Implementing SEL--Where, when and how often?

Learning to Get Along
How to integrate social and emotional learning
into your teaching practice
Slide commentaries and stories
Created by Spectacle Learning Media
Content developed by Jean Bernard and Alysoun Johnston
Narration and sound design: Jean Bernard, Alysoun Johnston, Eliot Johnston, Michael Johnston
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
To view the terms of this license, please go to:
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Module 2
Implementing SEL – Where, when and how often?
A PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
COURSE FOR TEACHERS
EVERYWHERE

1
Slide 1 Introduction
Hello and welcome back to the Learning to Get Along
course, module 2. Now that you have a good idea of
what social and emotional learning is. together with
the skill areas this type of learning seeks to develop
in children and young people, it’s time to bring up
some of the practical issues teachers face in planning
and implementing SEL in schools, classrooms and
other places of learning. That is, the where, when
and how often of implementing SEL in different
educational settings.
Slide 2 Inspiration
We start from the premise that social and emotional
learning can only be accomplished in safe and
supportive learning environments, and that
implementation of SEL helps to improve certain
aspects of these environments. The philosopher and
educational reformer, John Dewey, put it this way.
“In brief, the environment consists of those
conditions that promote, or hinder, stimulate or
inhibit, the characteristic activities of a human
being.”
—John Dewey
Slide 3 Objectives
Upon completion of this module, you will be able to:
• Describe the main components of a safe and
supportive learning environment.
• Reflect on what you can do to help make your
school and classroom a safer and more inclusive
place to learn.
• Propose the basic outline of a plan for
integrating SEL into the curriculum.
• Brainstorm several SEL activities that would be
appropriate for immediately integrating into
your daily practice.

2
Slide 4 Huda’s story
Huda is nine years old, but she has never been
to school. Last year, she fled with her family
from her home in Syria. For many nights, the
bombing was so loud that Huda huddled with
her brothers and sisters the middle of their
small apartment, unable to sleep. They rarely
left their home during the day, and sometimes
they gathered underground in a shelter with
their neighbors. Finally, her father called the
family together and told them to pack their
things. ‘It is time to go,’ he said sadly.
Today is Huda’s first day at her new school in
Lebanon. She must go to the afternoon
session with 700 other Syrian children because
there is no room for them in the morning shift. She does not mind, though. She is happy to be in a safe
place and be able to learn to read and write like her older brother.
Some students wearing special badges are waiting in front of the school to meet the new children. One
of them takes Huda’s hand and leads her to her classroom. “Don’t worry, little sister,” she says. You are
welcome here.” Inside the classroom, children are sitting in a large circle on mats on the floor with their
teacher, Mrs. Nour. When she sees Huda, she smiles warmly and welcomes her into the circle. The walls
of the classroom are covered with colourful pictures, charts and number games. In the corner, there is a
huge bin filled with books. Mrs. Nour introduces Huda to the group, then asks each child to say her
name and tell something about herself. Some of the children in the class are younger than Huda, and
some are older. One of them is blind, and another is in a wheelchair. Huda notices that all of them have
something nice to say. Mrs. Nour assigns one of the girls to be Huda’s special friend for the afternoon
and to guide her through the classroom and school routines. She tells Huda that if she has any
questions or problems, she should not be afraid to ask for help. Huda smiles shyly and whispers “thank
you, teacher.” Her special friend then guides her to a table and shows her where to store her backpack.
She sits down and picks up a pencil
Slide 5 What is a ‘learning environment?
Any place where learning happens is a learning
environment, so might be a classroom, a laboratory,
a shady space under a tree, or the kitchen table.
Wherever it is, a learning environment is made up of
both physical and psychosocial factors, each of which
interacts with all of the others. Physical conditions,
for example, include such things as architecture,
construction, and learning space design, while
psychosocial conditions are the elements of the
learning environment that are created by, for
example the school management structure, the
quality of the relationships between teachers and
students, and among all of the members of the
learning community.

3
Slide 5 What is a ‘learning environment? (continued)
The psychosocial aspects of a learning environment are sometimes called the classroom or school social
climate. Because they are not always visible, many of these components are barely noticed until
something goes seriously wrong, such as an increase in dropouts, outbreaks of violence, evidence of
substance abuse, health problems and/or a serious dip in test scores.
Slide 6 Who shapes learning environments?
Learning environments are like living organisms that
can and do change from day to day. Some
components of these environments are natural,
while others are created by people, most often by
people that have a stake in the education system;
these stakeholders include everyone from parents
to bus drivers to guidance counselors and coaches to
principals and politicians–all have important roles. In
the implementation of social and emotional
learning, however, it is teachers who create optimal
conditions for SEL to occur, even though some
aspects of creating the learning environment may be
outside of their control. For example, teachers are,
unfortunately, not often included in decisions about
the architectural design of schools and classrooms,
but can do a lot to make the interior of the teaching
space supportive and welcoming.
Slide 7 Where does SEL fit into the picture?
The answer is, rIght at the heart, in the place where
the physical and psychosocial conditions of the
environment intersect. But SEL does not occupy that
space by itself. Learning of academic knowledge and
skills and SEL are both strongly influenced by all
components of a learning environment--by the way
the learning space is shaped, what kind of visual aids
and pictures hang on the walls, by the way teachers
relate to their students, by the tone of voice a
principal may use to speak with a parent.
In a supportive and welcoming learning environment,
SEL can be integrated into daily classroom and school
interactions in ways that are both meaningful and
sustained. This means that teachers, administrators, counselors, safety officers and lunchroom staff all
need to be on board, using consistent approaches to dealing with students on a daily basis, and
especially when problems arise.

4
Slide 8 Where and how does SEL fit into a curriculum?
The simple answer is ‘everywhere’. As we
pointed out in Module 1, it is already there, to a
greater or lesser extent, but it is not usually
visible or systematic. Instead, SEL competencies
and skills often lie buried in the ‘hidden’
curriculum, where they can easily be overlooked
and not taken very seriously, especially as
students transition into middle and secondary
levels. Until recently, there have not been many
attempts to integrate SEL into official school
curricula in a coordinated, sequenced and
explicit way.
SEL competencies consist of skills, knowledge,
behaviors, values and attitudes that can be
learned and strengthened over the course of schooling from the foundations of early childhood and
early grades upward through the middle years, where the focus may shift more to individual subjects
and skill areas, and on to higher levels of the curriculum, where the focus may shift again to real world
applications. Embedding SEL skills from lower to higher levels is called vertical integration, but
integration also happens across levels, or horizontally. This means building and reinforcing generic
skills like focusing attention and resilience across learning areas and contextualizing skills such as
teamwork, caring for others, and resolving conflicts as they apply to learning within subject areas like
language arts, science, mathematics, social studies, and physical education
Slide 9 Can SEL guarantee safe schools and happy students?
Of course not, but neither can any single
course of action, and many factors that shape
the learning environment are outside the
control of teachers and parents. SEL cannot,
for example, change the physical conditions of
a school or prevent attacks in situations of
armed conflict, or eliminate the threat of mass
shootings by deranged individuals with guns.
As with many aspects of the learning
environment, school safety is determined by
many contributing factors, both internal and
external. Legislation, law enforcement, school
architecture and security protocols all have an
important role.

5
Slide 10 Can SEL help in situations of
emergency?
Different rules apply in different situations, but
it is safe to predict that certain SEL skills
generally do enable students to act calmly and
effectively in the event of accidents, natural
disasters or other threats to students’ safely and
well-being. For example, if children are able to
self-manage their emotions, it is more likely
they will be able to stay calm and communicate
effectively in situations of emergency. The
sample illustration here integrates SEL into a
supplementary reading lesson for Ugandan
primary school children by including simple
instructions on what to do when a friend is
injured.
It is also important for children to build on core SEL skills by gaining specific knowledge of how to
recognize warning signs and to act in the types of emergencies that are most likely to occur in their
area, which is to say where the likelihood of certain types of natural disasters—earthquakes,
hurricanes, tsunami, lightning strikes—and, sadly, how to prepare for and protect themselves and
others in the event of terrorist attacks or mass shootings.
Slide 11 Does integration of SEL into the
curriculum help students with special
needs?
Only partially, and not by itself. Yes, SEL
does have a strong role in creating inclusive
school cultures, and we will explore this
topic in much more detail in Module 5.
BUT, SEL does not and cannot replace
individualized and specialized instructional
support for students with special needs.

6
Slide 12 Messages matter
As the saying goes, “the walls have ears”. Yes,
the physical components seem to absorb the
voices of the living beings within them. It is
even more evident, though, that the walls
(and what we put on them) are capable of
sending strong messages, as are the shapes,
colors and other interior features of learning
spaces. . The children who created this wall
poster had a clear message in mind for new
students. Messages of this kind may be fixed
or temporary, as transmitted by electronic
signs, loudspeaker announcements, bells and
bulletin boards. What kinds of messages are
transmitted by components of the learning
environment at your school?
Slide 13 Examples of SEL strategies from around the world
As in Module 1, look over the list of examples of SEL strategies from around the world. Could any of
these be adapted for use in your classroom, school and community? Add to the list with some of your
own strategies with the same or similar objectives. If possible, share your ideas with colleagues and
write them down in detail. Encourage others to try them out and report their observations. As the
practice grows, you may want to design a simple method for collecting, filing and storing copies of SEL
strategies by (1) level and (2) objective for easy access by all teachers

7
Slide 14 The takeaway
Slides 15, 16, 17 Self-checkout*
*Make a note of your choices and discuss with colleagues. You can check answers on p. 9 (slide 20)

9
Slide 18 Think like a teacher*
*Copy the chart into your journal or display on a board or screen. If possible, discuss with colleagues before you
share or present to others.
Slide 19 What’s next?*

10
Slide 20 Self-checkout answers
Thank you for participating in Module 2. We hope that the ideas and information presented in this self-
learning program are useful to you and your students. We invite you to send your feedback directly to
us at spectaclelearningmedia@gmail.com. We also encourage you to send your own stories and ideas
for classroom strategies or activities related to the themes of Modules 1-6 (listed below) to the same
address. We are planning to set up a platform for sharing these with educators around the world.
To request a PowerPoint version of Module 1 or for information on how to adapt this course for your
school, district or system, please visit:
https://spectaclelearningmedia.net
Learning to Get Along
How to integrate social and emotional learning into your teaching
practice
1. Understanding SEL – What and why?
2. Implementing SEL – Where, when and how often
3. Emotional awareness – What it is and how it can help
students to take charge of their lives
4. Social awareness – How to help students build strong
social relationships
5. Learning is for everyone – How to make your classroom
and school more inclusive
6. Peace from within – Finding a treatment for bullying that
works in your school

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