What is SEL?

1. How would you define Social-Emotional Learning and why is it important?
-Social-Emotional Learning is working on everyday life skills. This includes but is not limited to communicating needs, teamwork, motivation and more. It is important because these are life skills for students as they grow older. It helps them manage and regulate their emotions in a productive way to navigate their lives. 

2. What are some of the benefits for students shared in the videos?
-They have a positive mindset. They value their life and realize how important it is to communicate information, be supportive of everyone and more. It also raises test scores and reduces stress and anxiety. 

3. How is integrating SEL into the curriculum different from traditional education?
-Integrating SEL into the curriculum is different from traditional education because students are not just a score. Their emotional well being is important. They need to learn how to adjust to some hardships they will face in life. They need to learn to manage their emotions and how to communicate effectively.

I would define Social- Emotional Learning as skills that are learned that help an individual understand, develop and use their social and emotional health and wellbeing to become a well rounded person.  This will not only help them in school but also in their personal relationships and for employment.  There are 5 core components to SEL.  They are: Self awareness,  social awareness, relationship skills, responsible decision making, and self management.  The benefits of having those above mentioned skills helps to create a well rounded child who demonstrates empathy, can communicate and interact with others, can listen to perspectives, who can regulate their emotions, who can make good judgements and decisions as well as problem solve and can manage their time, material and space.     As a speech-language pathologist, I see traditional education practices as teaching the content: reading, writing, math, science and social studies, in a straightforward manner.  You also get your special areas of gym, library, art, music and computers.  When integrating SEL into the school day alongside the traditional curriculum, students are working collaboratively.  Morning circle shifts into a restorative circle practice where it is not always teacher led but can be student driven.  It is not just going over the calendar and today’s agenda but an opportunity to share perspectives and feelings on a question that is posed by the teacher or student.  Project based learning is happening in the classrooms.

Social-emotional learning is about giving students the skills to manage and understand their emotions and navigate their emotions, decision-making, maintaining positive relationships, and conflict. It is important to work on this in a school setting because so many of our students don't get enough social-emotional learning at home already and it is a crucial skill for them to have going forward in their life in the world.

1. How would you define Social-Emotional Learning and why is it important?
2. How is integrating SEL into the curriculum different from traditional education

Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) is vital as it nurtures all-around growth, not just academically but also emotionally and socially. SEL equips individuals with essential skills for handling life's challenges, creating a positive learning atmosphere, building resilience, decreasing behavior problems, and encouraging positive social interactions.

Integrating SEL into the curriculum complements traditional education by fostering a supportive learning environment, enhancing interpersonal skills, and preparing students for success in various aspects of life. It acknowledges the interconnectedness of academic, emotional, and social development.

1. How would you define Social-Emotional Learning and why is it important?
- SEL seeks to understand and manage emotions, set and achieve positive goals, feel and show empathy for others, establish and maintain positive relationships, and make responsible decisions. SEL is not only about the individual's emotional intelligence but also about fostering a supportive and collaborative social environment.This is really important as a teacher to also learn/teach this with our students. 

2. How is integrating SEL into the curriculum different from traditional education?
- It is different because it focuses on different things like building relationships, maintaining mental health, applications into real life, and more soft skills rather than simply content curriculum.

Social and Emotional learning is providing students with the tools to become a resilient well-rounded person.  It is the foundation for all other types of learning. By providing our students with SEL at school, we are helping them become self-aware, responsible decision makers, and a valuable part of all their relationships.  Too often, students cannot regulate their own emotions, leading to disruptions in class and hindering learning.  

It is different than traditional academic education because it goes above and beyond subject knowledge.  Instead, it provides the students with lifelong skills that are transferable to the next stage in their lives.  It involved holistic teaching.

1.SEL is the ability to teach the whole student. It allows students to be more well rounded and focuses on their ability to create relationships, navigate social scenarios and communicate effectively. Communication is the key piece here. It gives students the practice to understand and communicate their needs, to communicate with their peers and their educators.

2. Integrating SEL into teaching practices is different that traditional education in that there is no longer a focus strictly on academic knowledge like vocabulary or procedural skills or teaching to a test. Instead SEL caters to all of the needs that students may have in your classroom and allows educators to tap into skills that students will use for the rest of their lives.

1. Social emotional learning is teaching students the essential skills they need in order to navigate life successfully. Depending on a students background and their relationship/feelings toward school, social emotional learning in schools may help students to feel more positively about school and makes them more likely to feel comfortable at school. It teaches kids how to problem solve, think critically, advocate for themselves, communicate effectively, and more. All of these skills are skills that these students will need throughout the rest of their lives. 


2. Integrating SEL into the curriculum is different from traditional education because the goal is not teach facts related to a specific subject area. SEL teaches transferable skills that will enable deeper learning or prepare students to learn.

Social Emotional Learning is teaching to the whole child focusing on relationships with others and within yourself. It is taught not only in schools, but in the home and in the community which is why it is so important. These skills translate to everyday life and are part of all subject areas.

SEL different from traditional education because it is embedded in everything we do and are essential skills to be successful in life. When children have SEL skills, they can fully engage in academic learning. SEL helps create a positive learning environment in schools.

SEL(social-emotional learning) is a whole-child approach to learning.  It provides tools students need in order to navigate the world and not just be good students but to also be good people.  At the same time, it is pivotal to education.  The video describes learning as being both relational and driven by emotion.  At one point the video explains this by stating that people “learn when the heart is open” and that SEL creates the conditions for that. 

SEL or social emotional learning is a combination of many different things. For example, it is the development of self-awareness, self- control and interpersonal skills that allow people to be successful in different aspects of their lives such as school, work and even their home environments. In the classroom students need to be aware of their surroundings, show empathy, and be able to function when things change rapidly. Having strong social emotional learning skills allows students to do this without much interruption into their day. Students who lack these skills often struggle when things change, do not understand self- control or even have special awareness.   Embedding SEL into our curriculum is essential to help students build positive relationships, become aware of themselves, gain self- control and even begin to regulate their own emotions by using words to express how they are feeling, instead of showing how they feel. This is much different than traditional education because it looks at the child as a whole and provides them with tools and opportunities to express themselves while gaining the knowledge to build strong relationships with students and staff within the classroom setting.