Social Emotional Learning

ECE-902 - GUIDANCE IN SOCIAL / EMOTIONAL BEHAVIOR

Explore the current research on the importance of social emotional learning (SEL)and development in young children. Design classroom application activities to support the social and emotional development of the young learner. Implement techniques to help your students develop positive social skills. You will learn the importance of children's cooperative work and play in developing a sense of self as a valued and responsible member of the group when forming and maintaining satisfying relationships with others. Designed for grade level: PK-TK-K.

EDUC-928 - EDUCATING THE WHOLE STUDENT

Educators- teachers, administrators, counselors and coaches (K-12) -are often feeling pushed to their personal and professional limits as they strive to meet the complex demands of their roles. This course is taught by a former school counselor and current consultant to teachers, administrators and parents as a licensed therapist. The course provides practical tools to explore ways to best meet the needs of individual students with a comprehensive or holistic approach, and aids educators in the often overwhelming task of discerning how to understand and assist their students and larger school communities. A whole student approach , according to ASDA," ensures that each student is healthy, safe, engaged, supported and challenged, and sets the standard for comprehensive, sustainable school improvement and provides for long term student success." This whole student approach is a companion to social emotional learning (SEL), which is the focus of many educational approaches today. The course is designed to meet the needs of those who are already fully engaged in their professional roles, and assignments are integrated into the work that busy professional educators are already committed to, adding to their expertise in supportive and practical ways.

EDUC-929 - TRAUMA-INFORMED TEACHING

Over half of public school students in the United States have experienced some form of trauma, which is associated with adverse effects on academic performance, behavior, and social emotional learning (SEL). This course is designed to help educators utilize trauma-informed strategies to create an environment that is safe and supportive for students who may have experienced trauma. The course prepares and equips both general and special education teachers to implement commonly recognized strategies which support the brain's ability to heal from trauma, allowing students to actively engage in all classroom activities. Topics include the ACE Study, the brain's response to trauma, effects of trauma, neuroplasticity and healing from trauma, trauma-informed schools, and vicarious trauma.

EDU-947 - HILLBILLY ELEGY: BOOK APPLICATION

Read about the story of J.D. Vance, a self-proclaimed hillbilly from Appalachia. Like millions of others, his family left the hills in search of a better life. 'You can take a man out of the mountains, but you can't take the mountains out of the man.' However, Vance points out that the road north was filled with dramatic changes. A stranger in a strange land, his culture and family dysfunction almost destroyed his prospects of a better life. Thank God for Mamaw and Papaw who pointed J.D. in the right direction, insisting that he do his best in school. The Marines, college and an Ivy League education awaited Vance. This book application supports social emotional learning (SEL).

EDU-948 – HELPING CHILDREN SUCCEED: BOOK APPLICATION

Adverse childhood experiences, neglect, poverty, divorce, and other childhood stresses have radically changed school culture in the past ten years. In his most recent book, Paul Tough gives educators and care-givers practical, research-based ideas and suggestions for strengthening the non-cognitive skills in students like persistence and grit, relationship building, and developing a growth mindset to support social emotional learning (SEL). The pressures of standardized testing without an infrastructure of a healthy, nurturing school climate will only further frustrate students. Teachers and care-givers need to develop strategies of developing environments where students can build healthy attachments to adults and peers.

EDU-950 – WHOLE-BRAIN CHILD: BOOK APPLICATION

When your student has an emotional outburst, what is really going on in his brain? What teacher responses could fuel the fire, and what can help your student think logically? In Siegel and Bryson's The Whole-Brain Child, you will learn how the left and right sides of the brain develop and integrate in healthy and unhealthy ways. The authors teach 12 strategies in helping children from birth to preteens make connections between the logical left and emotional right sides of their brains by reprogramming their brains to react in healthy ways. This book study can help you change your perspective from seeing disruptive behaviors as opportunities rather than interruptions to nurture students through fears and encourage engagement in the classroom. Although written for parents, The Whole-Brain Child applies to teachers and those who want to see students succeed socially, emotionally, and academically in a social emotional learning (SEL) environment. This course can be taken for either one or two units, and you can complete the course either with a class of students or without a class.

EDU-951 - LOST AT SCHOOL: BOOK APPLICATION

Lost at School: Book Study, based on the book, Lost at School, Why Our Kids with Behavioral Challenges Are Falling Through the Cracks and How We Can Help Them challenges educators to reconsider the nature of struggling students and how we can help them build the skills they need to be successful learners. Most educators encounter students that seem to defy the norms of the classroom and are frustrated that standard discipline methods have limited success or have made the situation worse. The author, Ross W. Greene, Ph.D., makes a strong case that many students act out because they lack basic behavioral skills and become frustrated. Through observation, educators can pinpoint the specific skill(s) a student needs and provide a method to work collaboratively with the student to help them learn social emotional learning (SEL) strategies to become more successful. This course can be taken for either one or two units and does not require access to students.

EDU-952 – GRIT: PASSION & PERSEVERANCE: BOOK APPLICATION

Why do some people overcome difficult circumstances and excel while others don't? What makes some people successful? In this class, you will discover what psychologist Angela Duckworth's research has learned about high achievers in her book Grit: The power of passion and perseverance. Her book provides a research-based explanation of her Grit theory, how to develop grit internally and externally and how passion and perseverance relate to social emotional learning (SEL). Teachers, parents, coaches, and others are provided with practical strategies to foster grit for students, children, adults, and for themselves.

PED-922 - SOCIAL EMOTIONAL LEARNING THROUGH SPORTS & PHYSICAL EDUCATION

Social Emotional Learning (SEL) through Sports and Physical Education is a highly practical and theoretically sound course that will help you build a positive learning environment, teach valuable life skills, and inspire in students a desire to live active, healthy lives. Teachers will learn how to help students develop a growth mindset, ability to focus, regulate emotions, set goals and the importance of preparation and practice. The course addresses SHAPE America's National Standards 3, 4, and 5. It will also aid in achieving Propositions 1, 3, and 5 set by the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS). Filled with engaging activities and strategies to use with students, this course goes beyond sports and physical activity to build social emotional skills needed for life-long success.