Teaching SEL Through STREAMS

Purpose & objective

Never before has Social Emotional Learning (SEL) in our schools been as important as it is right now. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic our children have been socially isolated in virtual schooling, parented by overwhelmed and exhausted parents, and have spent an abundance of time on devices rather then in face-to-face environments. This has resulted in children who are socially immature, lacking the skills to interact with their peers, and unable to regulate their emotions. Given that our children are simultaneously in this state and living in a time in which it is crucial to be teaching the engineering design process along with the 4 Cs (communication, collaboration, critical thinking, and creativity), it is only logical to be merging them in the teaching process. Ideally, this happens cross-curricularly--for example, an English/Language Arts lesson that integrates SEL skill development through a hands-on STEAM component. Integrating social emotional learning into STREAMS programming has the potential to provide a great benefit for the healthy growth and development of our children.

Presenters will utilize a host of tools, techniques, and instructional strategies such as a digital collaborate space, turning and talking throughout the session, and authentic examples of STREAMS integration in early education SEL sessions.

As a result of their participation, session attendees will:

1. be able to choose at least one idea to implement in their classrooms when they return to their classrooms in the upcoming school year.

2. know about the five CASEL competencies and about various STREAMS activities that can be integrated to facilitate each of the CASEL competencies.

3. be introduced to the skills of teaching SEL through STREAMS activities.

Outline

*As attendees arrive, invite them to join the collaborative document space to be utilized throughout the session.

1. Welcome/Presenter Introduction (1-2 minutes)

2. Review Session Goals (1-2 minutes)
-Current Trends/Research for SEL in the education
-Introduce the five elements of the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and -Emotional Learning (CASEL) framework
-Offer specific examples of integrating STREAMS (Science, Technology, Reading, Engineering, Arts, Math, Social Studies) for each competency

3. Brief introduction of Social Emotional Learning (1-2 minutes)

4. Overview of current trends/research for SEL in education (2-3 minutes)

5. CASEL competencies (2-3 minutes)

6. Provide background information for each competency and 2-3 examples of STREAM integration for each competency with Slide deck images and some demonstrations–embed discussion and collaborative document time after each competency and example (25-30 minutes)
-Self-awareness- understanding your own emotions, knowing how to express yourself, identifying your strengths and weaknesses
*Create your name Challenge
*“I Like Myself” Self-portrait Challenge
-Self-management-Managing your Emotions, rational thinking, expressing yourself appropriately
*Calm Construction
*Epic Paper Tower
-Social Awareness-Recognizing others’ emotions, showing empathy, taking perspective
*STEAM Pattern Block and Compliment Challenge
*Empathy Map Ozobots
-Relationship Skills- working with others, teamwork and leadership skills, working towards a common goal
*Compliment Chain Challenge
*Kindness Secret Code
-Responsible Decision Making- 1. Understand a problem and the associated feelings, brainstorming ways to solve the problem, decide the best solution (taking into consideration goals and ethics), acting on the decision, evaluate the result
*The Biggest Best Snowman
*Marshmallow Challenge

7. Review & Reflect (3-5 minutes)
-Review why SEL and STREAMS in education is important
-Jamboard Collaborative Space

Supporting research

The following resources support the importance of the session topic, practices, and information being presented:

1. Peterson, A., Gaskill, M. & Cordova, J. (2018). Connecting STEM with Social Emotional Learning (SEL) Curriculum in Elementary Education. In E. Langran & J. Borup (Eds.), Proceedings of Society for Information Technology & Teacher Education International Conference (pp. 1212-1219). Washington, D.C., United States: Association for the Advancement of Computing in Education (AACE).

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1TLOjVFpM7MQNWRLRFnxXFQLR_x4R2aoU/view?usp=sharing

2. Common Sense Education: https://bit.ly/3f5f9QL

3. Eduporium: https://bit.ly/3dA8jCJ

4. Carly & Adam STEM and SEL: https://bit.ly/3xOI8yG