October 23rd Professional Day

For our professional day yesterday I attended a conference in Surrey.  The topic was around a new buzzword in education, SEL.

Social and emotional learning (SEL) is the process through which children and adults acquire and effectively apply the knowledge, attitudes, and skills necessary to understand and manage emotions, set and achieve positive goals, feel and show empathy for others, establish and maintain positive relationships, and make responsible decisions. 

 

"CASEL"

http://www.casel.org/social-and-emotional-learning/ (2015)

Making Social a Superpower in the Classroom - keynote speaker

Being overly social in the classroom is often a punishable offense, yet our brains are wired to crave social connection, particularly in adolescence. Social neuroscientist Matthew Lieberman shows how we can leverage the brain's social urges to enhance learning in the classroom. The brain's network for social thinking is actually an untapped resource that has a remarkable gift for learning. Dr. Lieberman will reveal how to turn social from classroom kryptonite into a school superpower.

TED Talk   https://vimeo.com/76357496

Modelling SEL: Actions Speak Louder than Words - breakout session

Dr. Amori Yee Mikami is an Associate Professor of Psychology at University of British Columbia, where her research focuses on peer relationships among children and adolescents.  Her research findings show that SEL instruction extends far beyond the time spent on SEL lessons. Rather, through their day to day interactions with students during academic instruction, discipline, and casual check in/transition times, teachers have significant opportunities to reinforce the SEL curricula in their classrooms.

 

"2015 Encompass Conference"

http://bccla.ourconference.ca/index.php?PHPSESSID=0a7b934c5e4851428f2425fe5b32e3f0 (October 2015)

 

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So, how does this relate to my teaching practice?

-it reaffirms my belief in the power of forming meaningful and loving connections with my students
 

-presenting myself as human models social emotional learning
 

-that having students over a span of 2 or 3 years fosters deep teacher-student, and peer relationships
 

-a reminder in the power of students helping others learn in a multi-age classroom.  Research shows that the human brain is social:  When people were asked to remember what they learned in order to teach it to someone else (as opposed to memorize these facts for a test), achievement was greater. 

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I know there are more connections, but these were just a few that stood out.  The research based suggestions that were given for teachers have always been common sense for me.  It has simply been the way I have taught and interacted with my students.  So, knowing that there is evidence to support my philosophy makes me proud:)