The Social Emotional The Social Emotional Impact on LearningImpact on Learning

RSAC 2006RSAC 2006Gail Owen, Director, Mid-Illini Educational Gail Owen, Director, Mid-Illini Educational

CooperativeCooperativeColette Leuck, Project ManagerColette Leuck, Project Manager

Illinois Children's Mental Health PartnershipIllinois Children's Mental Health Partnership

Why are Schools

Concerned About Social

Emotional Learning?

Why SEL Standards and Policies Are Needed

• 15% to 22% of the nation’s youth experience social, emotional, and mental health problems requiring treatment

• 70% to 80% of children in need are not getting appropriate mental health services

• 25%-30% of American children experience school adjustment problems

• 32% of children (including toddlers) at 10 Chicago childcare centers are deemed to have behavioral problems

• 14% of students 12-18 years of age report having been bullied at school in the 6 months prior to being interviewed. Those bullied report greater levels of fear of being attacked at or away from school and lower grades.

Behaviors U.S. % of students

Had 5 or more alcoholic drinks in a couple of hours (previous 30 days)

28.3

Used marijuana (lifetime) 40.2

Were in a physical fight on school property (previous 12 months) 12.8

Carried a gun on school property (previous 30 days) 6.1

Did not go to school because felt unsafe at school or on way to or from school (previous 30 days)

5.4

Felt so sad or hopeless almost every day for two weeks or more in a row that stopped doing some usual activities (previous 12 months)

28.6

Made a plan to attempt suicide (previous 12 months) 16.5

Currently sexually active (previous 3 months) 34.3

Reasons for Addressing SEL and Mental Health: Data about Risky Behaviors from Youth 14-17 Years Old (CDC, 2003)

Asset category Asset U.S. % of students

Social competence

How people who know you well would rate you on:

Thinking through the results of your

choices, planning ahead

29

Caring about others’ feelings, feeling sad

when a friend is unhappy, being good at

making and keeping friends

43

Respecting the values/beliefs of people of

different races/cultures

35

Support My teachers really care about me 24

Reasons for Addressing SEL: Limited Social-Emotional Assets in 6th to 12th Grade Youth (Search Institute, 1999)

What Is Social and Emotional Learning (SEL)?

• SEL is the process of acquiring the skills to recognize and manage emotions, develop caring and concern for others, establish positive relationships, make responsible decisions, and handle challenging decisions effectively.

This process is facilitated in safe, caring,well-managed learning communities, in which all students feel supported, respected, and valued and have abundant opportunities for participation, collaboration, and service.

--CASEL (2005), Safe and Sound, IL Edition

What Is Mental Health?

Mental health is “the successful performance of mental function, resulting in productive activities, fulfilling relationships with other people, and the ability to adapt to change and cope with adversity.” As such, mental health includes competence in social-emotional skills.

--Dept. of Health and Human Services (1999).

Mental Health: A Report of the Surgeon

General

What’s Needed for Students’ Academicand Life Success

• Coordinated school, family, and community efforts to promote social and emotional skills in all children

• Provision of early intervention and student support and mental health services for children with social, emotional, or mental health problems

Why SEL and Mental Health Are Important in the School Setting

• Relationships and emotions affect how and what we learn

• Social and emotional skills can be taught• Students with good SEL skills and mental health have

fewer behavior problems and risky behaviors and are better able to make good use of instructional time

• SEL skills are essential for academic achievement as well as workplace and lifelong success

• Many mental health problems are preventable• Quality SEL and early intervention can reduce the

need for grade retention and special education• Educators can play an important role in identifying

and appropriately referring children at risk to student support and mental health services

Three-level Prevention/Early InterventionServices Model

Intensive intervention: Interventions for emotionally disabled--intense, comprehensive, interagency family-focused, sustained help.

Early intervention: Providing academic & emotional support & remedial help to students placed at-risk.

Universal prevention: Promotion of academic, social, & emotional wellness for all students through school climate, SEL skills, teacher training, team support

--Osher & Dwyer, 2002

How Schools Have Addressed the Needs: Many Programs for Many Problems

• AIDS education

• Career education

• Character education

• Civic education

• Delinquency prevention

• Dropout prevention

• Substance abuse prevention

• Bullying prevention

• Health education

• Conflict resolution

• Mental health promotion

• Multicultural education

• Service learning

• Injury prevention

• Sex education

• Suicide prevention

• Truancy prevention

• Violence prevention

Parent Programs Service

Learning

PBIS Character Ed

Student Support Services

Violence Prevention

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Academics After School

Effective Academic,

Social, and

Emotional Education

Reasons for SEL Standards: Research Says SEL Promotes Students’ Academics

• Children whose social, emotional, and physical needs have been met are better prepared to learn

• Safe, caring, and well-managed learning environments promote greater student attachment to school

• Mastery of social and emotional skills reduces risky behaviors and promotes positive development

• Social and emotional factors have been found to have a powerful influence on academic performance

-- Greenberg et al. (2003); Zins et al. (2004)

Goals, Standards, Benchmarks, Performance

Descriptors

• Take a puzzle piece• Look at the handout descriptor for

your piece• Be able to explain (and answer the

question on the back) to others with the same colored piece

Three Goals that Organize SEL Standards Developed by the Illinois State

Board of Education (ISBE)

• Goal 1: Develop self-awareness and self-management skills to achieve school and life success

• Goal 2: Use social-awareness and interpersonal skills to establish and maintain positive relationships

• Goal 3: Demonstrate decision-making skills and responsible behaviors in personal, school, and community contexts.

SEL Standards for Goal 1:Develop self-awareness and self-management

skills to achieve school and life success

• Identify and manage one’s emotions and behaviors

• Recognize personal qualities and external supports

• Demonstrate skills related to achieving personal and academic goals

SEL Standards for Goal 2: Use social-awareness and interpersonal skills

to establish and maintain positive relationships

• Recognize the feelings and perspectives of others

• Recognize individual and group similarities and differences

• Use communication and social skills to interact effectively with others

• Demonstrate an ability to prevent, manage, and resolve interpersonal conflicts in constructive ways

SEL Standards for Goal 3:Demonstrate decision-making skills and

responsible behaviors in personal, school, and community contexts

• Consider ethical, safety, and societal factors in making decisions

• Apply decision-making skills to deal responsibly with daily academic and social situations

• Contribute to the well-being of one’s school and community

Meeting the Goals: Effective Programming to Meet the SEL Standards

• Begins in preschool and continues through high school

• Provides multi-year, sequenced classroom instruction that builds upon and reinforces learning from one year to the next

• Uses a variety of interactive instructional strategies that connect academic work to children’s lives

• Provides opportunities for students to apply SEL skills and ethical values in and out of the classroom

• Engages students in service activities in and out of the classroom

Meeting the Goals: Effective Programming to Meet the SEL Standards (continued)

• Establishes and enforces high behavioral and academic standards

• Addresses multiple domains—individual student, school, and community

• Has structured manual and curriculum to support consistency of delivery

• Involves parents and community members in program planning, implementation, and evaluation

• Provides ongoing professional development support• Monitors and evaluates programming for continuous

improvement

Classroom-based SEL Instruction

social & emotional learning

Self-awareness

Social awareness

Relationship Skills

Responsible decision-making

Self-management

Forming positive relationships, working in teams, dealing

effectively with conflict

Making ethical, constructive

choices about personal and social behavior

Managing emotions andbehaviors to achieve

one’s goals

Showing understanding and empathy for others

Recognizing one’s emotions and values as well as one’s strengths

and limitations

Classroom Applications

•Draw out of “Performance Descriptor” envelope

•How could you teach this in the context of a classroom - or – within an established lesson?

•Share your idea/s

Examples of What Teachers Can Do to Address the SEL Standards

• Teach and model SEL behaviors of respect, caring, self-control, and fair decision making in and out of the classroom

• In language arts or social studies lessons, encourage students to discuss how characters or historical figures did or did not express understanding of others’ feelings or use good problem-solving skills

• Participate in the committee that evaluates, selects, and creates evidence-based SEL programs and strategies

• Communicate regularly with parents to let them know about the SEL-related classroom activities in which their children are participating

What’s needed-- moving from here:

Categorical fragmentation in addressing learning barriers…

To here:

A coordinated approach to promoting students’ academic and life success through SEL

Steps in Implementing School-wide SEL and Mental Health to Support Academics

• Establish readiness of school leadership• Engage key stakeholders, including parents, in a steering committee• Develop a shared vision• Conduct a needs/resources assessment• Develop an implementation plan• Select an evidence-based program• Conduct initial professional development• Launch SEL instruction• Integrate SEL instruction with student support and mental health services

and school-wide functions• Engage in a continuous cycle of improvement

--CASEL (in press), Implementing School-wide Social and Emotional Learning (SEL): Guide and Tool Kit

For further information about the standards and policies, visit the website of the Illinois State

Board of Education at www.isbe.net

For further information about the Illinois Children’s Mental Health Partnership, visit

www.ivpa.org

For the latest information about SEL research and practice, visit the website

of the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning

(CASEL) at www.casel.org