This article was originally published on EdSurge on July 10, 2014

In this era of change, districts, researchers, and edtech developers are looking for the catalysts to impact education reform. One area that has untapped potential for changing student outcomes is social and emotional learning (SEL).

Edtech products today often address academics and behavior independently, under the assumption that the former is the focus of classroom learning, while social and emotional learning should be used as an intervention on an as-needed basis. In my experience, this reactive model is ineffective. We should flip the switch to proactively teach SEL, as it lights the pathway for academic and personal success.

SEL isn’t about adding another class to students’ schedules or planing extra activities: It’s about equipping educators with the tools and resources to integrate SEL into everyday interactions to help students set and achieve goals, manage emotions, feel and show empathy for others, and nurture positive relationships to establish a foundation for success.

In my classroom I found that integrating SEL into school experiences can have a profound impact: increasing the academic success of students, reducing behavioral problems, lowering emotional stress, encouraging students to make better decisions, and ultimately fostering a better learning environment for everyone.

SEL isn’t about adding another class to students’ schedules or requiring teachers to plan extra activities. It’s about equipping educators with the tools and resources to integrate SEL into their classrooms and everyday interactions with children–helping students set and achieve goals, manage emotions, feel and show empathy for others, and nurture positive relationships to establish a foundation for success.

A recent report by the nonprofit research and policy organization, Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL), illustrates that incorporating SEL has proven effective in urban, suburban and rural settings and across all age groups. Among students in grades 5-12, hope, well-being and engagement account for 31% of the variance in academic success. A meta-analysis conducted in 2011 found that students who received SEL instruction had academic achievement scores 11% higher than those who did not receive the instruction.

The study also found that teachers are hungry for more. Thirty-two percent of teachers believed that their schools place too little emphasis on developing students’ life skills, including their social and emotional needs.

CASEL’s philosophy is constructive in that it shatters the notion of “good kids vs. bad kids.” Typically “bad kids” are thought of as those who exhibit poor behavior. As a consequence, we give them a Behavior Support Plan (BSP) along with a Functional Behavior Analysis (FBA) to study and quantify their “maladaptive behavior” while teaching them “replacement behaviors.” I understand that BSPs and FBAs have their place in the school system, but they only address a handful of students and are a reactive intervention only for negative behavior.

CASEL organizes the Core Competencies of SEL into five domains, as shown below. Using the Core Competencies, we can reframe the conversation – we don’t have students with “problem behaviors”, but rather we have students who may lack “self management” skills. Research shows that these “self management” skills are explicitly teachable in the classroom setting, but we need to equip teachers with the tools to do so.

 

 

 

For example, at Goalbook we provide resources and strategies to help teachers design social and emotional learning objectives and to integrate this instruction in their classroom. All resources are aligned to Universal Design for Instruction principles and scaffolded at multiple levels.

There are several other tools I believe are helpful for integrating SEL into practice, including:

• Class Dojo: A web-based tool that makes it easy and fun to generate data on all students’ behavior. Teachers can share the data with parents, students and administrators in real time. I especially love how this teacher from Phoenix, AZ used Class Dojo to deliberately encourage positive behaviors with struggling students.
• Reach for the Sun (as featured in KQED MindShift): When students progress through content mastering concepts at their pace, they are rewarded for critical thinking and grit, which promotes a growth mindset. Carol Dweck and Angela Duckworth’s research show that those qualities are important indicators of post-secondary student success.
• Special Olympics: As a teacher in San Francisco Unified School District, I was fortunate to take part in their school partnership program with Special Olympics of Northern California. Students from the Special Day Class and Inclusion settings developed relationship skills working together on a team, while the general education students coached and mentored the players. What a win-win! Facilitating the social and emotional growth of these students through sports was one of the most rewarding experiences of my classroom career. More importantly, former students have told me it was their most meaningful middle school experience.

With the plethora of edtech products to choose from, we should critically examine whether each one is rooted in research that shows real benefit to the “whole child.” Many people talk about needing edtech to “just work, ”meaning integration, reliable products, and access to student data. These things are important, but I would personally love to see the creation of more tools for teachers that support students in developing the social and emotional skills that are critical for success in school and beyond.

The transition to the Common Core State Standards presents both a challenge and incredible opportunity for our students with special needs. While they set high expectations to help our students be college and career ready, they also allow flexibility for multiple means of access and assessment.

However, if we as special educators don’t prepare early, then we run the risk of turning our students with special needs into secondary citizens. While their general education peers are engaging in a new and innovative curriculum, resources, and teaching methodologies around the common core, our exceptional learners will be remain stuck in outdated standards and curriculum.

If we as special educators don’t prepare (for the Common Core State Standards) early, then we run the risk of turning our students with special needs into secondary citizens.

The three strategic initiatives below are the most fundamental initial steps to fulfill the promise of this new change:

1) Special Educators Trained in Common Core Standards and Curriculum

Special educators need to be involved with their classroom colleagues in trainings around the Common Core. As the expectations for general and special education collaboration continue to rise, we need to prepare our staff to speak the same language as their colleagues and be valuable contributors to lesson planning, assessment, and provide better access to benefit of all students.

2) Standards Aligned IEPs

Given that the IEP is the driving force in a student’s education program it is critical that academic IEP goals are aligned to the new Common Core standards in ELA and math. As inclusive placements are more commonplace, IEP goals must be relevant to the general education teacher and the curriculum they use in the classroom.

3) General Educators Trained in Universal Design for Learning

Most general educators will be prepared in the Common Core Standards and the general curriculum, but most will NOT be prepared in making the necessary accommodations and modifications to provide access to students with special needs. Universal Design for Learning is a powerful framework to increase accessibility and engagement that special educators are rallying around. General educators will need to be trained in the fundamentals of UDL and use of accommodations and modifications should be incorporated into their ongoing coaching and evaluation.

Early Innovation

I am encouraged to see significant innovation and efforts in this space:

The Urban Special Education Leadership Collaborative is convening a group of innovative and proactive special education leaders who are gathering to discuss and take action to help their organizations meet the needs of all their students. Their fall member meeting is entirely focused on the topic of making Common Core meaningful for students with disabilities.

Goalbook is developing a first of its kind Toolkit with Common Core aligned goals, measurable objectives, and accommodations/modifications based on UDL guidelines. If you are interested in learning more about this valuable resource, please go here.

Related Articles

1) CEC: Six principles for principals to consider in implementing CCSS for students with disabilities (PDF)

2) Edweek: Special Educators Look to Tie IEPs to Common Core