Preparing Pre-Service Teachers for Social Emotional Learning

March 15, 2022 - 7 minute read

In 1994, Daniel Goleman, Eileen Growald, and a team of dedicated professionals joined forces to address an aspect of human development missing from educational settings. The group, now known as Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL), focused their time, talents, and resources toward the enhancement of Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) for preschool thru high school students (CASEL, 2021a). Today, the organization has established a framework for implementation, CASEL 5, that guides educators in creating supportive environments and developing whole child learning experiences.

Research supports the claim that SEL is essential to building healthy identities, managing emotions, and achieving personal goals (CASEL, 2020). In 2018, McGraw Hill surveyed 1,140 teachers, administrators and parents about the need for Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) in school settings. The results showed an overwhelming agreement amongst groups that SEL is just as important as academic learning. Additionally, the study confirmed the work of Durlak et al. (2011) Domitrovich et al. (2017), who purported that SEL interventions increase academic performance, positive classroom behavior, and students' ability to cope with stress. In 2021, Hanover Research and McGraw Hill conducted a follow-up study that revealed a noticeable increase in the need for SEL due to recent global events (McGraw-Hill, 2021).

CASEL 5 Competencies

The CASEL 5 framework supports systemic implementation plans and provides practical, developmentally appropriate strategies for each competency. The five competencies address individual, social, and executive functioning skills. Use this link to learn more about the five competencies listed below (CASEL, 2021b):

Self-Awareness - Understanding how one’s emotions, thoughts, and values affect behavior.
Self-Management - Managing one’s emotions, thoughts, and behaviors effectively.
Social Awareness - Understanding the perspectives and empathizing with others including those from diverse backgrounds, cultures, and contexts.
Relationship Skills - Establishing and maintaining healthy and supportive relationships with diverse individuals and groups.
Responsible Decision Making - Making caring and constructive choices about behavior and interactions across diverse settings.

While awareness of CASEL 5 is a step in the right direction for educators to begin the journey of comprehensively supporting the social-emotional needs of students, it is also essential to understand how these competencies align with standards set for the teaching profession.

Teaching Performance Expectations

Teacher preparation programs focus on the skills a teacher must demonstrate to be certificated. Each state sets standards for teacher readiness and issues a state-specific credential. California has rigorous criteria for preservice educators holding candidates accountable for the knowledge and application of the Teaching Performance Expectations (TPEs). The TPE that most prominently addresses the development of social-emotional learning is TPE 2, Creating and Maintaining Effective Environments for Student Learning.

Element one from the description of this TPE states, "Beginning teachers: promote students' social-emotional growth, development, and individual responsibility using positive interventions and supports, restorative justice, and conflict resolution practices to foster a caring community where each student is treated fairly and respectfully by adults and peers" (CTC, 2016, P. 7). Furthermore, the narrative of the TPE expresses, "Beginning teachers support all students' mental, social-emotional, and physical health needs by fostering a safe and welcoming classroom environment where students feel they belong and feel safe to communicate" (CTC, 2016, P. 7).

Teacher preparation programs should model the systemic approach and articulate how CASEL 5 is evident in classroom settings, within the department, institutionally, and in the greater community. Instructors should be encouraged to make explicit connections between the TPEs and CASEL 5, providing relevant implementation examples across grade levels and content areas. Course designers should model the competencies during instruction. Candidates should engage in self-exploration of each of the competencies. They should be exposed to developing and practicing strategies with their instructors, peers, and during clinical practice. Candidates should be given time to reflect on the results of their experiences. Candidates should also inquire of their cooperating teachers as to the strategies used at various school sites. Teacher credential programs should facilitate the opportunity for pre-service educators to enter their first years of teaching with a robust understanding of the theory and a foundational understanding of the application.

Tools To Get Started

As you begin your journey, here are some helpful resources:

Cult of Pedagogy - To Teach Social Emotional Learning, Start with Yourself
SEL 3 Signature Practices - CASEL 3 Signature Practices
Teachingbooks.net - SEL Lesson Ideas

Assistant Professor of Special Education Credentials

Sara Morgan is a graduate of Chapman University, where she earned a B.A. in Communications. After graduation, she continued on to receive two teaching credentials (Multiple Subject and Education Specialist) and a Master's Degree in Special Education. She taught, as a resource teacher, for Lutheran Special Education Ministries, a special day class teacher, for the Westminster School District, and served as a Teacher on Special Assignment (TOSA) and Program Specialist, for the Garden Grove Unified School District.

Sara is pursuing advanced education in Multi-Tiered System of Support (MTSS) and continuously strives to sharpen her teaching practices to model universally designed learning experiences.

Education

B.A.: 1999, Chapman University, Communications: Speech Communications
MAED.: 2003, Chapman University, Special Education

Teaching

Introduction to teaching Diverse Populations
Typical and Atypical Development of Diverse Populations
Advanced Curriculum Methods for Teaching Special Populations
Coping with Stress and Violence in Today's Diverse Classroom

References

CASEL. (2020, December). What is SEL? CASEL. https://casel.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/CASEL-SEL-Framework-11.2020.pdf

CASEL. (2021a). History. CASEL. https://casel.org/history/.

CASEL. (2021b). SEL: What Are the Core Competence Areas and Where are they Promoted? CASEL. https://casel.org/sel-framework/.

CTC. (2017, June 22). Preliminary Multiple Subject and Single Subject Credential Program Standards (California Commission on Teacher Credentialing). Retrieved December 16, 2020, from https://www.ctc.ca.gov/docs/default-source/educator-prep/standards/prelimmsstandard-p df.pdf?sfvrsn=a35b06c_2

Domitrovich, C. E., Durlak, J. A., Staley, K. C., & Weissberg, R. P. (2017). Social-Emotional Competence: An Essential Factor for Promoting Positive Adjustment and Reducing Risk in School Children. Child Development, 88(2), 408–416. https://doi.org/10.1111/cdev.12739

Durlak, J. A., Weissberg, R. P., Dymnicki, A. B., Taylor, R. D., & Schellinger, K. B. (2011). The Impact of Enhancing Students’ Social and Emotional Learning: A Meta-Analysis of School-Based Universal Interventions. Child Development, 82(1), 405–432. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8624.2010.01564.x

McGraw Hill. (2018). 2018 Social and Emotional Learning Report. McGraw Hill. Retrieved January 4, 2022, from https://www.mheducation.com/news-media/press-releases/new-k12-survey-social-emoti onal-learning-gains-prominence.html

McGraw Hill. (2021). 2021 Social Emotional Learning Survey. McGraw Hill. Retrieved January 4, 2022, from https://www.mheducation.com/prek-12/explore/sel-survey.html

Facebook Twitter Email