Social and Emotional Learning – The Key for Developing the Whole Child
When our students enter our classrooms every day, we provide them with a safe and positive environment that can support them in reaching new academic milestones. Social and emotional learning is key to developing the whole child. Because of this, it is our responsibility to provide resources that will navigate them through difficult situations.
Nearpod’s 21st Century Readiness K-12 Program offers resources to embed 21st century skills like SEL, digital citizenship, and college and career readiness into every classroom. The Social and Emotional Learning collection includes lessons and activities that teach students core competencies, critical thinking, lifelong learning strategies, and growth mindset practices.
Positive, Safe Learning Environment:
As a Florida teacher, there is one day that I think about in particular when I ask myself, “Do students feel safe in my class?” On February 14th, 2018, seventeen people were taken at the hands of a school-shooter at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, FL. Focusing on our Social and Emotional Wellness can ensure school is a positive place for all students. In order to achieve this, it is crucial to provide teachers with resources to address social emotional learning in schools.
Flexible Curriculum:
It is important to note that social and emotional learning should be taught in all grade levels, all settings, every single year. The whole child approach prepares students for long term success beyond school. There are over 320 lessons available to embed into any setting for all children in Nearpod’s 21st Century Readiness Program. The skills students learn in these lessons are applicable from kindergarten to 12th grade and developed age-appropriately. Each lesson has a range of modalities to reach a variety of students that are accompanied by dynamic media, including virtual reality to enhance learning experiences. The lessons are also created based on the CASEL framework. These are learning skills proven by research to support their social and emotional growth.
Whole Child Development:
Nearpod’s Social and Emotional Learning content provides explicit instruction for the skills students need for life and beyond school. We aren’t only teaching students math and reading – we are teaching them to be positive and contributing members of society. By integrating Social and Emotional activities, educators are helping children to develop:
- Self-Awareness – See their connection between current tasks and their personal goals and interests.
- Self-Management – Skills about focusing attention, managing stress and anxiety and accomplishing goals.
- Social Awareness – Develop skills in perspective-taking, empathy, appreciation for diversity.
- Teamwork and Collaboration – Considering the perspectives and thought process of their peers
- Responsible Decision Making – Reflect on the values of different literary characters or even classmates to motivate others.
- Persistence – How to apply persistence to their growth mindset and reflect on their own personal experiences with challenging tasks.
- Tolerance, Acceptance, Understanding – Students explore the differences among tolerance, acceptance, and understanding, then apply this difference to real-life situations.
Consider highlighting these learning experiences that perhaps characters in literature are experiencing – can your students identify with literary characters and help them through difficult situations? Nearpod can help!
Empower Teachers:
Nearpod understands the needs of our teachers and the resources they need in order to be successful. With Nearpod’s 21st Century Readiness Program, teachers get all the resources they need, from full lessons to quick practice activities, to embed SEL skills into any class. Everything is neatly organized by grade and topic with all the available resources in one spot. In a few clicks, I could plan an entire class lesson on SEL that includes slides, interactive videos, and activities. Not only does this save time, but it helps keep the students engaged and feel a part of their learning.
Social and Emotional Learning Develops the Whole Child:
Focusing on students’ and teachers’ mental wellness is a step in the right direction. With this in mind, we can ensure that schools are safe, positive, and empowering places for all students. Social and emotional learning is a classroom solution to developing the whole child. With activism and education, we can start to move that needle of change together. As Mahatma Gandhi once said, “be the change you wish to see in the world.” But don’t forget; as educators, we have the honor of teaching and influencing the change we wish to see in the world.
Katie is a Personalized Learning Leader in Volusia County Schools. She helps teachers incorporate educational technology into their curriculum. She believes that students deserve an instructional practice that resonates with their daily lives, and that includes the utilization of technology. She is on a mission to promote the endless benefits that edtech can have on 21st century instructional practices.
