Supporting Social and Emotional Learning for Students Amid School Closures
Edited by Stephen Braren & Rose Perry, Ph.D.
Supporting Social and Emotional Learning for Students Amid School Closures | We have previously reported that supporting children’s social and emotional well-being is paramount to maintaining their academic advancements throughout the coronavirus-related school shutdowns. Since the shift to full-time distance learning, many educators, parents, and caregivers are understandably focused on maintaining students’ academic growth, but supporting the social and emotional well-being of young learners is also crucial during this time. We’ve recently provided resources aimed at developing children’s academic skills. Here, we focus on another important but often overlooked aspect of education and development: social and emotional learning.
The Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning defines social and emotional learning as “the process through which children and adults learn 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.” Research has consistently found that social and emotional learning plays a critical role in fostering children’s core cognitive abilities, improving academic performance, as well as reducing depression and stress among students [1]. This last point is particularly notable as families are currently experiencing higher-than-normal levels of stress [2], and studies indicate that stress can have a detrimental impact on learning [3,4].
Additionally, the skills associated with social and emotional learning are thought to be more accurate predictors of academic outcomes and life success than other educational performance markers [5]. For instance, the American Journal of Public Health recently published a long-term study that looked at the connection between children’s early social-emotional skills and their overall well-being as young adults. The study used teacher evaluations of students’ abilities to engage in prosocial behaviors, such as sharing and listening to others, for a group of 753 kindergartners. Twenty years later, researchers evaluated outcomes for the same students and found that students with higher ratings of prosocial behaviors were more likely to have graduated from high school, have attained a college degree, and be employed full-time.
While it is important to remember that all kids develop social and emotional skills in different ways and at different paces, there are a number of resources that parents, educators, and caregivers can utilize to navigate social-emotional learning. These free online tools help promote social-emotional learning for Pre-K through 12th grade students, including those with learning differences.
Pre-K through elementary school:
Character Tree is offering free downloadable resources and videos that teach first and second graders "character development" by emphasizing kindness, curiosity, and integrity through discussions, examples from history, and role modeling. Parents can register for free access through June 30, 2020.
“Breathe, Think, Do” with Sesame Street is an app that helps young children learn strategies to regulate and manage their emotions. The free, research-based app (available in English and Spanish), allows users ages 2-5 to help an animated monster facing a frustrating situation. First, they encourage the monster to calm down by taking long, deep breaths, then they help the monster think of solutions before trying them out.
Imagine Neighborhood is a podcast that helps young children (Pre-K through 1st grade) practice social-emotional skills, specifically problem solving. Weekly episodes tell stories that “tackle the big feelings that come with growing up” and provide research-based, family-friendly activities designed for remote learning.
“Good Energy at Home” with GoNoodle is a free online resource that provides movement, yoga, and mindfulness videos for children ages 4-10, as well as downloadable, off-screen home activities that span a variety of abilities, interests, and subjects. The platform (available in English and Spanish) also offers two free apps with games and video designed to get kids and families moving and practicing mindfulness.
Cosmic Kids provides free yoga, mindfulness, and relaxation exercises on its YouTube channel designed especially for kids ages 3-8.
Pre-K through middle school:
Kind World Explorers is a free downloadable guidebook that features activities and lessons to support social-emotional learning, character strength building, and emotional well-being for kids ages 4-12. The guidebook provides a range of parent-child activities, as well as example conversations that highlight specific skills such as gratitude, generosity, forgiveness, awareness, authenticity, compassion, empathy, love, flexibility, collaboration, curiosity, and perseverance.
Committee for Children's Second Step made its emotion-management lessons for grades K-5 available on-demand for free with no registration required. The research-based program also regularly updates its COVID-19 support webpage with free social-emotional learning resources and activities for students ages 5 to 13 (available in both English and Spanish).
Emotional ABCs offers social-emotional curriculum developed with psychologists and educators that gives students ages 4-11 practical tools for dealing with impulse control and frustration. The “Free Parent” subscription includes a complete library of videos teaching essential emotional skills, plus more than 60 full color printable worksheets that reinforce skills and concepts, and a collection of Emotional ABCs music tracks with “original music for every mood.”
Eye to Eye - Empower Different Learners is a free app designed to empower and encourage children (ages 8 and older) with learning and attention issues. Through interactive "quests," learners are prompted to self-reflect and highlight what makes them unique. Once the quests are completed, the app collects the information into an advocacy plan that kids can use to help them communicate their needs, and also compiles a resource list pointing kids toward third-party apps and websites that can further support their learning.
Pre-K through high school:
CharacterStrong is offering free social-emotional remote learning resources for at-home students grades K-12. Online tools include weekly digital student assemblies focused on skills such as kindness, humility, and selflessness; twice-a-week podcast episodes with advice and insights; and a "30 Days of Kindness Journal.”
Smekens Education—which normally provides insights in professional development—is currently offering free video social-emotional "mini-lessons" for K-12 students. The weekly videos focus on topics such as “Showing Empathy,” “Identifying Coping Strategies,” and “How to Become Resilient.”
GoZenOnline offers animated mindfulness meditation videos and stress relief songs for children ages 5-15. They also feature video interviews with child therapists and clinical psychologists which provide tips for parents and kids about navigating life changes brought on by the coronavirus.
Mawi Learning is providing free social-emotional learning resources for students grades 3-12. The online platform includes “Home Connections” worksheets as well as skill-developing activities that promote hands-on-tools for stress management, goal setting, and relationship building. Mawi Learning is also offering free registration to its social-emotional learning courses for grades 6-12, as well as a specialized program for English Learners, until June 30.
MyLife is a personalized meditation app that promotes mindfulness, compassion, and emotional well-being for middle and high school students and adults through guided meditations, breathing practices, and personalized mood trackers.
In-text References:
[1] Durlak, J. A., Weissberg, R. P., Dymnicki, A. B., Taylor, R. D., & Schellinger, K. B. (2011). The impact of enhancing students’ social and emotional learning: A meta‐analysis of school‐based universal interventions. Child Development, 82(1), 405-432. doi: 10.1111/j.1467-8624.2010.01564.x
[2] Parenting During the Pandemic. (2020, April 21). Retrieved from https://www.parentingduringthepandemic.com/
[3] Vogel, S., Schwabe, L. (2016). Learning and memory under stress: implications for the classroom. npj Science Learn 1, 16011. https://doi.org/10.1038/npjscilearn.2016.11
[4] Immordino‐Yang, M. H., & Damasio, A. (2007). We feel, therefore we learn: The relevance of affective and social neuroscience to education. Mind, Brain, and Education, 1(1), 3-10. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1751-228X.2007.00004.x
[5] Levin, H. M. (2012). More than just test scores. Prospects, 42(3), 269-284. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11125-012-9240-z