While there are a variety of definitions for social-emotional learning (SEL), essentially SEL is the process of learning and applying skills for recognizing and managing emotions, for developing and maintaining positive relationships, learning to set and achieve goals, making responsible decisions, and accepting responsibility for behavioral outcomes – the competencies individuals need to be successful in life. Addressing the social-emotional needs of students has never been more critical, particularly for multilingual learners who have been disproportionately affected by lost instructional time during the pandemic.
In a survey by Education Week, more than 50% of teachers surveyed cited SEL needs as a challenge to grade-level performance. Sometimes educators mistakenly believe that focusing on SEL competencies adds “one more thing” to their already overburdened schedules. However, SEL skills arguably are more effectively developed during content teaching. A recent report suggests specific practices that integrate social and emotional learning with academic learning rather than treating academic content and SEL as separate subject areas. These practices align with our work that makes content comprehensible for multilingual learners while simultaneously fostering language development. Rigorous academic lessons planned through an SEL lens provide opportunities to enhance students’ social and emotional wellbeing while simultaneously advancing learning.
I suppose it goes without saying that SEL first requires teachers to get to know their students. Learning is enhanced in a classroom environment where students’ linguistic and cultural assets are valued, one that provides a safe community of learning, and encourages students to interact together and build relationships. Further, students are encouraged to take ownership of their learning. When an appropriate learning environment is established, the following specific instructional recommendation may be implemented.
- Plan intentionally. Incorporating SEL into lessons takes some thought but it is worth the effort since well-planned, focused teaching is effective in promoting learning. First, design and display both content objectives and language objectives for lessons so that learning is transparent and students buy-in to the lesson’s purpose. For example, a language objective may be to practice asking clarifying questions, a skill that helps students take ownership of their learning. The objective is reviewed with students and the importance of asking for clarification inside and outside of school is discussed. Working in pairs, students read their partner’s essay about a significant day in their lives. Partner A ask questions of the author (Partner B) to clarify parts that are unclear or seem to have missing information. This process allows the writer to take ownership of their work and accepting their partner’s feedback offers an opportunity to manage their emotions. Then Partner B listens to Partner A’s essay and provides feedback. The process ensures that their essays are focused and coherent, while at the same time provides practice with collaboration and getting clarification. Setting grade-level objectives, with appropriate scaffolding for success, communicates high expectations to students and engages them in rigorous curriculum. It’s useful to point out to students that setting objectives for a lesson is similar to setting goals for themselves, i.e., what they intend to accomplish in a day, a week, and so forth.
- Structure productive group work. The process of working together productively with peers contributes to a caring community of learning. By interacting and working together, mutual respect among students from different cultures and ethnicities develops. Interaction fosters many important SEL competencies such as establishing and maintaining relationships, improving social interaction skills, finding one’s own voice, and respecting others’ perspectives. Sometimes language frames are provided to assist such as, I understand her point but__________ or I respectfully disagree with _________ because __________. Having students talk in pairs or in small groups minimizes the risk that many students feel in whole group discussions and allows ideas to flow more easily. Structured opportunities for discussion also provide important language practice for multilingual learners. Further, during group discussions teachers can circulate and listen in which allows them to get to know their students better – their ideas, perspectives, personal and cultural assets and lived experiences. Positive interactions between teachers and students foster a supportive environment. Studies have shown improvements on practically every measure schools care about: higher student academic engagement, attendance, grades, fewer disruptive behaviors and suspensions, and lower school dropout rates. Feeling connected to school results in positive outcomes.
- Create conditions for success. Strong academic skills and content knowledge empower individuals to be more self-assured, to advocate for themselves and others, and to pursue their dreams. Research confirms that well-planned, focused teaching is effective in promoting learning. With multilingual learners, teachers adjust instruction based on language proficiency and educational experience so that each student is successful. All students learn the same grade-level content, but through differentiated texts and tasks. That is, students receive the scaffolds they need to be successful in completing work. Although multilingual learners may not be fully proficient in English, they can still think critically and respond to higher-order questions, such as evaluating and making judgements, comparing/contrasting, and categorizing. Group work is particularly effective when the teacher poses a question or topic for discussion that requires higher-order thinking. Asking simple recall questions conveys low expectations for multilingual students and isn’t intellectually stimulating. Further, there is an emphasis on self-reflection and self-assessment using rubrics, providing opportunities to revise and improve upon their work (see example above), and considering how their learning matched up to the lesson’s content and language objectives. Through the introduction of content and language objectives at the beginning of lessons and reflecting on them at the end, students become aware of their daily, incremental learning — both content and language development – which results in gains over time.
- Provide a balance of explicit instruction and practice. Teachers balance direct teaching with opportunities for students to practice new learning, thus deepening their understanding. When students learn the material through clear, explicit instruction, they are better equipped to practice using the language and content independently, with partners or in small groups. Practice and application activities often provide choice in activities that reflect students’ own identities. For example, they may create a presentation, design a game, dramatize the topic, write and perform a song, or generate solutions to real-life problems that represent diverse perspectives. Students have an opportunity to express their knowledge and understanding in a way that is of interest to them.
The following lesson plan template offers questions to consider in lesson planning, delivery, and reflection. The SIOP Model’s lesson plan ensures that the linguistic and academic needs of multilingual learners are addressed in every lesson. The example here highlights SEL competencies. Other templates can be found here.
SIOP Lesson Plan Template
CONTENT STANDARD: State or District Standard
LESSON TOPIC: Any content area topic including English language development.
OBJECTIVES:
Content – What will students learn or be able to do related to the topic?
Language – What language will students need to advance their English proficiency? Which language forms and/or functions will students encounter in the lessons?
LEARNING STRATEGIES: What higher order questions will you plan to have students ponder? How will you communicate high expectations for your students?
KEY VOCABULARY: Which terms need to be explicitly taught and practiced so that students can participate successfully in the lesson and complete academic tasks?
MATERIALS: Are the materials culturally relevant to students?
MOTIVATION:
(Building Background)
How will you connect the lesson to students’ lived experiences and background knowledge? What funds of knowledge might be tapped?
PRESENTATION:
(Content and language objectives, comprehensible input, modeling, interaction, feedback)
What aspects of the lesson require explicit instruction for student learning, and which allow for student inquiry, creativity, exploration?
How will students be grouped for discussion and/or practice?
How will you ensure high levels of student engagement?
PRACTICE & APPLICATION:
(Meaningful activities, interaction, feedback)
What opportunities will students have to practice and apply content information? Which choice of learning experiences will students be offered?
REVIEW & ASSESSMENT:
(Review objectives and vocabulary, assess learning)
Will students conduct self-assessments or self-reflection?