Social & Emotional Learning: What is it, Why is it important, & How do we improve it Empowering Children through Social Emotional Learning Wyoming Afterschool Association Conference October 17, 2016 Presented by Dale A. Blyth, PhD Professor Emeritus, University of Minnesota Former Howland Endowed Chair in Youth Development Leadership

What is Social and Emotional Learning?

to achieve important life tasks. 6/10/2018 Social emotional learning is a process through which young people enhance their ability to integrate Thinking Feeling Behaving to achieve important life tasks. 3 minutes Over the past decade, much attention has been paid to the idea of focusing on social and emotional learning as a way to reduce a wide array of risky behaviors while also providing young people with the means to develop skills that will help them reach graduation and be prepared for future success. Strong empirical evidence indicates the importance of SEL for academic achievement, healthy development, and college and career success. There are a lot of different frameworks, and they vary in emphasis, scope and terminology. But what unites them is a recognition that there is a broad set of skills young people need for success, and that these skills go beyond academic content. They include skills related to managing one’s own emotions and behaviors, developing healthy relationships, and making good decisions. You may think of skills like emotion management, perseverance, empathy, teamwork or problem solving. CASEL defines SEL as “a process through which young people enhance their ability to integrate thinking, feeling, and behaving to achieve important life tasks.” Source: CASEL- Collaborative for Academic, Social and Emotional Learning

SEL is the process by which we learn their own Ways of Being Ways of dealing with our feelings (WAYS OF FEELING) Ways of dealing with other people (WAYS OF RELATING) Ways of getting things done (WAYS OF DOING)

Some of these Ways of Being . . . Become part of who we are – WAYS I AM (our identity) Others increase our awareness – WAYS I AM AWARE Still other help us get through life – WAYS I NAVIGATE

Full Brief AVAILABLE HERE 6/10/2018 SEL doesn’t have to be a new curriculum. It can be embedded into daily practice, regardless of your content. Use blank model to map the skills you are targeting in your program, and where you could do more. Ways of Feeling. This includes all the skills, experiences, and capacity a person has to identify and make sense of their own emotions. Researchers use terms like self-awareness, self-management, intrapersonal skills, emotional competence, and self-regulation. Practitioners might also include concepts and skills like being reflective, confidence, emotional maturity, or self-control. Ways of Relating. This includes the skills youth need to understand and navigate their interactions with others and develop relationships. Social awareness, relationship skills, interpersonal skills, or social skills all fit easily into this area. Practitioners might also include empathy, connectedness, belonging, and caring. Ways of Doing. This includes skills to approach tasks and achieve goals. This area has drawn significant attention from researchers and leaders in the field. Think of terms like growth mindset, mastery orientation, and responsible decision-making. Practitioners work to support the development of grit and perseverance, along with the skills of goal-setting, critical thinking, planning for success, and resilience. And All These Ways Of Being Are Cognitive! Full Brief AVAILABLE HERE

Our Ways of Being are made up of specific … Knowledge we have Skills we use Beliefs or attitudes we hold What we will simply call social emotional skills and beliefs

Builds Our Set of Social & Emotional SKILLS & BELIEFS Social and Emotional Learning is the process that… Builds Our Set of Social & Emotional SKILLS & BELIEFS

How are Social Emotional Skills & Beliefs Learned?

Social & Emotional Skills & Beliefs Are Both TAUGHT & CAUGHT

Think about a way of being you were taught by your family? Reflection Activity Think about a way of being you were taught by your family? Think about one you caught from others you were around in school or in sports?

Social Emotional Skills & Beliefs are also learned in CONTEXT! The context of the FAMILY The context of CULTURE & SOCIETY The context SCHOOL The context of PEERS and The context of your afterschool program!

We also know SE Skills and Beliefs come in lots of forms & frameworks There are many different frameworks out there that try to make sense of all these skills and beliefs There also many different words & measures used to capture different skills – and sometime the same word is used in different ways It can all be pretty confusing!

Breaking Down 21st Century Skills Social & Emotional Skills From National Academy of Science report on 21st Century Skills

SEL is a Process of Acquiring and Applying the Knowledge, Skills, and Attitudes Related to Five Core Competencies Recognize one’s emotions, values, strengths, and limitations Manage emotions and behaviors to achieve one’s goals Self-awareness Make ethical, constructive choices about personal and social behavior Responsible decision making Self-management SEL Social awareness Relationship skills Show understanding and empathy for others Form positive relationships, work in teams, deal effectively with conflict Source: CASEL - Collaborative for Academic, Social and Emotional Learning

U of Chicago CSRC Report FOUNDATIONS FOR YOUNG ADULT SUCCESS U of Chicago CSRC Report (Access report HERE)

U of Chicago CSRC Report FOUNDATIONS FOR YOUNG ADULT SUCCESS U of Chicago CSRC Report (Access report HERE)

In Addition to Different Frameworks There are different words that mean the same thing & the same words are used differently

Same Word but Multiple Interconnected Meanings

Why is Social & Emotional Learning Important?

First, Because These Skills and Beliefs Shape … Whether youth see point to learning (HOPE) What youth bring to learning (MINDSET) What youth do while learning (SELF-CONTROL) How youth deal with others while learning (TEAM WORK, SOCIAL SKILLS) Whether youth persist in learning and stay on path toward their goals (GRIT, PERSERVERANCE)

Second, Because These Skills & Beliefs predict … SUCCESS In School In College In Careers In Work In Life!

Social and Emotional Skills 9%ile Pro-Social Behavior Conduct Problems 11%ile Academic Achievement 10%ile Emotional Distress 22% ile Social and Emotional Skills Learning Environment SE Skills Development 9%ile Positive attitudes Durlak, J. A., Weissberg, R. P., Dymnicki, A. B., Taylor, R. D., & Schellinger, K. B. (2011). Enhancing students’ social and emotional development promotes success in school: Results of a meta-analysis. Child Development, 82, 405-432 Durlak, J. A., Weissberg, R. P., Dymnicki, A. B., Taylor, R. D., & Schellinger, K. B. (2011). Enhancing students’ social and emotional development promotes success in school: Results of a meta-analysis. Child Development, 82, 405-432

Research is telling us that SE Skills & Beliefs MATTER Are MEANINGFUL Are MALLEABLE Are MEASUREABLE

3 Basic Conclusions There is no perfect framework out there – you need to look for one that aligns well with your goals There is no single set of SE skills that will work for every youth – but there are several that are very important in our multicultural society that help predict success (e.g., growth mindset, sense of agency/self efficacy, sense of belonging) There is no one measure that is best – it depends on your program, your goals, your intended use

Terms To Know But Discourage “Non-cognitive” – only dead people possess non-cognitive skills because all skills involve thinking / cognition. Cognitive, social and emotional skills are all intertwined – as in a braided rope. “Soft Skills” – a term often used with social and emotional skills. Tends to imply that these skills are “less” than “hard” skills – less measurable, less important, less teachable – none of which is accurate. © 2010 Regents of the University of Minnesota. All rights reserved.

Why should Afterschool Programs Become More Intentional about Social & Emotional Learning?

Top Ten Reasons to Become More Intentional 10. We have always cared about the whole child 9. SEL and quality youth development processes are very similar & compatible 8. We need viable and valued outcomes we can show we impact 7. We create exciting developmental experiences where SE skills & beliefs are practiced 6. We create strong relationships with youth that can support SE skills & beliefs © 2010 Regents of the University of Minnesota. All rights reserved.

Top Ten Reasons (cont.) 5. Participation keeps youth engaged & connected to positive role models 4. Program quality is critical but not enough by itself to optimize positive SE skills & beliefs 3. Programs can and already do impact SEL skills & beliefs (positively & negatively) 2. Youth experience higher motivation and concentration in quality afterschool programming than in school or with friends 1. We provide the healthy contexts for SEL that all youth need!

Understanding Our Place in the Three Tiers of Support Model INTERVENTION TIER 2 PREVENTION TIER 1 PROMOTION Primary Spaces for Most Afterschool Programs

How Do We Improve Social & Emotional Learning?

Improve Intentionality Overview of What, Where, & How to Work on Improvement SCHOOL EFFORTS OUT OF SCHOOL EFFORTS SEL IS TAUGHT Improve Integration Improve Intentionality SEL IS CAUGHT Improve Quality

Using What We Know to Get Better at Doing What is Needed ASSESS READINESS NAME & CLAIM SEL ENHANCE INTENTIONALITY IMPROVE SUPPORTS

Check Your Organization’s SEL Readiness

Name and Claim SEL Name Social Emotional Learning as central to your program Claim specific social emotional skills and beliefs as things your program will work to impact

4 Intentional Strategies Equip and support staff Create everyday learning environments Design impactful learning experiences Practitioners like you play an influential role in the social and emotional learning of the young people you work with – you model it, you design spaces and activities to support it – but it doesn’t happen by accident. There are things you can do increase the chance that SEL will be caught and taught in your program. Today we will dig into four strategies that you can use to be more intentional around infusing SEL into your programs. We will go through each of these. We’ve built in time for discussion and questions around each strategy because our goal is really to create space for you to reflect and share how you might be more intentional about SEL in your program. But first we offer a brief overview of SEL. Use data for improvement To learn more see brief HERE © 2010 Regents of the University of Minnesota. All rights reserved.

EQUIP AND SUPPORT STAFF Critical to any efforts to improve youth’s social emotional skills & beliefs is the training and support of staff and volunteers who work with youth This includes creating ways for staff to express, learn, practice, and assess their own social emotional skills & beliefs

CREATE EVERYDAY LEARNING Build in regular routines and ways of dealing with emotions, people, and getting things done Create environments where positive SE skills and beliefs are model so they can be “caught” by youth

DESIGN IMPACTFUL PROGRAMS Be explicit about social emotional skills you wish to teach in selecting and designing your program Enhance the ways in which action and reflection are used in your program to create rich “developmental experiences”

Getting More Intentional About How We Do Developmental Experiences From University of Chicago’s Foundations for Young Adult Success

USE DATA FOR IMPROVEMENT SHIFT FROM TOWARD PROVE IT OR LOSE IT APPROACH IMPROVE IT TO MOVE IT APPROACH There is little evidence that high stakes accountability works in fields like ours

AND ALWAYS REMEMBER …

Relationships are the foundation for learning Caprara, G.V., Barbanelli, C., Pastorelli, C., Bandura, A., & Zimbardo, P.G. (2000). Prosocial foundations of children’s academic achievement. Psychological Science, 11, 302-306. Hamre, B. K., & Pianta, R. C. (2006). Student-teacher relationships. In G. G. Bear & K. M. Minke (Eds.), Children’s needs III: Development, prevention, and intervention (pp. 59–71). Bethesda, Vygotsky, L. (1978). Mind in society: The development of higher psychological processes. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. Wentzel, K. R. (1998). Social relationships and motivation in middle school: The role of parents, teachers and peers. Journal of Educational Psychology, 90, 202-209.

Emotions affect how and what we learn. Goleman, D. (1995). Emotional intelligence. New York: Bantam. LeDoux, J.E. (1996). The emotional brain: The mysterious underpinnings of emotional life. New York: Simon & Schuster. Immordino-Yang, M. H., & Damasio, A. R. (2007). We feel, therefore we learn: The relevance of affective and social neuroscience to education. Mind, Brain and Education,1(1), 3-10.

Social and emotional skills can be taught.

Photo by Ed Yourdon - Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License https://www.flickr.com/photos/72098626@N00 Created with Haiku Deck

AND EACH OF US CAN BECOME BETTER AT SUPPORTING SEL – WHATEVER OUR ROLES!!

http://www1.extension.umn.edu/youth /research/sel.html To Learn More Visit the web site for resources and events http://www1.extension.umn.edu/youth /research/sel.html Contact Dale Blyth blyth004@umn.edu