The Power of Connection for Social Emotional Learning

As we have shifted to remote teaching and learning in an emergency situation, many educators have had to focus on learning new technology and how to scale down the curriculum to fit what learners can reasonably do at home. We’ve had to work through connectivity issues, providing devices and internet access to learners and in some cases, explore other options when all else fails. Teachers are continuing to engage in virtual professional learning to grow their expertise with technology and how we can engage learners in an online platform. It’s easy to get caught up in all of the logistics and the concern with possible learning gaps. However, the very one thing we cannot overlook is the power of connection when it comes to maintaining meaningful relationships and a sense of belonging and community for our learners; fostering social emotional learning.

As educators, some of us may not feel comfortable connecting virtually. We may make the assumption that it’s uncomfortable for students or even worry about someone hacking into our meeting space. However, with complete confidence I share with you that kids of all ages need the opportunity to connect, particularly with their peers. Yes, some may feel awkward meeting virtually. Anything new has the tendency to stir up a variety of emotions, but our kids should not lose the ability to have face-to-face connections, even if virtual.

Now, some of you may be reading this and thinking about the number of times you’ve posted opportunities for students to connect and no one has shown up. We cannot control that. If you’re doing everything possible and continue to provide options, keep at it! If you haven’t already tried, perhaps change up the purpose of meeting or create fun themes to encourage learners to join. I understand that in some cases we can do everything imaginable and still not have learners attend, but at least you know you’re doing everything you possibly can.

Kids Long For Connection & a Sense of Belonging

In my experience, kids are craving connection. Yes, many are connecting with friends via video gaming platforms and social media, but there are many who miss the connections with their teachers and classmates. I spoke with a parent the other day who explained that her child is extremely shy. Therefore, she hasn’t spoken to one single classmate during this entire school closing. It may seem odd to us adults, but children and teens don’t often pick up the phone to connect like we might have when we were younger. They are more inclined to text or communicate through social media or gaming. However, not all children are allowed or have the same connections as others. Some may not have devices to allow for texting or social media (for personal and safety reason), such as in my friend’s daughter’s case. She explained to me that her child feels alone and at times, feels either sad or frustrated. She has the ability to attend virtual office hours for academic support with her teacher, but that’s not the connection her child is seeking. Many kids are desperately missing opportunities to connect with classmates.

Consider this… back when the announcement was made that school was closing, teachers didn’t know to say, “goodbye.” In fact, neither did kids. They thought it was more of a, ‘see you soon.’ Kids left behind many of their personal belongings in their desks, lockers and/or cubbies, and took home binders, text books, and in some cases, devices. From a child’s or teen’s perspective, it is a very hard thing for them to consider–– not returning to their school community where they had friendships, routines, and a sense of belonging. At first, my own two boys were excited to be home. They’re fortunate that they have everything they need here. However, it didn’t take long for both of our boys to express how much they missed school. By the time news came that school buildings were closed for the rest of the school year, both were upset–– even our one son who isn’t crazy about school to begin with. So, hearing that he recognized the good and developed an appreciation, was a breath of fresh air!

We Can Maintain a Community Feeling and Foster Social Emotional Learning

I think about my own kids, in addition to all that I see and hear from others and recognize that what kids miss the very most are relationships and the nuances of each day within school. As mentioned, many teachers provide “office hours” where kids can connect and receive support with academics. However, are we ensuring that we are providing ample opportunities for learners to connect with peers and engage in social emotional learning, too? I know that in some cases, teachers are creating opportunities for learners to come together just to connect, too. My friend and talented educator, Meg Cernaro, consistently shares fun and engaging ways to connect with learners. From Buncee visuals that organize learning in an engaging way to inviting her class to virtual dance parties, Cernaro is always looking through the lens of her students to consider how to best engage and create connections. Other teachers are doing similar things as Cernaro, however, that’s not the case for all kids which creates inequity in learning experiences.

We all know academics are important. However, if we are solely focused on the content and curriculum and not engaging the whole child, or grasping what it requires to encourage learners to connect, we are missing a very important piece of the puzzle. With that said, I don’t deny that there are many reasons as to why some children might not connect, and as their teacher, you know best when it comes to each individual situation.

Connections & Social Emotional Learning

Engaging learners in social emotional learning during this time and as we return to school eventually, is essential. Take a moment to consider all educators do within any typical school day. Is content and curriculum all we focus on? Of course not. We focus on nurturing the whole child while also fostering future success skills, too. However, more now than ever, our learners need us to ensure we are placing an emphasis on social-emotional learning as we foster connections and community. Many of us teachers call our students, ‘our kids.’ That’s because a classroom culture, that is rooted in relationships and trust, develops into what feels like a family. You get to know each individual’s interests, strengths, and comfort level within learning and where they are in social-emotional development. In some cases, the loss of relationships with teachers and peers (as students were accustomed) to might feel traumatic to some individuals . For others, they may grapple with the shift and be doing okay overall, but still require support with social-emotional learning that can occur from connecting with one another. Every child benefits from being self and social aware, understanding how to manage one’s self, how to engage appropriately with others, make responsible decisions, and be aware of their growth and development.

You can find a wealth of resources pertaining to social and emotional learning on PBS Learning Media developed for educators. When in the classroom, I leveraged lessons from Ignite Your S.H.I.N.E.® in addition to those I’ve developed myself, too. Incorporating adventure-based learning can also be used to foster SEL when school is facilitated in-person and you can modify activities during remote teaching and learning. SEL does not occur at a deep level without connected relationships, so my focus is always looking at how we can interweave both. Let’s explore some ways we can continue fostering a sense of belonging and relationships during emergency remote teaching and learning.

3 Ways We Can Foster Connections and Foster Social Emotional Learning

Carve Out Time For Regular Check-Ins

Each week, select regularly recurring times for student to connect virtually. Facilitate a modified version of a ‘morning meeting,’ where learners can share, discuss, and engage with classmates. Doing so helps individuals come together. During this time, you can share strategies for self-regulation or mindfulness, and practice as a group. Students can be encouraged to write short stories and share out, play games together, or even create a class story where one person begins the story and each classmate adds on afterward to form a comical or dramatic story line!

Some questions you might ask to foster SEL, in addition to empathy & understanding during meeting times :

1. How are you feeling today?
2. How might you make your day better?
3. What is one thing you are grateful for?
4. What is something that people might misunderstand about you?
5. What is one goal you might have for yourself?

Tips:

Give your virtual gathering a snazzy name and avoid calling them, ‘office hours’ unless that’s exactly what they are. Keep meetings engaging, interesting, and about the individuals and their interests. If you think about the beginning of the school year, most teachers don’t begin right away with content. Most start with ice breakers, team building, etc. Just as with the start of a new school year, remote teaching and learning feels different at first. To some extent it still does feel very different to most. Kids and teachers benefit from time to adjust. Ensuring that we include activities that make everyone comfortable is helpful. If you struggle to get kids to join, continue encouraging them and add in some suspense to spark curiosity so that they join to find the answer or to learn what you’re going to do. Cliff hangers on a learning platform with a link to join increases curiosity and the likelihood that students want to get involved. The more we create these opportunities and bond with our learners, the more they feel supported in other ways–– beyond academics. Continuing familiar routines such as check-ins, communication circles, and other ways of sharing have the potential to foster a sense of security and routine, particularly when life may suddenly feel uncertain.

Provide Opportunities to Empower Students as Helpers

Create mini-service learning projects for students to engage in. You can also encourage them to think of their own unique projects, too. When we feel productive and have a sense of purpose, we tend to develop greater confidence and an improved sense of overall well-being. Social-emotional learning occurs as students reflect on how they can be of help and who might need their assistance. Of course, most places are engaging in social-distancing measures, but kids of all ages can still be helpers.

Some ideas may include:

1. creating a video tutorial for classmates on a topic.
2. Creating a video to entertain (with parental permission) other kids who are at home.
3. Contributing videos to their learning management system that feature announcements, weather updates, and more to continuously foster a sense of community.
4. Helping family prepare snacks or meals.
5. Reading to a younger sibling or helping them learn something.
6. Creating a card or sending a note to a family member or friend to cheer them up by reminding them how much they’re cared about.
7. Developing new ways to share information and learning with peers and teacher. Maybe some could create a TikTok (just an example) to creatively demonstrate learning or teach a skill.

Tips:

With students, brainstorm who might need help at this time. Assist them in narrowing down based on what interests them the most, if necessary. Students can also engage in research to learn how others have helped during challenging times in the past to spark new ideas. At the conclusion of the project, have students choose how to present their learning and how they serviced others. They may choose to write a report, create a poster on paper, design a digital graphic, create an online presentation or a video that captures their learning journey that can then be shared with peers.

Inspire Learners to Express Themselves

Our kids have so many emotions in connection with this time. Sure, some are loving being home depending on their unique situation. However, even in the best case scenario, the majority of kids are missing some aspect of school. Expressing emotions can be therapeutic and helps foster SEL due to engaging in reflection. We can provide prompts that encourage learners to process their emotions, and then empower them to choose how they would like to express themselves. There are so many ways we can encourage our learners to emote and put a name with the feeling they’re experiencing so that they develop more self-awareness. Engaging in this practice has the potential to benefit learners throughout their lifetime.

Possible Ideas for Student Creation:

1. Create a blog, vlog, or podcast documenting their experience. They could even do a combination of the three based on their age and skill level. As a side note, due to privacy concerns, you may want to explore secure options.
2. Develop an ongoing journal that incorporates both art and writing to express emotions.
3. Create a comic or series of short stories that capture emotions or experiences.
4. Utilize resources such as Google Slides or PPT to develop creative works that track their journey.

Tips:

Provide learners with resources that explain what it means to express yourself. Share terminology and images to help learners connect their emotions with a word. Sometimes learners who are scared or stressed, demonstrate it through irritation or even anger. We need to help our learners understand their own emotions. It’s helpful to create a wide variety of prompts for students to respond to and then encourage them to get creative to best express themselves. The art of creative expression can take form in a wide variety of ways; empower learners to leverage their strengths and interests. Not only will they develop diverse skills and strengthen their creative pathways, but they’ll also learn to connect how they’re feeling with experiences. Lastly, it’s helpful if we provide our learners and families with resources to engage in mindfulness to foster self-regulation.

You Are a Difference Maker

Here’s the thing. Yes, teaching involves learning content and acquiring skills. However, if we place an emphasis on content and curriculum over social-emotional learning and relationships, we’ve missed what’s at the heart of education–– people. Our learners are missing their peers, grappling with how to process what’s occurring, and they benefit from an outlet. That may include regular check-ins as a class, expressing themselves or engaging in creative projects, and identifying how they can be of help. We need to explore all options to support learners during this time. If looking at this experience through the lens of our learners, in what ways can we ensure learning is tailored to them? Through identifying how we can support SEL while also creating meaningful learning experiences that empower individuals, we can help our learners recognize that they are our priority. Let’s do everything possible so that when our students reflect back someday, they remember how we helped them through this time and made them feel like they were never alone. Every time we connect with learners, we have the opportunity to make a positive difference in the lives of our learners.