A lot of lessons, strategies, and activities are done in the name of social-emotional learning. Which ones, though, are the most effective?

Educators will share their opinions in this series.

‘Human Systems Require Care Structures’

For 16 years, Diana Laufenberg taught grade 7-12 students social studies in Wisconsin, Kansas, Arizona, and Pennsylvania. In 2013, Laufenberg partnered with Chris Lehmann to start Inquiry Schools, a nonprofit working to create and support student-centered learning environments that are inquiry-driven, project-based, and utilize modern technology. She currently serves as the executive director and lead teacher for Inquiry Schools:

Advisory

In middle school and high school, there are often no overt or intentional care structures for students and families like you see in elementary school. The independence and autonomy that we like to afford our older students, while incredibly important, does not mean you go from all kinds of care supports to none in a matter of a year.

A robust advisory program that meets weekly, at a minimum, allows for a school community to organize itself around caring for their students and families. In the best version that I have both worked in and created in other schools, students stay with the same adviser throughout their years. You welcome the students and their families as freshmen and travel the high school journey with them across that stage in four years.

Effective advisory programs are clear about their purpose. While I have seen advisory used in a variety of ways, the most effective versions are a small (no more than 20 students) cohort that works to support each other. Engage the families early with a potluck-style meal. This way, not only will the students be creating relationships but so will their caretakers.

Identify important experiences, information, and outcomes for each year of the program. Create space for students to process challenges and consider next steps. Communicate often with their caretakers about important deadlines, moments at school, or upcoming events. Don’t forget to make time for celebrations!

Human systems require care structures. Some of my favorite moments in my career have been with advisories. Watching students launch after that four-year journey is equal parts relief and excitement. Knowing that their high school years provided them with an advocate and champion along the way is priceless.

‘Create a Supportive Community Environment’

Marie Moreno, Ed.D., is an educator and administrator with over 30 years of educationexperience specializing in newcomers and second-language acquisition. She’s passionate about refugee and immigrant education, focusing on social and emotional needs and newcomer programming:

Social-emotional learning has become an integral component of modern education, fostering the development of skills essential for students’ success in both academic and personal realms. Among the various SEL strategies, three are particularly effective: incorporating mindfulness, fostering a growth mindset, and promoting restorative practices. These strategies are effective because they directly address students’ emotional well-being, encourage positive behavioral change, and create a supportive community environment.

1. Mindfulness Practices

One of the most effective SEL strategies is the integration of mindfulness practices into the classroom’s daily routine. Mindfulness, which involves paying attention to the present moment without judgment, helps students develop self-awareness and emotional regulation.

Simple practices like deep-breathing exercises, guided meditation, or reflective journaling can significantly reduce stress and anxiety in students. These practices enhance focus and concentration and empower students to manage their emotions better. The effectiveness of mindfulness lies in its ability to teach students how to pause and respond to situations thoughtfully rather than react impulsively. This skill is particularly valuable in managing conflict and building resilience.

2. Fostering a Growth Mindset

Another powerful SEL strategy is fostering a growth mindset, which is the belief that abilities and intelligence can be developed through dedication and hard work. By encouraging students to view challenges as opportunities for growth rather than threats, educators can help them build perseverance and resilience.

Teachers can implement this strategy by praising effort over innate ability, using language that emphasizes progress, and providing constructive feedback. The effectiveness of this approach stems from its focus on the process of learning rather than the outcome, which motivates students to persist through difficulties and fosters a love of learning. Over time, students who adopt a growth mindset are more likely to take academic risks and develop a strong sense of self-efficacy.

3. Promoting Restorative Practices

Restorative practices, which focus on repairing harm and restoring relationships rather than punishing misbehavior, are also highly effective in SEL. These practices involve open dialogues, often in the form of circles, where students discuss conflicts, express feelings, and collaboratively develop solutions. By involving students in the resolution process, restorative practices help them build empathy, accountability, and problem-solving skills.

This approach is particularly effective because it shifts the focus from punishment to understanding, fostering a sense of community and belonging in the classroom. When students feel heard and respected, they are more likely to engage positively with their peers and the learning environment.

These three effective strategies are among the most effective SEL strategies I have tried and have seen great results. These approaches are successful because they equip students with the tools to manage their emotions, develop resilience, and build healthy relationships. As these strategies are implemented, they create a positive and supportive classroom environment where students are empowered to thrive emotionally and academically.

‘Check-In Surveys’

Marcus Luther is a high school English teacher in his second decade in the classroom. Along with co-creating The Broken Copier with Jim Mayers to share resources and conversations around teaching, Marcus has contributed pieces for Edutopia, The Cult of Pedagogy, and Teacher2Teacher:

If you’re in any educational setting these days and bring up the term social-emotional learning, I would be willing to bet that every educator in that room has a lot to say on the topic.

Probably with very little consensus, too.

Today, though, I want to use this space to share two strategies that I think can cut through a lot of the back-and-forth discourse about SEL pedagogically by being very easy to implement and, in my experience, very sustainable within a classroom community.

Strategy #1: The Classroom Pulse Check

This is the simplest, easiest SEL strategy I’ve ever used in the classroom—which, consequently, is why I use it fairly often.

In our classroom, I simply announce that we’re going to open class with a quick “classroom pulse check” to see how everyone is doing. From there, we typically move through three steps:

1. On a sticky note or in their spiral notebook, students write a number between 1-5 to indicate how they are doing (5 = great!) along with a brief explanation why.

2. In small groups or with partners, students share their answers (and reasoning if they are comfortable with sharing it).

3. Then, with explicit permission for opt-outs, students raise their hands as I call out the five numbers to take a “pulse check” of the room.

Why I believe this strategy matters for students: First of all, this creates space in the classroom for students to consider and share collaboratively how they are doing in school or beyond it—their choice! Through sharing out, students get 2 points of empathy, too: [1] Those who are struggling get to see and hear how others may be struggling in similar or different ways, while [2] those who may be doing well can see that others are having a different experience as a student.

Why I believe this strategy matters for teachers: The obvious benefit is walking out of this five-minute activity with an authentic, transparent understanding of how your classroom community is doing on a given day. It additionally offers the chance for you to model your own answer to them and to respond with gratitude and humility in acknowledging how as teachers we never have the full picture of how a student is doing. (A really important thing to acknowledge frequently as a teacher!)

Strategy #2: Frequent “Check-in” Surveys

Confession: I’ve adapted this strategy directly from my partner Jim Mayers with The Broken Copier with permission—and it was a game-changer this past year for me.

Though Jim has written more at length about it here, this strategy essentially boils down to regularly building space into your classroom for students to share how they feel they are doing in your class. This set of questions always contains an optional space, too, for students to either explain their answer or to communicate other things I need to know as their teacher to better support them in the classroom.

In our classroom, we use a 1-7 scale for this via Google Form, which means I am able to easily attach it to various exit tickets and assessments throughout the course with only a few clicks.

Why I believe this strategy matters for students: I almost always try to share the results of these check-ins the next class period, allowing students to consider the whole-class results and how they would respond to them if they were the teacher.

Why I believe this strategy matters for teachers: This gives you real-time understanding of how your class is going in the eyes of your students and, perhaps more importantly, to track how it is going over a school year. For example, I was able to very clearly see how one of my courses hit a major valley at the end of October this past year, whereas with another course, the end of January was a low point. Also, by offering the “optional” question at the end, it proactively creates a reliable way for students to communicate with you about what they need to be supported within the course.

Final Thought: Often How You Implement SEL Matters More Than What You Do

For any SEL strategy, I think it’s important as a teacher to ask yourself two questions:

1. Is this a short-term thing, or is it sustainable throughout our course?

2. Am I communicating the purpose behind this strategy to students?

So whether it is the above strategies or the many other SEL strategies out there, I would encourage you to consider how you are bringing them into your classroom in terms of frequency and purpose, because in my view, students need our classrooms to embrace not only these strategies but the values underlying them more than ever in the years ahead.

Thanks to Diana, Marie, and Marcus for contributing their thoughts!

Today’s post answered this question:

What are the most effective social-emotional-learning strategies that you’ve seen, and why do you think they are so effective?

Consider contributing a question to be answered in a future post. You can send one to me at lferlazzo@epe.org. When you send it in, let me know if I can use your real name if it’s selected or if you’d prefer remaining anonymous and have a pseudonym in mind.

You can also contact me on Twitter at @Larryferlazzo.

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