With their students, classrooms, and administrative systems upended by COVID-19, social-emotional learning (SEL) is proving to be a challenge for many educators. According to a Houghton Mifflin Harcourt’s 2020 Educator Confidence Report, only 7 percent of 1,400 educators surveyed said they were prepared to address students’ social and emotional needs during COVID-19. Only 10 percent surveyed reported SEL was incorporated ‘very significantly or significantly’ into distance learning programs.
Unfortunately, neglecting these SEL skills during a pandemic will prove to be a disservice to students. One high school teacher shares her concerns, “We have to take into consideration that so many of our students are experiencing trauma at this moment. If we neglect to include SEL as a significant part of the conversations that we are currently having, we will not be equipped to meet the nuanced needs of all of our students in the future.” Ensuring that students continue to develop social-emotional skills in a socially distanced world requires administrators and teachers to rethink existing approaches to SEL. Below we have expert SEL tips and resources for educators working hard to keep their students social and emotional learning front and center during COVID-19.
Creating a Community During COVID-19
Edutopia suggests, “Getting students to step back and think about their roles and responsibilities as members of a classroom community starts with educators intentionally setting up the conditions that offer opportunities for student self-discovery and inquiry around worthy content.” This form of SEL strengthens metacognitive skills – or having students to begin thinking of themselves as agents of their own learning process, especially during COVID-19. To instill these social-emotional skills during remote learning, Amanda Christian, a high school geometry teacher, uses Flipgrid, a free video discussion tool, to model how students might introduce themselves. She filmed herself talking about her experiences during the pandemic, described what she loves about geometry, and expresses her expectations for the school year before asking students to make their own personal statement. Christian reveals to Edutopia, “This set the stage for a virtual learning environment that promises to be thoughtful, sensitive, personal, and academically challenging.”
Another example to get students thinking about their classroom roles is through a “get-to-know-you survey.” These survey questions might include options like, “What would you like your friends to say about you?” or “What is the easiest and hardest part of school for you?” The next step is to encourage students to share results with the class or in small groups. Educators Bena Kallick and Giselle O. Martin-Kniep suggest, “The goal is to encourage students to think intentionally about what supports them and their peers as learners. The survey also helps students focus on what they want to read or learn how they want to structure their studying and demonstrate learning. The exercise also serves as an entry point for a broader classroom conversation about students’ social responsibilities toward their peers, the class, school, and even their communities outside of school.”
Daily Check-Ins
Karen VanAusdal, the senior director of practice at the Collaborative of Academic and Social-Emotional Learning (CASEL), shares other tactics teachers are using during COVID-19. VanAusdal tells Education Week, “It can be simple things, such as sending daily notes, or morning meetings with their classes where they can build community and do check-ins with young people to see how it is going.” Videoconferencing tools can also help educators maintain connections. Platforms like Google Meet and Microsoft Teams allow teachers to replicate face-to-face interactions. According to EdTech, teachers can also use these tools to stay connected with students and their families, especially those who are food-insecure or suffer from mental health issues.
Heather Baker-Sullivan, a seventh-grade teacher in New York, says she started using Google Meet to get together with her students, “I block out three hours every weekday in 15-minute time slots. Kids can reserve a time by making an appointment. I can ask them privately about how they are doing and if their family has enough to eat.” Sullivan says these check-ins also help her spot mental health red flags. “In a few cases, I can pass along to the dean or a psychologist what I think might be a case of depression,” she says.
Games and Online Tools
Teachers and administrators can also use several online tools to address different aspects of SEL. EdTech suggests that with game-based learning tools like Classcraft, students can have fun while building critical skills such as cooperation, self-awareness, and responsible decision-making. “It’s about finding ways for children and teens to experience greater control through gaming and creating community through multiplayer games,” says Dr. Rebecca Mannis, founder of Ivy Prep Learning Center. Eighth-grade teacher Jennifer Moser uses the Character Playbook tool to teach peer counseling. She tells EdTech, “It has graphic novels and interactive games, with real-life skills that they can connect and relate to, all connected to social and emotional learning. It addresses bullying and behavior issues and making appropriate choices.” Other online tools suggested by EdTech include:
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Zinn Education Project – materials that nurture compassion and promote and support the teaching of people’s history in classrooms across the country.
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Digital Citizenship & Social and Emotional Learning – an ebook from Common Sense Education, addresses the digital dilemmas students may encounter in their online world, such as cyberbullying and digital drama.
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Class Catalyst – a tool that invites students to log their feelings during the day, enabling educators to quantify success and increasing opportunities for student-teacher connections.
