SEL - Student Engagement and PBL

Working on practicing some SEL / Mindfulness activities with student this month.  I feel I have a better understanding once I put into practice and reflect on the impact.  I this this at both the graduate and K-12 level this month.  Some of the ways I explored Jamboard Activities that focus on SEL along with Mindfulness activities from Pear Deck to support student learning.  Pear Deck's blog provided some great posts on SEL and that SEL Is Not Extra, It's Essential. I brought some gaming activities into the classroom with Gimkit this year and one of the new features, "Draw That" has allowed the student to have some fun at the beginning or end of class and gives everyone a change to connect!  See more here: https://blog.gimkit.com/blog/draw-that 

As part my district initiative around SEL I took the online ten hours class on "Managing emotions in time of uncertainty" - https://www.coursera.org/learn/managing-emotions-uncertainty-stress

I try to listen to podcast and other resources for a different perspective on SEL and I recently listened to - John Spencer and Dr. Martinez -  Connecting SEL - PBL - Spencer Poscast  
As many schools shift toward hybrid and in-person learning, teachers are considering new ways to empower students, including PBL. If you're interested in taking a deeper dive into PBL, check out the information on the self-paced PBL courses I've created. You can find the information at the bottom of this email.

Jon's latest article is about PBL and SEL. If you're not familiar with SEL, you might want to listen to the podcast interview I did with Dr. Lorea Martinez, who is a true expert on this subject. You can also check out her practical book Teaching with the HEART in Mind.

Social-emotional learning has become a bit trendy lately. However, it’s more than merely a trend. SEL is a critical part of student soft skill development. In my latest article, I explore the relationship between project-based learning (PBL) and social-emotional learning (SEL). It’s an idea that Matinga Ragatz and Mike Kaechele explore in their upcoming book The Pulse of PBL and their thinking on this subject has definitely shaped my thinking on this powerful overlap as well. In fact, before you dive into this piece, you might want to check out Mike Kaechele’s articles on the Marriage of SEL and PBL as well as how to combine SEL and PBL in your classroom."

SEL in Digital Life by Commonsense graphic  https://docs.google.com/document/u/0/d/1Eb07J2xsgqYRqbdGZOVC3VvnnVN5b_ioEUbRjgrYz1Y/mobilebasic

I've have always seen the importance of SEL in teaching but the pandemic has escalated that need for staff and students!