The Next Big Education Acronym? SEL!

The Next Big Education Acronym? SEL!

By, Michelle Kinley, Silverback Learning Solutions

Over the last year, Social Emotional Learning (SEL) started to debut itself as an important topic to conquer with students. COVID broadened that definition to include teachers. One thing is for sure, and that is that Social Emotional Learning is here to stay no matter what school situation we find our students and or teachers enduring.

The main question that has been buzzing around the last few weeks is, how do we help our teachers and students gain valuable techniques to incorporate Social Emotional Learning to cope both inside and outside of the school building?

According to Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL), a national leader in SEL research and action, the most effective social and emotional learning requires a strategic, systemic approach that involves everyone, from school leaders to community partners and family members, working together to ensure students receive the support they need. Successful SEL is not a standalone program or an add-on. It is central to how schools, communities, and families value and support the social, emotional, and academic development of their children.

Although COVID has brought Equity and Social Emotional Learning to the forefront, prior to the pandemic, SEL was already present in all 50 states!

How are schools going to adopt and implement Social Emotional Learning components across grade levels in the new educational world we face? Administrators especially feel that implementing key measurable components of SEL is essential. Research suggests incorporating SEL into schools and/or classrooms can have positive short- and long-term effects on students. These range from improved academic achievement and classroom behaviors to reduced psychological or behavioral issues in the future with overall improved lifespan outcomes as adults.

Silverback Learning has partnered with SEL expert Dr. Kristina Brinkerhoff of Brinkerhoff Consulting; National Equity Expert Dr. Donna Elam from The Elam Leadership Institute and Educational and Policy expert Dr. Judy Warden-Fields; Silverback will very soon launch a brand new teacher evaluation framework called SEADES - The Social Emotional and Academic Development Evaluation System ­­- our new revolutionary teacher evaluation framework that proudly incorporates Social Emotional Learning components. This simplified and effective evaluation framework will help teachers build capacity while providing guidance for teachers to actively incorporate SEL and Equity into their classrooms.

To jump-start the integration of SEL teaching and learning behaviors inside classrooms, Silverback felt integrating an SEL framework into Teacher Vitae was vital. To learn more, contact Andrew Klingman at 770.852.0766 or aklingman@silverbacklearning.com