Writing for the Fordham Institute, Matthew Taylor explores the importance of self-care for educators and the impact our modeling has on students. Excerpts of the piece appear below: Over the last several weeks, educators accomplished the mammoth task of setting up remote learning for the remainder of the COVID-19 pandemic. Read more
Recently in Getting Smart, Tyler Thigpen wrote a piece on fear in the classroom, offering educators some insight into the debilitating anxiety that some students experience. Excerpts from the piece appear below: What if by understanding where fears stem from, educators could design the learning environment for optimal courage? Courage Read more
Writing for AEI, Laura Hamilton and Heather Schwartz explore the complex topic of measurement of social and emotional learning (SEL). They posit that the way in which advocates choose to measure SEL will play a critical role in shaping the effort’s goals and success, but provide several warnings about measurements: Read more
Transforming Education has released a new resource, SEL Integration Approach for Classroom Educators. In A National at Hope, the Aspen SEAD Commission highlighted the importance of “integrat[ing] social, emotional, and cognitive development into academic curricula and throughout the day.” By integrating social-emotional learning (SEL) into the fabric of the school Read more
Research increasingly points to the importance of social and emotional learning to student success. Teachers play a central role in these dimensions of learning, particularly in helping students feel connected to school and have a positive sense of themselves as learners. Through the messages they send and the experiences they Read more
Writing for the Brookings Institute, Amy Roberts and Helyn Kim explore the importance of teacher well-being for student success. Excerpts of the piece appear below: Without question, teachers are central to student success. Anyone who has taught knows how rewarding it is to witness student learning. Teaching can also be Read more
Writing for AEI, Chester E. Finn, Jr. and Frederick M. Hess explore what is needed to make social and emotional learning (SEL) thrive in today’s schools. The report offers seven suggestions for SEL advocates and funders as they seek to deliver on SEL’s promise and avoid its pitfalls. Suggestions include: Read more
Children graduating from K-12 schools are largely unprepared for workplace challenges, and with the rise of smart machines, workforce readiness gaps are likely to increase. What are promising practices for preparing students for the changing world of work? How can educators help students develop their uniquely human attributes and flexible Read more
Integrating Social, Emotional, and Academic Development (SEAD): An Action Guide for School Leadership Teams provides practical advice, curated resources, and action steps for school leaders to improve the student experience, calling out specific equity implications in every section. Published by Education First and co-developed with practitioner-leaders from Minneapolis and Nashville public Read more
Recently in Getting Smart, Katherine Prince of Knowledgeworks discussed a new foundation for readiness for work in the 21st century. Excerpts of the piece appear below: From today’s vantage point, we can identify two critical drivers of change shaping the future of readiness for further learning, work and life: the Read more
The intensifying interest among education policymakers in the social and emotional dimensions of student success is encouraging news. By complementing the important work in recent years to raise standards and strengthen instruction, the increasing focus on school climate and students’ relationships to their peers and their schools is a potentially Read more
The Collaborative for Academic, Social and Emotional Learning (CASEL) launched The CASEL Guide to Schoolwide SEL that provides an interactive planner, step-by-step guidance, field-tested tools, and continuous improvement processes to help educators implement social and emotional learning (SEL) in their schools. The free, online resource helps school teams coordinate and Read more
The Aspen Institute’s National Commission on Social, Emotional, and Academic Development has released a major national report, “From a Nation at Risk to a Nation at Hope,” calling on all sectors of society to accelerate efforts to ensure that all U.S. students have access to quality social and emotional learning Read more
Recently in the New York Times, David Brooks wrote a column about the importance of emotion in learning. Excerpts from his piece appear below: We used to have this top-down notion that reason was on a teeter-totter with emotion. If you wanted to be rational and think well, you had Read more
How can schools better align their practices with what science says about human learning? A new video series of 20+ videos from Edutopia, featuring Linda Darling-Hammond, president and CEO of Learning Policy Institute, and Pamela Cantor, MD, founder and senior science advisor of Turnaround for Children, pairs research insights with Read more
In an economy driven by technological innovation and a complex social landscape, schools must invest in instructional approaches that allow students to express more agency over their learning and create space to apply what they learn to solve real-world problems. Based on a two-year study of personalized learning in 39 Read more