroom, with chapters by Daniel Goleman, Rachel Kessler, Marty Sleeper and Margot Strom, Janet Patti, Eliot Rosenbloom, Pam Robbins, Mark Greenberg, Sheldon Berman, Susan Wooley, Rose Reissman, Carol Cummings, and many others.
Source: Elias, M.J., 2006. In the educator’s guide to emotional intelligence and academic achievement, corwin press pgs 4-14
Straight Up on COVID-19: Sal Khan on Teaching 40 Million Kids at Home
Summary: This is an Education Week interview with Sal Khan of Khan Academy who speaks about the issues involved with online teaching, especially in light of all the school closures. Khan Academy has been actively providing online learning experiences for ten years and has lots of experience in structuring these experiences to make sense as a scheduled school day of activities. His experience should be enlightening as the country moves to online or distance learning.
Source: Rick Hess, Education Week, March 26, 2020
Teaching SEL: Powering Up Students with Social & Emotional Know-How
Summary: This article talks about executive functioning and social-emotional learning from the perspective of “ExQ” – a company that has produced a curriculum designed to improve executive functioning and in so doing, also help students acquire SEL skills in the five CASEL domains.
Source: Sucheta Kamath, Founder & CEO, ExQ®, Education DIVE, March 27, 2020
Promoting Prosocial Behaviors in the Classroom
Summary: This article reports on the importance of developing prosocial behaviors in reinforcing academic performance. The author focuses on gratitude, kindness, and empathy as three prosocial behaviors that you can implement in your classroom right away.
Source: Catherine Beachboard, Edutopia, December 11, 2019
Letting Students Write on Subjects They Love Fuels Learning
Summary: This article supports the idea that when students are interested and invested in a subject that they are writing about they are more likely to develop their writing skills. The author also believes that students then take these writing skills and successfully apply them to other writing tasks.
Source: Lauren Barack, Education DIVE, January 22, 2020
Study: SEL Program’s Impact on State Test Scores Mixed
Summary: This article reports on the results of a study done in Pennsylvania to assess the impact of a twelve-week SEL program. While some of the results showed an increase in scores, those increases were not statistically significant. The author posits that there wouldl be other benefits from the SEL program that would not be shown on standardized tests.
Source: Linda Jacobson, Education DIVE, January 22, 2020
As Teen Stress Increases, Teachers Look for Answers
Summary: This article identifies stress and anxiety as a major teen problem. The percentage of students feeling the pressure of stress, anxiety, and even depression is increasing at an alarming rate. This article provides some suggestions for teachers wishing to help students cope.
Source: Andrew Simmons, Edutopia, November 20, 2019
Growth Mindset, Effective Teachers Among Lessons from PISA
Summary: This article reports on results from the Program for International Student Assessment showing that students having a growth mindset along with support from their teachers score higher on reading assessments.
Source: Linda Jacobson, Education DIVE, December 17, 2019
The Power of Positive Communication
Summary: This article underscores the importance of positive parent communication. The author suggests ways to communicate with the home and ways to track this communication so that no student (or family) is left out of the loop.
Source: Laura Huddleston, Edutopia, October 11, 2019
Students Think Lectures Are Best, But Research Suggests They’re Wrong
Summary: This article reports on a study which looked at students’ reactions to lecture vs. active learning. Students generally reported a preference for lecture-based, low-engagement learning, but the study showed that active, participatory learning yielded better results.
Source: Youki Terada, Edutopia, October 16, 2019