1. Understanding and Teaching Self-Management
A Key Component of Social-Emotional Learning
Equipping students with the mindsets, skills and habits they need to succeed
© 2015 by Transforming Education

2. Introduction In this session you will
Build a deeper understanding of self-management, one example of a social- emotional competency that can help you succeed
Understand the profound role a teacher can play (even via a simple technique) in helping students learn self-management
Leave with at least one specific strategy or technique that you could try in the classroom to support your students in developing self-management skills

3. Introduction
Skills beyond academic knowledge are crucial to college and career readiness
E.g., perseverance, motivation, social skills, growth mindset, etc.
They are often referred to as social-emotional skills or non-cognitive skills
Many teachers and parents know the importance of social-emotional skills
But schools don’t always prioritize these skills or give teachers the support they need and the credit they deserve for teaching these skills

4. Think Before You Act (1.5 mins)

5. Defining Self-Management
Self-management is the ability to manage your emotions, thoughts, and behaviors effectively in different situations
It is a competency that students at every level of schooling and ability level must practice over the course of their development
While some students may need to work on developing their self-management skills more than others, in fact all students (and adults!) can and should continue to hone their self-management competency at every age

6. Defining Self-Management
Self-management includes a range of skills such as
Managing your emotions
Delaying gratification
Motivating yourself
Focusing attention
Setting and working toward goals
Self-management is a key enabler for all learning, whether for academic subjects, other content areas, or skills like playing a musical instrument

7. What is Self-Management? (7 min)

8. Video Reflection
What are some things you learned from the video that shocked you?
What are some strategies you know you can apply right now to your life regarding self- management?
How will that help you in the future?
Share with a table partner!

9. Strategies and Techniques
Supporting students in developing self-management skills
© 2015 by Transforming Education

10. Types of Self-Management Strategies
Self-Management involves doing something different now (e.g., resisting a distraction, avoiding an undermining behavior, seeking out a different situation, etc.) in order to accomplish a goal later. That requires students to:
Think about the future they hope to reach (e.g., earn an A on a project, get the second marshmallow, etc.)
Think about how they approach situations and make decisions.
The most effective strategies are typically proactive:
They involve action long before the distraction or decision point occurs.
They can, and should be, practiced repeatedly long before they are needed.

11. Self-Management Strategies: Three Categories
The earlier a student acts on one of these strategies, the more likely he or she is to succeed, but students need strategies at multiple levels.
I. Situation-Oriented Strategies – typically require lead time to put in place
Choose the situation: Choose to be in places or with people that help you manage yourself.
E.g., hang out with students who are working diligently; take a route home that avoids the mall; etc.
Modify the situation: Modify a situation you can’t avoid.
E.g., sit at the front of the class instead of in the back with distracting friends.

12. Self-Management Strategies: Three Categories
II. Cognitive Strategies – may require lead time or be implemented immediately
Change your attention: Attend to aspects of a situation that reduce temptation or increase focus on a goal.
E.g., track the speaker in class.
Change how you think about a situation or a choice: Make a distraction less appealing or the long- term goal more appealing.
E.g., instead of thinking of homework as a chore, think of how good you feel when your homework is done and you are prepared for class.

13. Self-Management Strategies: Three Categories
III. Impulse/Emotion Suppression Strategies – hard to implement, least effective, and require the most cognitive energy to attempt
Quash an impulse: Attempt to quash an undesired impulse or emotion after it has developed.
E.g., try to stop thinking about eating the treat sitting in font of you.

14. The if-then plan is a critical part. Let’s look at it in more detail.
The WOOP Method
The WOOP strategy, which is positive thinking plus a dose of reality, contains four steps:
Wish: Students name an important but feasible wish or goal they want to fulfill.
Outcome: Students imagine, as vividly as possible, what the future will be like once they fulfill this wish (or reach the goal).
Obstacle: Students imagine the most critical personal obstacle that stands in the way of fulfilling that wish (or reaching the goal).
Plan: Students name an effective behavior to overcome the obstacle and create a specific plan, using an if-then statement: “If X happens, then I will Y.”
The if-then plan is a critical part. Let’s look at it in more detail.

15. Plan With If-Then Statements (With WOOP or standalone)
Name an effective behavior to overcome their obstacle and create a specific plan, using an if-then statement:
Writing: If I write a sentence, then I will read it aloud to see if it makes sense.
Tracking assignments: If the teacher writes an assignment on the board, then I will immediately make sure I understand it and write it down on my assignments list.
Test anxiety: If I’m worried about a test that takes place on Friday, then I will meet with my teacher on Monday to talk about how to study.

16. Create Awareness of When Students Learn Best
Understand when you learn best so that you can seek out and create situations to maximize your learning.
Each student creates a list that completes the phrase “I focus best when...” or “I learn best when…”
Identify three things to seek related to when they learn best and three to avoid.
Record how often these situations occur and track their progress over time.
Revisit this exercise regularly.

17. Focus on How to Do Things, Not Just What to Do
Support achievement by focusing on strategies to complete projects and assignments rather than focusing only on the project content itself.
Discuss different processes a student might use to complete a report or project. For example:
Create a set of milestones for when particular parts of the project should be done.
Build an outline, then add in details for a full draft.
Work on sections sequentially vs. starting on the difficult sections.

18. General Self-Monitoring
Create clear self-management expectations and provide opportunities for students to track their own progress towards these goals over time. Consider adding a public reporting component.
Readiness to learn: Create a checklist and set aside time at the beginning of class for students to assess their readiness to learn. Track the results so that students can see progress over time.
Classroom behavior: Create a simple series of expectations for students that they can track. At the end of each class, have students rate themselves and record their results.
Am I listening to others? Am I waiting for people to finish before I talk? Am I using appropriate language to disagree? Am I using an appropriate tone and not raising my voice?

19. Self Monitoring With Lists and Planning Tools
For some students, lists and planners (physical or on a smartphone or other device) are critical supports that can enable them to keep track of assignments, prioritize, maintain focus on their work, etc.
Create routines: For example, listen when a teacher gives an assignment, watch what she writes, repeat it in your own words so you know you understand it, then write it in an ongoing list of tasks to complete with most important things at the top.

20. Pausing, Calming, and Visualizing
Techniques that help you ride out difficult emotions or or gather yourself when you are anxious or confused.
Step back and breathe: Take a physical step backward and a deep breath before reacting positively or negatively to any situation.
Expanding breaths: Notice how many seconds of breathing in and breathing out you do. For each new breath, extend the inhale by one second and the exhale by one second. Take five slow, extended breaths.
Visualize memories: Visualize a memory of a time when you were happy, calm, proud, or another feeling you want to evoke.

21. SELF-CONTROL (7 mins) A different view point of self-control

22. Self-Management in Your Classroom
Identifying a strategy that could work for you
Please get a copy of the Introduction to Self Management handout
© 2015 by Transforming Education

23. Self-Management in Your Classroom
We already talked about strategies you’ve used to teach self-management. Now pick out a new one to try. Discuss the following with a partner or in small teams.
Instructions: Identify one of the strategies we have discussed (or one of your own ideas) that you would like to try. Pick something that will take relatively little effort to implement.
Think about particular students you would like to use the strategy with
Why did you pick the strategy you did?
How would you put it in place or get started?
How would you practice it? Or how would your students practice it?
What will your immediate next steps be?
The Introduction to Self-Management handout contains all the strategies you just saw, as well as some additional ideas for how to implement them

24. © 2015 by Transforming Education
Wrapping Up
A few more details
© 2015 by Transforming Education

25. Want to Know More? Self-Management Social-Emotional Learning
Don’t!: The secret of self-control
General Resources for Self-Regulation
The Duckworth Lab Resources for Educators
Character Lab – Self-Control
WOOP
Walter Mischel Interview
The Marshmallow Test
University of Michigan Emotion & Self- Control Lab
The Teacher Toolkit – Classroom Management
Social-Emotional Learning
A National Teacher Survey on How Social and Emotional Learning Can Empower Children and Transform Schools
CASEL Guide to Effective SEL Programs
Transforming Education News Digest
Smart Hearts: Social and Emotional Learning Overview
Emotional Intelligence Is the Missing Piece
Can Emotional Intelligence Be Taught?
The Heart-Brain Connection: The Neuroscience of Social and Emotional Learning
Please note: The links above will only function in “presentation” mode.

26. Equipping students with the mindsets, skills and habits they need to succeed

27. Additional Information
© 2015 by Transforming Education

28. What Is Transforming Education?
Transforming Education is a nonprofit supporting educators and education systems in equipping students with mindsets, skills, and habits they need to succeed in school, career, and life. We believe these mindsets, skills, and habits should be taught in school alongside academics.
Transforming Education is redefining success for one million students as the lead advisor on social-emotional learning to a collaborative of seven districts across California, including Fresno, Los Angeles, Long Beach, Oakland, San Francisco, Sanger, and Santa Ana. In partnership with these districts, we are refining measures of students’ social-emotional skills and implementing them at scale to help schools foster student growth.
We also work with other schools and districts around the country.
For more information, please visit
Equipping students with the mindsets, skills and habits they need to succeed

29. Research Sources
Duckworth, A.L., Gendler, T.S., & Gross, J.J. (2014). Self-control in school-age children. Educational Psychologist, 49(3),  
Duckworth, A. L., Grant, H., Loew, B., Oettingen, G., & Gollwitzer, P. M. (2011). Self-regulation strategies improve self- discipline in adolescents: benefits of mental contrasting and implementation intentions. Educational Psychology, 31,
Duckworth, A. L., Kirby, T. A., Gollwitzer, A., & Oettingen, G. (2013). From fantasy to action: Mental Contrasting with Implementation Intentions (MCII) improves academic performance in children. Social Psychological and Personality Science, 4,
Gawrilow, C., Morgenroth, K., Schultz, R., Oettingen, G., & Gollwitzer, P. M. (2013). Mental contrasting with implementation intentions enhances self-regulation of goal pursuit in schoolchildren at risk for ADHD. Motivation and Emotion, 37,
McClelland, M. M., Acock, A. C., Piccinin, A., Rhea, S. A., & Stallings, M. C. (2013). Relations between preschool attention span-persistence and age 25 educational outcomes. Early childhood research quarterly, 28(2),
Mischel, W., Shoda, Y., & Rodriguez, M. L. (1989). Delay of gratification in children. Science, 244,
Moffitt et al., (2011); Arseneault, L., Belsky, B., Dickson, N., Hancox, R. J., Harrington, H., Houts, R., Poulton, R., Roberts, B.W., Ross, R., Sears, M. R., Thomson, W. M., & Caspi, A. A gradient of childhood self-control predicts health, wealth, and public safety. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 108(7),
Moffitt, et al., (2011); Knudsen, E. I., Heckman, J. J., Cameron, J. L., & Shonkoff, J. P. (2006). Economic, neurobiological, and behavioral perspectives on building America’s future workforce. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 103(27),
Shoda, Y., Mischel, W., & Peake, P.K. (1990). Predicting adolescent cognitive and self‐regulatory competencies from preschool delay of gratification. Developmental psychology, 26(6), 978‐86.