As a teacher with many students on your roster, it can be difficult to know what’s really happening in their lives. 

There will always be a few students who keep the entire class informed of exactly how they’re doing. Still, others may struggle to feel comfortable reaching out directly when revealing personal or social challenges that are getting in the way of their learning. 

This is true for teachers in any environment, but it can be particularly challenging for online instructors who may not physically see their students regularly.

Try out this template 

Our online teachers have found a simple tool to be incredibly useful for SEL check-ins:

A Google Form created with specific questions to check in and learn more about what’s going on with students.

One of our senior ELA instructors, Emilia McGuckin, originally started by creating a simple Google Form to gather information about her students at the start of each term, asking them about their preferred names and pronouns, contact info, and how they best learn. 

Then, in the early days of pandemic school closures in 2020, she realized she needed a new approach to check in directly to ask how her students were doing. 

Here’s the simple template Emilia uses to check in on her students:

“It really helps with meeting kids where they’re at, academically and emotionally,” Emilia says of the template she created. “It gives me a glimpse into my kids’ lives and helps them see that I care about them as individuals.” 

A glimpse into students’ lives: the joys and the sorrows

The answers Emilia received from this form revealed that many of her students needed much more than an update on their progress or feedback on their essays. 

“I learned about deaths in families, worries about friendships, new puppies, and the joy of cooking with grandma,” she says. “Knowing what is important to each individual student helped me better understand how to connect with them.” 

Emilia loves asking her students about what good things are happening in their lives as a way to celebrate their successes. 

“I want to be able to celebrate with them,” explains Emilia, “but if a student tells me that they don’t have anything good going on, that’s a red flag for me, and I know that I have to reach out to them.” 

Take guesswork out of the equation

These questions can help teachers check on students’ academic progress as well as their social and emotional state — both of which are necessary for teachers to understand how to best meet their needs as learners. 

Adding these questions to a quick survey takes the guesswork out of what your students are currently going through and allows them to share what they’re comfortable revealing in a non-threatening way. 

Our lead science instructor, Jaci Tyler, uses a similar Google Form to check in with her students at specific points throughout the semester. The responses she receives let Jaci know how to approach her students, and sometimes the answers may reveal areas where they could use additional support. 

“I cannot believe how many kids are responding quickly and the things they’re choosing to share,” Jaci says. “There is some pretty exciting stuff I get to celebrate with my students and other really heartbreaking things.” 

Knowing both the exciting and the heartbreaking parts of students’ lives arms Jaci with the knowledge she needs to meet the needs of every learner in her classroom.

Tips for using this check-in template

If you’d like to try a similar survey with your students, here are some tips from our instructors: 

#1 — Make sure students have easy access to the form 

Put the link to this form somewhere easy for students to see, whether it be in an email, a QR code in your classroom, or posted in your digital classroom environment. 

Our online instructors often post the link directly in their course announcements area, in addition to emailing students an invitation to fill out the survey.

#2 — Schedule time to check on students’ responses

It can be helpful to either a) schedule time to check on students’ responses to this form or b) set up notifications, so you receive an email alert when students fill it out.

Our instructors typically turn the form responses into a Google Sheet, for which they can then sign up to receive email notifications each time a new response is added. 

#3 — Follow up with your students using the communication method they’ve chosen

Be sure to follow up with your students using the preferred method of communication they marked in the form. 

If your students are struggling, ask them if they have other adults in their lives who know what they’re going through. And be sure to celebrate what’s going well for them!

Ultimately, what’s most important to remember is this: 

While your students are learning all the important content in your class, it’s also critical to take the time to learn more about them as human beings. 

You might be surprised at how much they’re willing to share with a trusted teacher and the impact you can make in their lives that goes far beyond the curriculum. 

Recap: Systemic vs. Individual Problems and Solutions

In the first Time for Teachers blog, the distinction between systemic and individual problems and solutions was made. Systemic problems require organization- or system-wide approaches that impact a broader group and address biases and/or system limitations. The second blog in this series explains how agile meetings and pulse surveys can streamline meetings and keep track of teachers’ concerns, issues, and needs.

This third blog post will discuss the importance of self-assessment in addressing individual problems and solutions teachers face. This is not to say the onus of addressing challenges should fall squarely on the shoulders of individual teachers. Rather, teachers need a community of practice and support to help them identify solutions for problems they might face individually.

Power of Self-Assessment

Just as students have individualized needs, teachers do, too. Although there may be common problems and issues that teachers face in their everyday work, not all teachers feel the same way about them. In the world of mindfulness, there is often an emphasis on individual introspection and reflection.

The same approach could be applied for teachers facing a schedule and to-do list that is daunting and overwhelming. There are many apps or programs out there that teachers can use to track workflows, tasks, and responsibilities, but using pencil and paper may feel more manageable and actually be more efficient.

Using a single sheet of paper, a teacher could do a quick self-assessment of tasks they like, challenging tasks they face, possible tasks to eliminate, and focus areas to reflect on individually and with colleagues. 

To start, one should draw two lines on the piece of paper to create four equally shaped rectangles. Each step of this self-assessment is illustrated below. Please note that the number of bullet points provided is for illustrative purposes only (there can be more or fewer bullets depending on what a teacher self-identifies).

In the upper left rectangle, one should write “Tasks I Like” and provide a bulleted list of the everyday tasks they enjoy and like to do. These tasks are the ideal things that a teacher would get to focus most of their time on. 

In the upper right rectangle, one should write “Challenging Tasks” and provide a bulleted list of the everyday tasks that might take up a lot of time and energy compared to others. One should underline the top one to three tasks that take the most time to complete. Before moving to the bottom of half of the page, one should put a star next to any tasks that overlap in the “Tasks I Like” and the “Challenging Tasks” list. 

In the lower-left rectangle, one should write “Non-Essential Tasks” and provide a bulleted list of the everyday tasks that are not essential or not necessary to meet job requirements. One should compare the items listed under unnecessary tasks and challenging tasks. Any overlapping items should be circled. 

Finally, in the lower right rectangle, one should write “Focus Areas” and provide a bulleted list with three subheadings: (1) Focus and Enjoy (all of the starred items from the top half of the page), (2) Eliminate to Save Time (all of the circled items from the unnecessary task list), and (3) Talk about with Others (the underlined items from the challenging tasks list). 

Teachers are encouraged to save their self-assessments in order to redo and compare them on a regular basis, perhaps once per semester or quarter, to see what changes over time. By taking 15-20 minutes to do an inventory like this, teachers can get an overview of what they like to do and strategic areas to focus on individually.

They can also target areas to talk with colleagues about using the physical document created. Colleagues could even share their self-assessments and seek advice on how to tackle challenging and time-consuming tasks.

Individual Enactment through a Community of Support

By going through a self-assessment inventory, teachers can prioritize their time to focus on what they like to do and what needs to be done. In any self-assessment, it is important for teachers to think about what could be discussed with a colleague. Discussing a list with a colleague, mentor, or administrator, will make identifying solutions more collaborative which can feel less overwhelming and isolating.

More independent teachers can certainly take initiative on their own but teachers are likely to feel more empowered to find innovative solutions when they work with a close colleague within a community of practice. 

If it is challenging for teachers to collaborate with others in their immediate work environment, they could consider joining communities such as The Resilient Educator and Digital Promise’s EdCamp offering in-person and remote opportunities to meet with other teachers across the country to share experiences, effective practices, and possible solutions to particular problems.

Similar to the adage that it takes a village to raise children, it also takes a village for teachers to face and overcome the challenges of having limited time and resources at their disposal.

Final Thoughts

To help teachers feel satisfied with their work, they need to be given opportunities to assess what they like about teaching and how to address the individual problems they might be facing. If teachers find it difficult to carve out time to do a self-assessment, time could be dedicated for them to do so in a meeting or workshop that is already planned.

Having teachers conduct straightforward self-assessments together also builds trust. By giving teachers the chance to identify individual issues and connect them with possible solutions and resources within the systems and networks they work with, they will likely feel more empowered and supported.  

Acknowledgments

The author would like to thank Christa Green, Kristen DeBruler, and Tracy Gieseking from the Michigan Virtual Learning Research Institute for their contributions and advice in writing this blog post.

Recap: Systemic vs. Individual Problems and Solutions

In the first Time for Teachers blog, a distinction was made between systemic and individual problems and solutions. Systemic problems require organization- or system-wide approaches that impact a broader group and address biases and/or system limitations.

Systemic solutions often need significant coordination among many people after carefully considering modification(s) to policies and procedures. Individual solutions involve people taking personal responsibility for locating resources to address the problems they face in their immediate environment.

This blog post will discuss two possible systemic solutions that can help all educators save time while addressing needs to serve students and communities: agile meetings and short pulse surveys.

The Power of Short, Focused Agile Meetings

A common joke in the workplace is that a required meeting could have been an email. Although meetings provide an opportunity for staff or teams to check in and touch base, having an excessive number of meetings, holding meetings for meetings’ sake, or holding meetings without focus can be frustrating and feel like an inefficient use of time for everyone involved.

Given that meetings are a significant time commitment for teachers that pull them from their tight schedule, how can meetings be scheduled and organized more effectively? One solution is to implement what is called agile meetings.

Coming from the world of software development, agile is a framework that emphasizes close collaboration, clear communication, transparent expectations, and thoughtful efficiency–all of which will help an organization meet strategic goals and impact stakeholders positively.

Although schools aren’t composed of teams of software developers in Silicon Valley, the principles of agile meetings can be applied in schools to avoid ineffective aspects of meetings that can sap up valuable time and resources for teachers.

In short, agile meetings should have a clear purpose, be as short as possible, and include only the necessary and relevant team members for a given topic or issue. This means that meetings should have a concise and focused agenda, be very limited in time (e.g., 15 or 20 minutes), and have a targeted invitation list. 

Organizing agile meetings may require some advanced work or reading on the part of attendees (e.g., the part of the meeting that could have been an email should be sent in advance). If an all-staff meeting is required, having a focused meeting in terms of scope and time can still be implemented. Drawing from the advice of a communications efficacy firm, Table 1 provides a summary of what to do in order to run agile meetings.

Table 1. Recommendations on how to run agile meetings that are more focused and efficient (adapted from a blog by Status Hero).

In the end, a systemic solution for a school to help everyone maximize the time available to them during the day is to develop a set of agile meeting rules to which everyone agrees to adhere. By instituting an agile meeting framework, a school will naturally develop a culture of mutual respect for each other’s time that focuses on the most essential goal of everyone involved–serving the needs of students, families, and communities.

Insights from Short, Focused Pulse Surveys

A recent survey of teachers about their job satisfaction has revealed that their perspectives and ideas are not always taken into consideration as much as they would like. In order to identify and address any systemic problems or solutions found in classrooms, it is necessary to include teachers.

However, given that teachers’ time is limited, holding long meetings or in-depth focus groups may not be the best route to go. One way to overcome this obstacle is to have teachers complete short surveys capturing their “pulse” about targeted topics about their work. Some common online survey platforms that are easy to access and use include Google Forms and SurveyMonkey.

Just like agile meetings call for short, targeted meetings only involving those who are needed, pulse surveys should also be agile. Surveys should be clear and limited in length. This requires questions to be short and concise (with closed-ended questions being preferred).

For example, if you were trying to capture teachers’ self-assessments of their social and emotional learning, you could provide the following statements that teachers evaluate on a Likert scale (e.g., Strong disagree, Disagree, Agree, Strongly agree):

• I can identify my social and emotional needs.
• I pursue self-care.
• I show compassion toward myself.
• I ask for help when I need it.
• I can achieve work-life balance.
• I have ways to minimize my stress and anxiety.
• I feel I can express my emotions with trusted adults/colleagues.

By capturing teachers’ self-assessments based on these statements, administrators, lead teachers, and mentors can take appropriate action to design training or provide resources to help teachers with their social and emotional learning.

Also, surveys should only be sent to relevant parties, otherwise, data may be overwhelming and possibly not completely relevant. If a particular issue impacts only a certain subset of teachers, a short online survey could be developed and sent to them rather than the entire staff. 

Caution should be exercised, though, when designing and sending pulse surveys. If too many surveys are sent, not enough time is given to complete surveys, or careful thought isn’t put into who should complete a survey (i.e., one should make sure people don’t feel left out), pulse surveys can backfire. It is also recommended that a pulse survey takes the place of an existing time commitment to free up and not add to a teacher’s or administrator’s already full plate. 

Table 2 provides an overview of some advice about designing pulse surveys.

Table 2. An overview of some suggestions for designing pulse surveys.

When designed, distributed, and evaluated effectively, pulse surveys can provide targeted snapshots of what problems teachers face as well as ideas they might have on how to solve them. By regularly gauging and sharing teachers’ thoughts and experiences about targeted issues, communities of practice based on mutual understanding and problem-solving can form. Moreover, time-saving solutions can be identified to help find time for teachers.

Final Thoughts

There are only so many hours in a day. Teachers want to do as much as they can to support and inspire students. By implementing an agile culture that streamlines meetings, teachers can find ways to still connect with their colleagues and focus more time on tasks that they find meaningful to run effective classrooms. When everyone is on the same page about being mindful of how meetings are run, an environment of respectful efficiency is created. 

Additionally, when teachers are given opportunities to complete targeted surveys regularly about aspects of their job (but not too many!), problems and solutions can emerge that help keep the system of a school running smoothly. Teachers are also left with a sense of being listened to and cared for in their essential roles of educating our communities’ children.    

The next article in the Time for Teachers blog series will discuss individual problems and solutions and advice on working with teachers to optimize their time.

Stay up to date on future blogs in this series by signing up for email notifications!

Acknowledgments

The author would like to thank Christa Green, Kristen DeBruler, and Tracy Gieseking from the Michigan Virtual Learning Research Institute for their contributions and advice in writing this blog post.

Social emotional learning — also known as “SEL” —  is a component of education that addresses the traditionally non-academic side of student development and learning. 

The idea is that children should have ample opportunities to observe and practice the skills they’ll need to manage their social interactions and emotions as they grow into productive adults. 

In this article, we’ll explore why SEL is so crucial for students and share some useful tools educators can use to integrate SEL into their classrooms.

Social emotional learning: The official definition

Before you start thinking about tools, it can be helpful to reflect on the outcomes you want for students when implementing SEL in your classroom.

Let’s start with the official definition crafted by the experts at the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL). 

CASEL defines “social emotional learning” as:

“The process through which all young people and adults acquire and apply the knowledge, skills, and attitudes to develop healthy identities, manage emotions and achieve personal and collective goals, feel and show empathy for others, establish and maintain supportive relationships, and make responsible and caring decisions.”  

They go on to break down SEL into five distinct categories. A well-constructed SEL program addresses students’ cognitive, behavioral, social, and emotional needs and helps them to build skills in the following key areas:

Self-awareness

• Identifying emotions
• Accurate self-perception
• Recognizing strengths
• Self-confidence
• Self-efficacy

Self-management

• Impulse control
• Stress management
• Self-discipline
• Self-motivation
• Goal-setting
• Organizational skills

Social awareness

• Perspective-taking
• Empathy
• Appreciating diversity
• Respect for others
  

Responsible decision-making

• Identifying problems
• Analyzing solutions
• Evaluating
• Reflecting
• Ethical responsibility

Relationship skills

• Communication
• Social engagement
• Relationship-building
• Teamwork

These categories represent areas where you can bring in tools to help students build these fundamental skills necessary for managing emotions, maintaining healthy relationships, setting and reaching goals, and more. 

SEL shouldn’t be based on a prescribed curriculum. Rather, it should reflect a student-centered methodology designed to help address the individual learning needs that too often go unaddressed in traditional academic settings.

See also: Why SEL is critical to student success [infographic]

Why is SEL so important for students?

There’s plenty of research backing up the claim that SEL is critical to both the current and future success of K-12 students. 

First, students who don’t have their social and emotional needs met tend to have poorer academic outcomes than those with adequate programs. 

Many of the needs fulfilled by SEL also help maximize student learning. Consider Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. SEL targets the upper portions of this diagram by helping students attain “esteem” and “love and belonging.”

Further, students without adequate SEL development are also at risk for a variety of negative outcomes, including need for public assistance, substance abuse, emotional and behavioral issues, and criminal behavior and detention.

When SEL is implemented into the classroom with purpose and clarity, research shows a moderate reduction in infractions such as bullying, violence, cyberbullying, aggression, verbal abuse, and sexual harassment. 

Beyond just decreasing negative outcomes, SEL has also been proven to increase social skills and reduce depression and anxiety among students.

These are just a few reasons why teachers are looking for new tools to bring SEL into their classrooms.

What tools are available to me to integrate SEL into my class? 

We’ve compiled a list of tools that may be useful for teachers to help implement SEL into their classrooms. Check out some of our favorites below!

1. Panorama Ed — Provides information about how to construct your own SEL program, as well as a collection of 20+ tools for lesson-based, in-school, or after-school SEL.
2. AIR’s SEL Assessment — A free toolkit for teachers, policymakers, or administrators to assess the landscape of SEL in their environment. This tool provides a decision tree for selecting the best methods to implement.
3. Edutopia — A host of videos, articles, and media that assist teachers in learning best practices for SEL and offer implementation ideas. 
4. Growth Mindset Prompts — Prompts to use in your classroom to get students to think and operate outside of their comfort zone.
5. Common Sense Education — Provides activities, ideas, articles, and videos for teachers to integrate SEL into their classrooms, separated by grade bands: K-5, 6-8, 9-12.
6. 10 Team Building Games for a Friendlier Classroom — This resource contains descriptions and content for running games that promote cooperation, collaboration, and friendly communication in your classroom.
7. Michigan Cares — A comprehensive social emotional learning (SEL) program available to Michigan schools and districts at no cost.
8. Free online professional development — These free online PD courses cover a variety of topics within SEL. Many of these courses were created in partnership with the Michigan Department of Education and offer SCECHs for Michigan teachers. 

Final Thoughts

It’s important to remember that while many programs and tools exist, SEL will never be a one-size-fits-all curriculum because every classroom is different. The goal is to address students’ social and emotional needs by offering them opportunities to build the skills in which they are struggling.

Consider using some of the available resources listed in this article to assess where your students’ strengths and areas of growth lie. Couple this approach with your own observations of your students to get a better handle on what skills you need to work on as a class as well as at the individual level.

Once you’ve evaluated where your students currently are, you can weave in reminders to practice certain behaviors, implement discussions and activities that promote cooperation and collaboration, and encourage students to consider other viewpoints and empathize with one another.

It’s time to break through the stigma that comes with needing help to cope with mental and emotional challenges. Robust social-emotional learning programs can teach students, staff and parents how to do this, as well as how to assist others who may need that same sort of help.

“Are you okay?” How many times have you heard that question? How do you usually respond? Most of us say we’re fine even when we’re not. Sometimes we say that because we don’t want to talk about how we really feel. Sometimes we say that because the people asking aren’t the ones we want to talk to. But sometimes we say that because we’re afraid.

We’re afraid of what others will think of us. We’re afraid of how we’ll feel. We’re afraid of how others will feel. We’re afraid.

When we let fear keep us from admitting that we’re not okay, even when people close to us ask us if we are, then we’re pushing help away and whether we want to admit it or not, we’re encouraging stigma.

“No, I am not okay.” It takes a lot of courage to say that. When we do, we open ourselves up to receive the help and support we need. But it also makes us face our fears.

Self-Harm Awareness

March was self-harm awareness month, and self-harm doesn’t discriminate. It affects men and women of all ages. It even affects the students we serve in schools throughout the country. The most commonly known form of self-harm is cutting, but there are many more to look out for, including scratching, burning, carving, hitting and head-banging. People who self-harm frequently try to hide the effects of their behaviors. They have an unusual number of scars, cuts, scratches, bruises and other wounds that they hide under long pants and long sleeves, even in warm weather.

Self-harm isn’t just physical. People who self-harm do so because of significant emotional and mental health issues. When they open up, people who self-harm often talk about feeling helpless, hopeless or worthless. And the numbers don’t lie. In a recent Navigate360 and Zogby Strategies Safety and Wellbeing Poll, the alarming effects of the pandemic underscore the need to address mental health issues, including those surrounding self-harm and suicide. An overwhelming number of students reported experiencing anxiety and depression, with 56% saying they personally know someone who has considered self-harm or suicide. Sadly, less than one-third of these students believe their school is prepared to handle this issue.

We invite you to learn more about lessons available in Suite360: Mental Health & Prevention, a program designed to teach students how to proactively care for their mental health and how to respond if their thoughts, feelings or actions keep them from doing what they need or want to do. Included in this program are lessons for middle and high school students about the prevention of suicide and self-harm.

Admitting When You’re Not Okay

One of the most important things we can do to prevent self-harm and even suicide is to talk. A key aspect of mental health care includes talking about what we feel, why we feel that way, and how those feelings affect our thoughts and actions. That’s why it’s so important that we teach students, parents and educators how to care for their mental health and why we should model healthy self-care skills. Suite360: Mental Health & Prevention and new adult wellness lessons in Suite360: Staff support teachers, parents and other caregivers as they learn to care for their own mental health and how to support students.

Encouraging Stigma

No one wants to admit that they encourage stigma, but we all do sometimes. We encourage stigma when we hold it all in out of fear. We encourage stigma when we don’t want to get involved. We encourage stigma when we fail to learn about mental health and thus repeat stereotypes. Sometimes, we even encourage stigma when we offer advice. This is why we spent a considerable amount of time developing our Suite360 lessons for students in grades 6 – 12 to focus on reducing stigma. We’ve also included a lesson about supporting others that addresses the differences between helpful and unhelpful language. Students may know what they are saying is not right, but they may not fully understand how to say it differently. Our lessons help them connect the dots as they offer alternatives to make the adjustments necessary.

No, I’m Not Okay

I’m the parent of a teenager diagnosed with several mental health conditions, and I’m not okay. There are days when it’s all I can do to keep my head above water. I usually throw myself into work during those times. But I admit that I sometimes encourage stigma, too. I tell people I’m okay. I ignore calls from my best friend. And I get mad at people who offer advice. They mean well, but it’s not like one piece of parental advice will do what the last nine years of therapy haven’t. In those moments, I wish I hadn’t spoken up at all. I feel the stigma of not being a good enough parent and of not doing enough for my son. In those moments, I’m not okay. And that’s okay.

When we experience intense stress or trauma like many people around the world have experienced throughout this last year, we’re not okay. This is the time when we need to offer support through patience, listening and learning about mental health care and how to respond when you or someone you know needs help.

Let’s teach our students how to care for their mental health, and let’s help others do the same. Schedule a consultation with us to learn more about the Suite360: Mental Health & Prevention program, as well as Navigate360’s new suicide prevention program designed to help schools create systems of care and support to prevent suicide. This is our future generation, and we need to use the tools we have to help our students reach their full potential and thrive.

This article was originally published on Navigate360.com

Self-awareness is a skill that many adults, let alone kids, struggle with. Fortunately, however, this skill can be cultivated in youth with the right social-emotional support—and schools play an essential role in providing that. But before we dive into our strategies for supporting self-awareness development in students, let’s first define self-awareness and discuss why it’s so crucial for youth.

What Is Self-Awareness?

As described by the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL), self-awareness encompasses “the abilities to understand one’s own emotions, thoughts, and values and how they influence behavior across contexts.” Self-awareness skills are important because they allow students to see themselves and their emotions clearly. This not only enhances students’ ability to recognize their own strengths and limitations—which can aid in their education—but also fosters feelings of confidence and self-purpose. 

Self-Awareness Skills Lead to Better Student Outcomes

As an educator, it’s essential to consider the ways that self-awareness skills lead to better outcomes for students, including improved:

• Academic performance
• Conflict and stress management
• Teamwork and collaboration
• Goal achievement

Self-awareness skills help students understand themselves and others, behave properly in the right settings, and make sense of their cultural identities. Social-emotional learning (SEL), the framework by which students come to hone their self-awareness skills, can also educate students on how to properly label their emotions. This can help them avoid mislabeling and projecting their emotions, which can lead to behavioral issues and other negative student outcomes.

How to Support Self-Awareness Development in Students

Schools play an essential role in providing social-emotional learning support for students. In fact, less than a third of students believe in their school’s capability to handle student mental health issues that could lead to self-harm or suicide. So, what can be done to address social-emotional learning for K-12 students to help them hone their self-awareness skills?

Address Challenges About Racial or Cultural Differences

With the Black Lives Matter racial justice movement ongoing, it’s essential for educators to address challenges about racial or cultural differences head-on to preserve individual safety and organizational culture. These conversations should be normalized throughout schools to help students and community members move forward productively.

When students have a safe space for honest dialogue with people they trust, it helps them grow as individuals who go on to build cultures of civility, safety, and understanding. These conversations can help develop self-awareness skills by asking students to examine their thoughts, feelings, and potential prejudices in a safe, educational environment that allows them to connect with and accept one another.

Address Mental Health and Emotional Issues

Wellness and self-care are certainly having a moment, but as an educator, note that there’s a big difference between prioritizing safety in words only—through company emails, newsletters to parents, safety signage, etc.—and backing those words with real, actionable support. And if schools don’t properly address stress and mental health, they risk students engaging in violent behavior toward themselves and/or those around them.

This is especially important to consider in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. The emotional fallout of this crisis will likely persist well into the future, presenting a clear opportunity to normalize the necessity for social-emotional learning across all ages (something that, with widespread adoption, could greatly improve our communities for years to come). You can show students that their mental health matters by providing tangible social-emotional learning support in schools through dedicated SEL curriculum.

Choosing the Right SEL Curriculum for Your District

Did you know that 72% of principals at low-performing schools believe that a bigger focus on social-emotional learning would greatly improve students’ abilities to stay on track to graduate? While encouraging social-emotional learning in schools within your district on an ad hoc basis is certainly better than having no support in place at all, a holistic approach to social-emotional learning provides much stronger outcomes for students. That’s where Navigate360’s Suite360 SEL curriculum comes in. Our digital curriculum includes research-based courses that help turn necessary discipline into learning opportunities, enabling students to hone their self-awareness skills and reach better academic, emotional, and social outcomes.

To learn more about the benefits of SEL and how it can help foster better student mental health at schools throughout your district, click here—and feel free to get in touch with any questions.

This article was originally published on Navigate360.com

In a recent Michigan Virtual Learning and Research Institute study, 80% of teachers cited the lack of time as the top roadblock in meeting their social and emotional needs. A Michigan Virtual blog post on the teacher retention crisis in Michigan notes an equally alarming set of statistics: 68% of Michigan educators cite excessive workloads negatively impacting their job satisfaction; 48% found abundant paperwork to be a major roadblock to enjoying their work.

Given all that teachers have on their plates, what can be done to maximize the time available to teachers? This Time for Teachers blog series explores issues related to the persistent lack of time and excessive workloads reported by teachers. It also explores possible solutions. This first post centers on the importance of understanding the difference between systemic and individual barriers and corresponding solutions.

Systemic vs. Individual Barriers and Solutions

Problems, like lack of time, impact individuals, organizations, and systems differently. Targeted solutions can best be pursued with an understanding of where they originate and how they affect individuals, organizations, and systems differently. Therefore, when formulating possible solutions, one must keep the distinction between systemic and individual in mind. 

Some problems are endemic to a larger system like a school district or a state’s education structure. Certain policies or required procedures, while unintended, may pose significant challenges for all teachers or specific groups of teachers. For example, some teachers may have difficulty reaching test score thresholds because students may have more urgent learning needs that aren’t covered in standardized tests. Systemic problems require organization- or system-wide approaches that impact a broader group and address biases and/or system limitations. Systemic solutions often need significant coordination among many people after carefully considering modifying policies and procedures.

Individual solutions involve people taking personal responsibility for locating resources to address the problems they face in their immediate environment. For example, a high school English teacher might have a lot of papers to review, but she discovers that students enjoy and are good at giving peer feedback if given some guidance and training. Rather than taking all the responsibility to mark up papers, the teacher can incorporate peer reviews as part of the evaluation process. Adjusting the feedback process can allow the teacher to do other things with her time. Individual solutions like this require considerable energy to find resources to solve problems within a particular context.

Knowing the difference between systemic and individual is important because individual teachers cannot solve systemic problems by themselves. For example, a teacher might have to comply with a mandate to complete the state’s or a school district’s paperwork regardless of whether it is time-consuming. However, the state or a school district could find ways to simplify paperwork or reporting processes. If asked, individual teachers may offer ways to streamline the steps involved, but it is unlikely they alone can change a process required across an extensive educational system. A teacher may develop a potential improvement in the system, but such a solution needs a shared commitment at a broader level if it is to become systemically beneficial.

A tremendous burden is placed on individuals when they are stuck spending precious time on system-wide barriers. When individual teachers are constantly seeking solutions for systemic barriers, individuals may feel frustrated, disillusioned, or resigned, which leads to decreased job satisfaction and possibly burnout. Such prolonged dissatisfaction and burnout will only worsen the teacher recruitment and retention crisis.

Finding time for teachers, thus, requires a careful and continuous look at the whole system. It also requires creative thinking about identifying and sharing potential system-wide solutions that empower and enable individual teachers to take actions with others who share a mutual investment in the educational system they are a part of.

Identifying Systemic vs. Individual Problems  

If teachers in a school or district cite a lack of time as a major impediment, a careful assessment of what is causing time-related problems is needed. Teachers can be encouraged to track what they spend time on and share that information with trustworthy administrators. Such an exercise uncovers what tasks consume their time, what creates challenges for managing their time, what resources they need, and where they prefer to focus their time and energy. Some questions to consider are the following:

• Can policies and procedures that take an excessive amount of time be streamlined or eliminated?
• What time-intensive tasks should be brought to the attention of school boards, state representatives, and state-level education officials?
• Do some teachers have higher workloads than others? Are staffing levels adequate and equitable? 
• Are curricular goals too ambitious? Are there better ways to meet them?
• Are there ways to streamline giving feedback to students and families?
• Are new teachers in need of help and advice on how to manage their workloads? 
• Are adequate technologies available to help teachers do their jobs?
• What resources could help teachers balance more effectively all they have to do?

Once various time-related problems are identified, it is essential to pinpoint the organizational level at which those problems would best be addressed (e.g., state, district, school, grade, and department). This way, problem-solving energies can be directed to where solutions are most likely to succeed.

It is also essential to place a high priority on minimizing the time involved in any process. One idea is to incorporate a survey or open discussion into regularly scheduled faculty and staff meetings, perhaps using one or more of the questions noted above. Conducting any survey requires administrators to create an environment where teachers feel comfortable and safe to openly and honestly share their experiences, concerns, and suggestions.

It is also essential to ask teachers how they would ideally like to manage their time. What parts of their job most excite them? Where do they find the most joy? By better understanding what teachers enjoy, solutions can align with what might increase teachers’ satisfaction and well-being. 

Final Thoughts

To restore time for teachers to do what they love, we must first understand what problems teachers face and where they want to spend their time. While it takes effort to survey teachers about their time concerns, the information allows districts, schools, and departments to better analyze the problems identified by teachers, keeping in mind the distinction between the system and the individual, and then adapt their approaches to implementing sustainable solutions.

The next article in the Time for Teachers blog series will provide examples of systemic problems and solutions. Other future articles will include examples of individual problems and solutions and advice on working with teachers to optimize their time.

Stay up to date on future blogs in this series by signing up for email notifications!

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank Christa Green, Christopher Harrington, and Kristen DeBruler from the Michigan Virtual Learning Research Institute for their contributions and advice in writing this blog post.

About the Authors

Tracy Gieseking

Tracy Gieseking’s role as a senior research specialist with the Michigan Virtual Learning Research Institute provides a unique opportunity to collaborate with Michigan’s education community. As online and blended learning reach an increasing number of K-12 students in Michigan, there is greater opportunity to learn from practitioners, research what’s fueling success and share best practices. Tracy enjoys collaborating with others to provide solutions and build capacity. She holds a bachelor’s in business leadership and much of her professional life has been with education-focused organizations.

Ed Timke

Dr. Ed Timke is a research specialist for Michigan Virtual Learning Research Institute. Although he specializes in qualitative research — such as interviews, focus groups, ethnographies, and textual and visual analyses — he was trained in mixed methods research while in his doctoral program in communication and media at the University of Michigan. Ed has taught online and face-to-face courses on writing, research methods, global media and communication, the role of advertising in society, and intercultural communication at American University, Duke University, UC Berkeley, and the University of Michigan.

As a modern-day educator, you probably have experience working with both Millennials and Generation Z students—where Millennials are defined as those born between 1981 and 1996 and Generation Z are those born in the years after. But there’s a new generation in town: Generation Alpha. The succeeding generation after Gen Z, these youngsters are the first generation born entirely within the 21st century. And as Gen Alpha students begin to enter school, educators are spending more and more time putting their heads together to determine the best ways to teach these digital natives. In this article, we’re outlining key distinctions between Gen Z and Gen Alpha—including their different learning preferences—so you can tailor your curricula and support systems to prioritize your students’ mental health, emotional wellbeing, and physical safety district-wide.

Gen Z

Gen Z students were born between 1996 and 2010, making them middle-school and high-school aged with the tail end of the generation turning 18 in 2028. 

Key Characteristics

Gen Z is our first true generation of digital natives. Born into a technological world, information has been placed at their fingertips and social media use has become the norm.

In fact, many members of Gen Z hardly go a day without sustaining relationships through social media apps. A 2018 study found that 45% of adolescents surveyed reported that they were online “almost constantly.” Research is still ongoing on the link between social media and mental health, but a general negative correlation has already been established. Therefore, it makes sense that Gen Z is marked by an uptick in anxiety and depression and has a stronger likelihood of reporting mental health concerns. And unfortunately, less than a third of students believe that their schools—where they spend the majority of their time—are prepared to handle student mental health issues that could lead to self-harm or suicide.

This generation is also incredibly diverse. They’ll likely be the last generation in America that’s predominantly white, with 48% of their population being comprised of Hispanic, Black, and Asian individuals. Their early years also saw the federal legalization of gay marriage and our first Black president. These demographics are essential for school administrators to consider, as a recent poll found that about half of teens (49%) and parents (51%) are aware of a classmate or student who was bullied because of their race, sexual orientation, or income level.

Gen Z students have a lot to contend with, but you can tailor your district-wide curricula to help support them in these areas. For example, you can implement social-emotional learning (SEL) curriculum that focuses on developing self-awareness skills that help students cope with the fallout of daily social media use. SEL curriculum can also teach students social awareness and empathy, allowing them to embrace the diversity around them instead of seeing these differences in a negative light.

Learning Preferences

When it comes to Gen Z in the classroom, digital savviness is the name of the game. As an educator, this knowledge can make a huge difference in the way you and your faculty communicate with and teach Gen Z students. 

For instance, knowing that Gen Z students are used to having information at their fingertips can help educators craft engaging lesson plans that meet them in their comfort zone. Curricula should include lessons that support critical thinking skills by teaching students how to sort through masses of information and determine what’s valuable. Consider using apps, web-based platforms, and other digital resources to engage students on their level and allow them to truly connect to their lessons.

Gen Alpha

Born between 2010 and 2025, Gen Alpha will be the first generation born completely within the 21st century. And while Gen Z were our first true digital natives, Gen Alpha will mark a new digital age, given how quickly and exponentially technology advances. The oldest of these students are just beginning middle school after growing up with housemates like Amazon’s Alexa and Apple’s Siri, along with other ubiquitous technologies.

Key Characteristics

Gen Alpha is slated to be the most racially diverse generation in American history, and they’re also more likely to grow up in non-traditional households. Given their vast diversity, these students will need social-emotional learning support more than ever. Honing social awareness skills can help make students more empathetic toward others, leading to greater tolerance and even a celebration of diversity. And students’ abilities to connect with others positively have long-term benefits, include better college and career readiness.

A unique digital savviness will also be a defining characteristic of their generation. Gen Alpha will be unimpressed by technological advances in “smart” devices like digital assistants, considering them commonplace. Along with this direct impact of rapidly advancing technology, the pervasiveness of tech will also have secondary effects. Consider that many parents are regularly immersed in their smartphones and that tech-wielding kids aren’t spending as much in-person time playing in their neighborhoods as prior generations did. This could lead to a reduction in social-emotional learning support at home and in their communities, making schools’ roles in providing SEL support even more important.

The COVID-19 pandemic will likely have lasting effects on Gen Alpha as well, although it’s still too early to tell the extent. Spending the better part of a year attending primary school virtually, as many Gen Alpha students did, is bound to have an effect on development, especially when paired with reduced in-person extracurricular activities.

Learning Preferences

Like Gen Z, Gen Alpha will be incredibly comfortable with technology and used to being able to access information at a moment’s notice. Rapid technological advancements, however, could have lasting effects on the attention spans of Gen Alpha students, something that educators will need to keep in mind when choosing curriculum.

A focus on cultivating critical thinking skills will also be essential for Gen Alpha students. Like Gen Z, they will be inundated with information, and their task will be to sort out what’s valuable from the rest during their academic careers and beyond. Given Gen Alpha’s distinct need for social-emotional learning support and their comfort with digital tools, it makes sense to provide SEL curriculum that’s delivered digitally, like Suite360.

Meeting Students Where They Are

Regardless of their differences, there’s one thing that Gen Z and Gen Alpha have in common: growing up in a digital world. Technology certainly has its benefits; it will be essential to include technological delivery and research methods in curriculum for both generations. But it’s also important to consider the effects that digital environments can have on social and emotional wellbeing.

And that’s why SEL curriculum should be an essential program in every school district. Both Gen Z and Gen Alpha students need schools to step into their role of providing social-emotional learning support to help them navigate life in the 21st century. SEL curriculum has a proven track record for improving student outcomes, especially when it’s delivered in engaging, digital formats students are comfortable with, such as Suite360—the digital SEL curriculum we offer at Navigate360.

Click here to learn more about Suite360 and the many ways it can help both Gen Z and Gen Alpha students meet the challenges of their time. And don’t hesitate to get in touch with any questions.

This article was originally published on Navigate360.com

A student’s self-image is formed by experiences and relationships—watch any stereotypical high school film, and you’ll see the power of comparisons and social rankings in action. These identifying experiences are the ones that reinforce how students think and feel about themselves. And based on these views, they develop either a positive or negative self-image. So what happens when the image they see is distorted?

K-12 educators can challenge distortions of self-image with social-emotional learning (SEL) strategies that teach adolescents how to develop healthier and more accurate views of themselves. Through restorative curricula, staff can provide students with the tools they need to fully assess their physical, mental, social, and emotional well-being.

What Impacts Student Self-Esteem & Self-Image?

Everyday interactions affect the way students view themselves, others, and the world. For younger generations, including Generations Z and Alpha, the digital era has largely defined these encounters; access to information is now readily available at their fingertips, and digital connectivity is rapidly changing the way students are communicating. Instead of solely depending on lessons learned from direct experiences and in-class learning, students are developing self-image from indirect learning experiences that are largely virtual. For example, the recent need for distanced learning and hybrid models dramatically shifted the way K-12 students were educated in 2020. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, nearly 93% of households with school-aged children reported partaking in some form of virtual learning during the COVID-19 pandemic. The lack of interconnectivity that resulted in this sudden shift is a pattern that deeply affected student self-esteem and self-image, particularly for those students in low-income communities where access to computers and digital devices was limited. As students and staff return to in-person learning, developing social and emotional supports will be an essential part of rebuilding the educational system.

This past year reinforced the importance of viewing learning as a social, emotional, and academic process. Brain research behind this principle has shown that the way students perceive their own abilities is largely influenced by creating connections within a supportive, educational community. If this is the key to effective learning, educational systems recovering from the effects of the pandemic will need to support their staff with tools to recognize and assess the effects of trauma attached to past events. For example, the return to in-person learning will place a lot of emphasis on relationship-centered curricula that focuses on SEL to build better bonds within the educational community. These strategies will help staff in assessing the effects of trauma on students as they return to in-class sessions and address those effects by using an SEL curriculum that supports developing positive self-image in students.

The pandemic also emphasized the growing need for advanced telecommunications capabilities in education, where 31 million devices were provided to K-12 students for use outside of the school. As access to computers, internet service, and digital devices continues to become more available to students in your district, the impact on student self-image will be influenced by:

Evolving Roles in Digital Spaces

Relationships play a big part in the way students form self-image. In a digital age that’s dominated by influencers and activists, adolescents have more opportunities to redefine their social roles and challenge traditional hierarchies. These defined roles are already rapidly changing and extend beyond parental involvement as virtual learning opportunities become more accessible to students. As roles continue to develop in digital spaces, educators will need tools to help K-12 students stay engaged and well-behaved in hybrid classroom environments.

Social Media & Increased Vulnerability to Cyberbullying

Social media is another driving force behind self-image in students. Younger generations communicate and express themselves almost exclusively through digital screens and the shift to remote learning has made telecommunication more accessible to students. What’s more, social media usage has seen an increase of 21% since the pandemic. While social media is helping adolescents develop a sense of individuality within a larger community and has been shown to improve life satisfaction for 70.4% of people, social platforms are also altering the way students seek approval through comparisons—both outcomes, positive or negative, impact self-image. These virtual interactions have also increased student vulnerability to cyberbullying. In fact, K-12 students who are bullied are more likely to have social media accounts, and 94% of teens who had been cyberbullied said that it negatively affected their life.

Body Image

When it comes to navigating self-esteem in the digital era, body image has a lot of sway. Adolescence is a period of extreme vulnerability in students—it’s characterized by major changes in development: social, emotional, intellectual, and physical. Since self-esteem and body image are so closely linked, perceived imperfections can increase levels of stress and influence self-image. The growing reliance on video-conferencing tools and camouflaging programs in social media have further altered body image for students. According to the International OCD Foundation, nearly 10 million people in the United States have body dysmorphic disorder (BDD). For students with BDD, perceived imperfections via social media platforms and online classes can be stressors that affect self-image.

Self-Esteem Activities for Students

Through self-esteem activities that focus on developing core competencies for social-emotional learning (SEL), such as self-awareness, students can learn how to view their substantial and virtual worlds in balance. These tools are designed to help adolescents develop a positive self-image through recognizing their feelings, thoughts, and influences on behaviors. Here are some ways that staff in your district can make a clear commitment to building self-esteem in students:

Cultivate Compassion

Comparisons largely define how adolescents view themselves and others. With access to immediate information, most are introduced to labeled differences daily. The way students view diversity, however, can be challenged. By encouraging self-compassion and compassion for others, they can develop a positive self-image that doesn’t stem from judgment.

Teach Positive Self-Talk

While self-image is impacted by experiences and relationships, it’s also defined by the conscious mind. To coach this invisible voice, students can be taught positive self-talk techniques that can help them become more aware of their values and qualities. This can include lessons on the power of the inner critic, the benefits of using affirmations, and how to assess negative thoughts.

Address Challenges

Practice doesn’t make perfect, and untangling this concept is an important step in developing self-esteem. Students can debunk the myth of perfection by learning more about the goal-setting process and coping strategies for stress and anxiety. With it, educators can help students acknowledge their efforts and celebrate the smaller accomplishments that they put towards achieving larger goals.

Establish Personal & Educational Goals

The failure to meet an unattainable goal can diminish anyone’s self-image. By improving goal-setting skills, students can learn how to manage their expectations without abandoning their ambitions. This is also an important part of establishing a positive growth mindset. Strategies used to establish and work towards these goals include learning how to set realistic goals and sustaining progress towards achievements.

SEL Strategies for Students

For students to benefit from self-esteem activities, their educators must have access to consistent and engaging lesson plans. Social-emotional learning (SEL) curricula offer a great solution for districts. SEL is designed to streamline educational resources for your staff, giving them access to the tools they need to identify, understand, and manage students’ mental and emotional health. Within CASEL’s SEL framework, counselors and educators can use strategies to encourage students to build, assess, and maintain a positive self-image with activities that develop:

• Self-awareness
• Self-management
• Social awareness
• Relationship skills
• Responsible decision-making skills

When delivered in engaging, digital formats, the SEL curriculum has a proven track record for improving student outcomes when it comes to self-image. Suite360—the digital SEL curriculum that Navigate360 offers—features a comprehensive mental health and prevention lesson plan that’s interactive and simple to use. For more information about Suite360 and how it can help students develop a positive self-image in your district, download Why Suite360’s Social-Emotional Learning Is More Important Than Ever today!

This article was originally published on Navigate360.com

Social-emotional learning (SEL) can result in significant academic improvements for students. In fact, school districts in Chicago that partnered with the Collaborating Districts Initiative (CDI) from the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL) saw an improvement in student attendance and an increase in the graduation rate from 59.3% in 2012 to 77.5% in 2017 as a result of their long-term commitment to SEL. Social and emotional skills, though non-academic in nature, have profound effects on the performance of K-12 students during primary education and can contribute a great deal to their college and career readiness.

Non-Academic Competencies That Can Prepare Students for College & the Workforce

There are five core competencies of SEL that, once fully developed, can set students up for success in secondary education and their professional lives. These competencies are as follows:

• Self-awareness – being cognizant of one’s own emotions, strengths, and limitations
• Self-management – managing emotions and behaviors to successfully achieve a goal
• Social awareness – understanding and empathizing with others to make deeper connections
• Relationship skills – being able to work with classmates or colleagues and manage conflicts when they arise
• Responsible decision-making – taking an ethical approach to conduct across the spectrum of social interactions

Implementing an SEL curriculum in a K-12 environment can set the stage for young students to develop healthy self-identities, better control over emotions and behavior, stronger relationships with others, effective conflict resolution skills, and more thoughtful decision-making—all traits that are vital for success in college and the workforce.

Why These Competencies Matter for College & Career Readiness

Research has shown that students who develop the five core competencies of SEL are better skilled at critical thinking and problem-solving, communication, and project leadership. They are adept at both working with others in a collaborative environment and successfully managing their individual responsibilities. The core competencies, in fact, directly fit into the quadrants of the College and Career Readiness and Success (CCRS) Organizer.

What Is the CCRS Organizer?

The College and Career Readiness and Success (CCRS) organizer is a visual representation of the numerous elements that influence a student’s ability to succeed in secondary education and the workforce. It was created by education professionals in early childhood development, technical education, and community colleges, as well as subject-matter experts in education non-profits and post-secondary institutions. The information in the organizer is arranged in four quadrants that collectively mirror a successful college and career readiness program: goals and expectations, outcomes and measures, resources and structures, and pathways and supports.

Goals & Expectations

Defined as what they should know and be able to do while preparing for secondary and post-secondary education, goals and expectations of students include meeting the state’s academic and technical standards, achieving secondary and post-secondary education requirements, and demonstrating social-emotional learning, critical thinking, and employability skills.

Outcomes & Measures

How do educators know when students are meeting the criteria for successful college and career readiness? Indicators include completing educational courses, attaining credentials, graduating from high school, enrolling in college, earning industry certifications, and focusing strongly on a post-secondary career path.

Outcomes of SEL programs can also be measured at the district and school levels. District-level outcomes can include implementing an SEL curriculum across the district, integrating SEL within the existing academic curriculum, and creating systems for continued improvement. A clear SEL vision for a school, buy-in from and continued education for teachers, and classroom-based initiatives are all outcomes at the school level that can be measured for efficacy.

Resources & Structures

To implement SEL in K-12 education and prepare students for college and career readiness, adequate resources are needed. Resources consist of funding, staffing, continued education opportunities, data systems, and community involvement. Feedback in the way of accountability, data-driven improvements, and evaluations of programs is also an important resource for SEL implementation and promoting college and career readiness in students.

Pathways & Supports

Institutions can support college and career readiness by making students aware of college and career paths, helping them choose which of those paths is ideal for their personal interests and goals, and equipping them with a well-rounded education that includes both cross-disciplinary and individualized learning strategies. Additional ways to support students as they plan for the future include helping them set specific goals and explore secondary and post-secondary options, as well as offering guidance on transitioning to college or a career.

Learn More About the Benefits of SEL

For a deeper understanding of why administrators rely on Suite360’s SEL expertise to help students succeed academically, socially, and emotionally, read Why Suite360’s Social-Emotional Learning Is More Important Than Ever today.

This article was originally published on Navigate360.com