Two superintendents who are infusing social-emotional learning throughout their districts (in Minneapolis and Atlanta) discuss strategies they've found that help their efforts. They note support they receive through participating in the Collaborating Districts Initiative, a multidistrict effort launched by the Collaborative for Academic, Social,…

Using the Teach to Lead process and drawing on their own study of how teachers can lift their social-emotional skills, three elementary teachers in Connecticut created a plan to work with fellow teachers to increase everyone's camaraderie and regularly problem solve together. When their school closed to in-place learning, they pivoted to find ways…

When a school weaves social-emotional learning throughout its curriculum and culture--both helping students tune in to emotions and teaching "emotional skills" for handling difficult feelings--students and teachers thrive. Brackett discusses ways to develop the emotional intelligence of everyone in the school and lists five key emotion…

As social-emotional learning has gained prominence in K-12 education, some educators have wondered how ASCD's Whole Child approach intersects with this movement. In fact, the Whole Child approach encompasses and overarches the components of social-emotional learning, as well as other holistic education models, and as such can serve as a helpful…

To better support students with conditions like depression, schools must take steps to shift away from a silo approach in which academics and emotional health are seen as separate. To illustrate, Nadja N. Reilly outlines an integrated approach to social-emotional learning accommodates both students and teachers' needs for emotional safety and…

While it can be tempting to embrace popular new ideas and practices in education, it is also important to be aware of their flaws or challenges. By examining the downsides of social-emotional learning strategies, the authors of this article argue that one can actually improve and strengthen them. After researching SEL strategies in the Ontario,…

In light of recent highly publicized and tragic incidents, such as the February 2018 shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, school communities are increasingly concerned about student and teacher safety. School leaders, politicians, and community members are frantically seeking solutions to the problem of school…

The authors summarize findings of two major meta-analyses that examined the influence of universal, school-based SEL (social-emotional learning) programs on student outcomes in six domains related to social-emotional skills and behavior and academic achievement. Major findings indicated that participating in SEL programs had positive effects on…

Reading and analyzing texts with elementary students are perfect ways to introduce larger questions about the ways in which we interact with one another and the larger world. Boyles discusses how teaching social-emotional learning through literature can easily be incorporated into reading routines already in place. She includes three sample…

American teens are 40 percent less empathetic than they were three decades ago. Recognizing that students need more than academic rigor to succeed, a growing number of schools are turning their focus to social-emotional qualities like empathy. But which practices enhance empathy and how will principals know if teachers are implementing them…

It is well documented that young children need social Interaction, self-determination, and play to learn. But in the time of the COVID-19 pandemic, how does that translate to online learning? Psychologist and professor Wendy Ostroff suggests strategies and tips for engaging our youngest learners remotely.

In addition to excelling in subjects such as science, math, arts, and social studies, students must also develop skills like resiliency, adaptability, and collaboration in order to truly succeed in the world. But how do schools effectively measure those skills when they so often rely on standardized assessments? This article provides a thorough…

Schools can view challenging student behavior in one of two ways: (1) as a failure on the part of the student or teacher that distracts from the work of learning, or (2) as a normal developmental occurrence that provides an opportunity for the student to practice new or emerging skills. The authors of this article, researchers at the Harvard…

Charts that keep (public) track of whether a student's behavior is in some equivalent of a red (problem), yellow, or green ("well-behaved") zone are ubiquitous in elementary schools. This strategy based on shaming students is due to be retired because (1) it promotes only compliance, not social-emotional learning; (2) charts don't teach…

People use various terms to refer to traits and tendencies connected to social-emotional behavior and ways of thinking or approaching problems--from 21st century skills to mindsets to habits of mind. Such traits are also often called soft skills or non-cognitive skills. The authors contend that these latter terms imply that these traits and…