Social Emotional Learning & Trauma Informed Practices in Education

Social Emotional Learning(SEL)

Marcia Ramstrom, School Counselor

What You Will Learn • Social Emotional Learning (SEL) • Where behavior comes from• Trauma-Informed Practices (TIPs) in education• How to use SEL and TIPs to address students’

most challenging behaviors• Second Step Curriculum

Quiz

• What do schools teach?

• What do you want most for your children?

Best of Both Worlds

Imagine that schools could, without

compromising either, teach both the skills of

well-being and the skills of achievement.

Social Emotional Learning

Social Emotional LearningThe process through which children and adults acquire and effectively apply the knowledge, attitudes, and skills necessary to understand and manage emotions, set and achieve positive goals, feel and show empathy for others, establish and maintain positive relationships, and make responsible decisions. 

Rules Without Relationships = Rebellion

SEL is based on the understanding that the best learning emerges in the context of

supportive relationships that make learning challenging, engaging, and meaningful. 

Teaching Without Relationships Results in NO LEARNING

• These skills are critical to being a good student, citizen, and worker

• Many unwanted behaviors can be prevented or reduced when multiyear, integrated efforts are used to develop students' social and emotional skills

• This is best done through effective classroom instruction and student engagement in positive activities in and out of the classroom 

CORE

COMPETENCIES

Self-awarenessThe ability to accurately recognize one’s emotions and thoughts and their influence on behavior.

Includes accurately assessing one’s strengths and limitations and possessing a well-grounded sense of confidence and optimism.

Self-managementThe ability to regulate one’s emotions, thoughts, and behaviors effectively in different situations. Includes managing stress, controlling impulses, motivating oneself, and setting and working toward achieving personal and academic goals.

Social Awareness: The ability to take the perspective of and empathize with others from diverse backgrounds and cultures, to understand social and ethical norms for behavior, and to recognize family, school, and community resources and supports.

Relationship Skills The ability to establish and maintain healthy and rewarding relationships with diverse individuals and groups. This includes communicating clearly, listening actively, cooperating, resisting inappropriate social pressure, negotiating conflict constructively, and seeking and offering help when needed.

Responsible Decision Making 

The ability to make constructive and respectful choices about personal behavior and social interactions based on consideration of ethical standards, safety concerns, social norms, the realistic evaluation of consequences of various actions, and the well-being of self and others.

Second Step for SEL

Behavior

As a group, come up with the top 5 most

challenging behaviors you deal with as a

teacher.

Thoughts, Feelings & Behaviors

Triad

Positive Thoughts

ABC Model & Entering the Triad

The Brain’s CEO

Executive Functioning SkillsThe essential self-regulating skills that we all use every day to accomplish just about everything.

They help us plan, organize, make decisions, shift between situations or thoughts, control our emotions and impulsivity, and learn from past mistakes.

How To Help Students With Negative Behavior Due to

Deficits in Executive Functioning Skills

How to help educators who are experiencing enormous stress related to

these behavior problems.

What We Know• School discipline is broken• Tightening the vise HAS NOT worked• Students WANT to succeed• Teachers do their best with what they

know and need help understanding and helping kids with challenging behavior

Dramatic Shift• Improvement in understanding the factors

that set the stage for challenging behaviors in kids

• Creating mechanisms for helping these kids that are predominantly proactive instead of reactive

Challenging Behavior• Students with social, emotional and

behavioral challenges LACK IMPORTANT THINKING SKILLS

• Kids do well IF THEY CAN• When the demands being placed on a kid

EXCEED his capacity to respond adaptively

Lagging Skills = Challenging Behavior

Bruce Perry – Trauma & The Developing Brain I

Bruce Perry – Trauma & The Developing Brain II

County & State Abuse StatsSubstantiated Cases of Child Abuse and Neglect, by Type of Abuse: 2014

County & State Abuse StatsSubstantiated Cases of Child Abuse and Neglect, by Type of Abuse: 2014

Creating Trauma InformedSchools

“An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.”

Benjamin Franklin

The Art of SEL

Second Step for SEL

Second Step Curriculum

Helping Them Heal

Letters From Teddy

ConclusionView the difficulties of behaviorally challenging students through more compassionate, accurate, productive lenses.

See our students benefitting from these practices that are non-adversarial, non-punitive, proactive, collaborative and relationship-enhancing.