Less Cortisol, More Oxytocin:Achieving Educational Equity Through Social and Emotional Learning and Conditions for Learning

David OsherLearning and Teaching ExpoDecember 14, 2017Hong Kong

Agenda and Main Points

Capacity CompetenceMotivation

Support Individuality Readiness

The Science of Learning & Development:Genetics & the Brain

• Genetics are not destiny; epigenetics matter.• Malleability and neural plasticity are core to human

development.• The Brain develops in response to experience.• Neural integration and the interconnectivity of

children’s cognitive, social, and emotional development is essential for well-being.

The Science of Learning: Relationships

• The human relationship is the primary process through which biological and and contextual factors mutually reinforce each other.

• The ability of adults to attune with children, buffer stress, and support their cognitive, social, and emotional development is key to learning and healthy development.

Building Capacity to LearnTeaching Learning

Com

pete

ncie

s &

Mot

ivat

ion

Conditions

Improved Capacity

Think About Learning & Development Bio-Ecologically

UC Davis Arboretum & Public Garden

Development Within Contexts

Quality of the

Interactions & Support

Individual Contexts

Personal Characteristics School

Environment

Engagement as an Example:What Affects Engagement?

• Student Factors• Motivation• Strengths (e.g. Cognitive capacity)• Attention, self-regulation• Persistence, conscientiousness

• Social Factors --Conditions for Learning• Social and emotional • Pedagogical• Organizational

SocietalFactors

School

FamilyTeachersFriends

Classroom

Student

Where Do We Look to Understand Engagement?

What Classroom Drivers Can Policy Help Change?

• Student Engagement: The Amount of Time the Learner is Fully engaged

• Being Engulfed in Learning • Flow

• Teacher Differentiation of Instruction:Being in the Zone of Proximal Development for Every Student

The Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) for Learning and Development

Cha

lleng

e

Support

ZPD

BODY-BRAIN LOOP

BrainBody

Annemaree Carroll and Julie BowerThe University of Queensland, Science

of Learning Research Center

Brain, Mind & Body

• Complex dynamic feedback loop between thebrain, mind and body

• Effects on:• Cognition• Appraisal• Motivation• Behavior• Memory

• “We feel, therefore we learn.” (Immordino-Yang & Damaiso, 2007)

PleasantUnpleasant

High

FEELING

LowEN

ERG

Y

Marc Brackett, Yale Center for Social and Emotional Learning

Examples of Scientific Grounding

• Advances in Neuropsychology • Prefrontal Cortex

• Executive Function, Self-Regulation, Attention• Nucleus Accumbens

• Motivation, Reward, Addiction• Amygdala

• Emotional Regulation• Reactivity

• Hippocampus• Learning, Memory

Examples of Scientific Grounding

• The Stress Response Dynamic (simplified)

CortisolEffects on Learning,

Emotions, HealthStress

Response

Core Social & Emotional CompetenciesThe CASEL Model(Collaborative for Academic, Social,& Emotional Learning)

Self-awareness

Social awareness

Relationship skills

Responsible decision-making

Self-managementSocial

EmotionalLearning

Have the ability to:• Accurately assess their

feelings, interests, values, and strengths; and

• Maintain a well-grounded sense of self-confidence.

Demonstrate it by:• Recognizing and accurately labeling

simple emotions such as sadness, anger, and happiness.

• Analyzing factors that trigger their stress reactions.

• Analyzing how various expressions of emotion affect other people.

Students Who Are Self-Aware

Have the ability to:• Regulate their emotions

to handle stress, control impulses, and persevere in overcoming obstacles;

• Set and monitor progress toward personal and academic goals; and

• Express emotions appropriately.

Demonstrate it by:• Describing the steps of setting and

working toward goals. • Making a plan to achieve a short-

term personal or academic goal. • Identifying strategies to make use of

available school and community resources and overcome obstacles in achieving a long-term goal.

Students Who Self-Manage

Have the ability to:• Take the perspective of

others and empathize with others;

• Recognize and appreciate individual and group similarities and differences; and

• Recognize and use family, school, and community resources.

Demonstrate it by:• Identifying verbal, physical,

and situational cues indicating how others feel.

• Predicting others’ feelings and perspectives in various situations.

• Evaluating their ability to empathize with others.

Students Who Are Socially Aware

Have the ability to:• Establish and maintain healthy

and rewarding relationships based on cooperation;

• Resist inappropriate social pressure;

• Prevent, manage, and resolve interpersonal conflict; and

• Seek help when needed.

Demonstrate it by:• Describing approaches to

making and keeping friends. • Being cooperative and

working on a team to promote group goals.

• Evaluating the uses of communication skills with peers, teachers, and family members.

Students Who Have Good Relationship Skills

Have the ability to:• Make decisions based on

consideration of ethical standards, safety concerns, appropriate social norms, respect for others, and likely consequences of various actions;

• Apply decision-making skills to academic and social situations; and

• Contribute to the well-being of their school and community.

Demonstrate it by:• Identifying a range of

decisions they make at school.

• Evaluating strategies for resisting peer pressure to engage in unsafe or unethical activities.

• Analyzing how their current decision making affects their college and career prospects.

Students Who Make Responsible Decisions

Social & Emotional Competencies Can Be Developed:Evidence of Success with SEL

• 23% increase in social and emotional skills• 9% improvement in attitudes about self,

others, and school• 9% improvement in prosocial behavior• 9% reduction in problem behaviors• 10% reduction in emotional distress• 11% increase in standardized achievement test scores

(in math and reading)

Source: Durlak, J.A., Weissberg, R.P., Dymnicki, A.B., Taylor, R.D., & Schellinger, K.B. (2011). The impact of enhancing students’ social and emotional learning: a meta-analysis of school-based universal interventions, Child Development, 82, 405-432.

Why SEL: Some Other Reasons

• Addressing impacts of Trauma • Compromised attachment• Compromised ability to self-regulate

• Developing Portable Assets in an evolving world• Empowering learners

• A prerequisite to self-discipline• Tools for cooperative learning• Self-regulated learning

Why SEL is Important for School Effectiveness:Direct Effects

• Executive Functioning & Self-Regulation• Attentional control (including inhibitory control)• Self-discipline• Critical thinking• Cognitive flexibility• Creative problem solving

• Perseverance• Participation in Group Activities

• Motivation• Avoidance of Risky Behaviors that

• Keep students off track• Makes environment less safe

• Effects on Teachers (a condition for teaching)• Effects on Peers (a condition for learning)

Why SEL is Important for School Effectiveness:Indirect Effects

Social Emotional Conditions for Learning

Students feel SAFEPhysically

Emotionally & socially Intellectually

In terms of identity Treated fairly & equitably

Students experience SUPPORT & CONNECTIONMeaningful connection to adults

Strong bonds to schoolPositive peer relationships

Effective and available support

Students experienceCHALLENGE &ENGAGEMENTHigh expectations

Strong personal motivationSchool is connected to life goalsRobust academic opportunities

Peers & teachers areSOCIALLY CAPABLEEmotionally intelligent &

culturally competentResponsible & persistentCooperative team players

1 Physical Safety

Safety

Emotional Safety2

Identity Safety.

3

Intellectual Safety 4

Treated Fairly and Equitably5

Emotional State

Attention

Memory

Problem solving

Decision making

Information processingEngagement

Interest

Motivation

Social Interaction

Fear

• Narrow Focus (tunneling)

• Fight, Freeze or Flight

Anxiety and Toxic Stress

• Compromised working memory

• Less attention• Limits to creativity

http://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/1gQMiM30NUnZ7Rncs3V0Kg

WeChat - China

ConnectionAttachmentTrustCareRespect

Social EmotionalLearning & Support

OpportunitiesReinforcement

Learning SupportsEffective PedagogyEngagementMotivation

Supporting Conditions for Learning

Overlap Between Conditions for Learning and Social and Emotional Competencies

Social & Emotional Competenciesand Attributes•Self-awareness•Self-management•Social awareness•Relationship skills•Responsible decision-making•Confidence•Creativity•Curiosity•Perseverance•Optimism

School Climate•Policies, procedures•Norms, expectations•Aggregate characteristics ofclassroom & school community

•Physical environment•Partnerships with family & community

•Information dissemination

Conditions for Learning &Social and Emotional Development•Individual attributes that contribute to positive interactions

•Engagement/connectedness•Supportive, respectful, trusting relations•Safety•Cultural competencies & celebrating difference•Culturally responsive instruction•Open communication•Collaboration•Peer & adult social and emotional competencies•Shared & positive narratives•Inclusion•Challenge•Modeling, practice, & reinforcementof desired competencies

Osher, D., & Berg, J. (in press). School climate and social emotional learning: the integration of two approaches. Robert Wood Johnson Foundation

Time to Feel Good

Readiness(Dymnicki, Wandersman, Osher, Grigorescu, & Huang, 2014)

R MC2

Readiness = Motivation x General Capacity x Implementation-SpecificCapacity

• Modeling Social and Emotional Competence• Executive Function and Reflective Practice• Teacher Grit• Addressing Diversity• Reducing Stress and Counter Aggression

Importance of Teacher & Administrator Social & Emotional Competence & Capacity

Supportive School Environments

Minimize Toxic

Conditions

Support the Whole Child

Challenge & Engage

Promote Social & Emotional

Skills & Psychological

Flexibility

Capacity CompetenceMotivation

Support Individuality Readiness

Summing Up

My Organization:American Institutes for Research

U.S & International Research

Aligning Research & Practice

1850 Staff

71 Year Old Not For Profit

e.g., Work with UNICEF China Since 2008• Impact Research Consultation • Support for

• Child Friendly Schools• Social and Emotional Learning• Conditions for Learning• Teacher Quality• Supervision• Creativity• Early Childhood Development• Family Engagement

Links• http://www.air.org/topic/social-and-emotional-learning• https://safesupportivelearning.ed.gov• https://www.gtlcenter.org• http://casel.org• https://www.edutopia.org• https://www.rwjf.org/en/library/collections/social-and-emotional-

learning.html

References• Berg, J., Osher, D., Same, M., Nolan, E., Benson, D. & Jacobs, N. (2017). Identifying, Defining, and

Measuring Social and Emotional Competencies. Washington, DC: American Institutes for Research.• Osher, D., Cantor, P., Berg, J., Strayer, L., & Rose, T. (In Press). Drivers of Human Development: How

Relationships and Context Shape Learning and Development. Applied Developmental Science. • Cantor, P., Osher, D., Berg, J., Strayer, L., & Rose, T. (In Press). Malleability, Plasticity, and Individuality:

How Children Learn and Develop in Context. Applied Developmental Science. • Osher, D., Kidron, Y., Brackett, M., Dymnicki, A., Jones, S., & Weissberg, R. P. (2016). Advancing the

science and practice of social and emotional learning: Looking back and moving forward. Review of Research In Education 40, 644-681.

• Osher, D., Kidron, Y., DeCandia, C. J., Kendziora, K., & Weissberg, R. P. (2016). Interventions to promote safe and supportive school climate. In K. R. Wentzel & G. B. Ramani (Eds.), Handbook of Social Influences in School Contexts (pp. 384–404). NY: Routledge.

• Osher, D., & Kendziora, K. (2010). Building conditions for learning and healthy adolescent development: Strategic approaches. In B. Doll, W. Pfohl, & J. Yoon (Eds.), Handbook of youth prevention science (pp. 121–140). New York, NY: Routledge.