Lindsey Frank, M.Ed., a district-wide Climate and Social-Emotional Learning Coach in Illinois, shares strategies for immersing social and emotional learning into your coaching partnerships, especially within remote learning spaces.

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chool districtsworldwide have infused social and emotional learning (SEL) into instruction for some time, but have made a larger push recently as a way to help address the global trauma of the COVID-19 pandemic and to support the switch to digital learning environments. SEL addresses five main areas—along with learning standards—called the CASEL Core Competencies. These competencies are: Relationship Skills, Self-Awareness, Self-Management, Social Awareness, and Responsible Decision-Making. Each competency is interwoven, creating connections for students..

SEL are explicitly taught skills that are designed to meet the needs of students based on observable data, just like in content areas. They create a lasting impact on a learner's life. It's not "fluff," it's not "extra," and it's not "filler." If you're just setting out in this work, or searching for where to begin, let your journey begin here!

SEL and remote learning

Remote learning creates its own challenges, however, SEL skills are critical to help them run smoothly. Below are the top three skills, plus considerations and coaching ideas to develop them in online learning spaces.

1) Relationships

Developing relationships is always at the heart of teaching. With virtual learning spaces, every interaction needs to be intentional: This includes the relationship with families. Partner with teachers to establish positive relationships, using some of these ideas:

• Create community class norms and consider creating a class chant or special affirmation when students start their online class
• Provide meaningful feedback to students (create an online feedback schedule to keep it manageable).
• Take notes on student interests and intentionally highlight 1-3 students during instruction.
• Spend additional time on relationship building throughout the school year (ask yourself: where can relationship-building be infused?).
• Develop experiences for students to learn about each other through interactive games and activities that create human-to-human connections.
• Teach students how to have positive digital relationships.

Within the online learning space, it can be easy to feel relationship overload. This is when teachers really want to build strong relationships, yet struggle to find ways of making them authentic. This worry can cause extreme stress. In response, teachers (and coaches) may find themselves overextending—that 10:00 PM parent email response, the working breakfast, lunch, and dinner.On the other hand, they might limit communication, either because reaching out to families steps them out of their comfort zone or because the limited engagement that they’re receiving from families leaves them feeling defeated. The final piece to consider is that online learning spaces increase opportunities for cyberbullying, which can even happen during class within a private chat.

2) Creating home learning environments

Students come from all different environments. With online spaces, support partnerships in creating positive classroom agreements so that students feel comfortable showing their true self. Teach learners how they can create spaces at home to support their learning.

• Practice diverse participation strategies to account for preferences and accessibility. Examples include: microphone, discussion board, camera, chatbox, pictures, and emojis.
• Teach strategies for finding the right learning space at home and scanning for distractions.
• Teach how to add backgrounds at home or through video settings if using videos.
• Share with students how they can respond and advocate for their learning needs at home.

Keep in mind that teachers may place their values on their students by requiring cameras on or off which can result in emotional reactions. Students may live in unsafe conditions and may not want to participate in certain ways. It's important to honor their preferences. Be aware that siblings may distract each other or that other responsibilities may be given to the student which can impact their learning at home.

3) Time management

When learning online, students need to learn how to budget their time, how to arrive to class and breakout sessions on time, and even how to use alarms and calendars. These coaching ideas can help:

• Teach students how to use different tools like timers, alarms, phones, calendars, schedules, and calendars. Then, practice using them together.
• Review how to tell and budget time.
• Encourage teachers to model using class timers for every part of the day, and scaffold usage for independence.
• Teach how to chunk tasks into smaller pieces and how to take breaks.

Remember that norms for time management may differ within cultures and even planforms, for example "on time" online means right on time, while in person "on time" may mean several minutes early. Students may have limited awareness of time, with not all students being able to tell time. It’s also worth considering the developmentally appropriate levels of time management.

Reflecting on your use of SEL

Now that we’ve shared three targeted SEL skills for remote learning, let's take a look at how you can reflect on SEL more broadly.

Picture a math lesson where students are collaborating together to explain their mathematical thinking with several different answers. Read the question below, and take a moment to write down your ideas.

What SEL skills do students need in order for this lesson to be successful?

The skills you wrote down might include: listening, working in groups, sharing your thoughts, disagreeing respectfully, turn-taking, giving feedback, accepting feedback, and so on. Now, take a step back: Have you ever explicitly asked yourself this question when you plan for instruction? I'd encourage you to reflect on your current coaching cycles, and consider what skills students might need, as this is key to embedding SEL in instruction.

Integrating SEL into your coaching cycles

Following a prescribed SEL curriculum sequentially and specifically addressing the needs of learners in the classroom has a place, however with Tier 1 I advocate for purposefully tailored SEL instruction that matches the needs of the students in the classroom. Here’s how:

1. Gather ongoing data on SEL skills to determine the level students are working at.
2. Determine what content is being taught and ask: What SEL skills do students need in order for this lesson to be successful?
3. Identify the main SEL skills (1-3) that students need to develop, based on your data.
4. Explicitly break down the skill(s) to teach, practice, and provide feedback.
5. Design SEL instructional experiences connected to your content.
6. Take data on student progress towards the skill and celebrate achievement.

Feel free to use the tools and examples above to help you create authentic and meaningful experiences for your learners and teachers. Remember, SEL are explicitly taught skills, not just told to students!

Final note

SEL starts with you and your own social and emotional foundation, and how you show up. Whatever your role, students’ nervous systems reflect your own nervous system. When we can embody and model SEL skills for learners, we can help them grow and become more resilient. Echo this with your partnerships and work together as a support system, no matter the world situation. In-person, or online—we’ve got this!

About our Guest Blogger

Lindsey J. Frank, M.Ed. is a district-wide Climate and Social-Emotional Learning Coach in Illinois, reaching students from pre-k to eighth grade. She is the author of the children’s book Big Change, Better You, Beautiful World. Her master’s is in Educational Leadership in Administration and Supervision. Prior to her current role, Lindsey was a K-8 interventionist and guided reading teacher, a 7th grade pre-algebra teacher, and taught diverse learners in a resource setting.

Lindsey is also a certified yoga instructor with additional certifications in trauma-informed yoga and children’s yoga. She serves as a Regional Director for the Coalition of Schools Educating Mindfully (COSEM) and is a Local Chapter Facilitator for the Northwest Suburban COSEM Chapter in Illinois.

Be sure to check out Lindsey’s website, read her published chapter in Educating Mindfully: Stories of School Transformation Through Mindfulness, and connect with her on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter!