Welcome to module two of the second course of the University of Colorado at Boulder's MOOC titled The Teacher and Social Emotional Learning. In this second course, SEL for Students: A Path to Social and Emotional Well-being, we focus on SEL for students, and in particular, we look at SEL as one means of attaining social and emotional well-being for students in preschool through high school. Here in this second module, we focus on the field of social and emotional Learning. We examine the purposes and origins, the field, investigating questions such as, what are the goals or purposes of SEL? When was SEL developed, and what was it developed in response to? How have its aims changed as the field has grown and developed? Also, we pose and explore these additional questions. What are some of the reasons you are interested in learning about SEL? What are your goals and aims for its use? In this module, we trace the origins of the field of SEL, identifying how a perceived need for greater attention to children's social and emotional development in schools grew in part from the popularization of theories of multiple intelligences and emotional intelligence in the mid-1990s. We explore some of the other educational theories that support this work before turning to a discussion of what SEL is. We revisit the definitions we explored in the first module and expand on them through an investigation of SEL's goals, purposes, and aims. Before turning to the readings, videos, and activities, first, a little bit of background on the relationship between emotional intelligence and SEL. In his best selling 1995 book Emotional Intelligence, which as we touched on very briefly in module one, really paved the way for the SEL movement. Daniel Goleman explains that emotional and to a lesser degree social intelligence is not merely an innate aptitude but can be explicitly taught. Social emotional learning carries out this possibility by fostering a set of core competencies and skills that are affiliated with emotional well-being and positive social interactions. In this sense, Goleman's book wrote the prescription whereas social and emotional learning guidelines for educators, the book that we read the first chapter of last week, carried out its application. Goleman asserts that emotional intelligence or aptitude as a meta ability, meaning that it determines how well we can use whatever other skills we have. Not surprisingly then, one of the largest arguments for the inclusion of SEL programs in schools is its ability to improve academic achievement. As curriculum standardization and accountability policies began to characterize the educational reform movements in the early 2000s, SEL programs served both as a means of attending to the pressure to produce achievement gains and also to create a space where the focus is on students' social and emotional well-being rather than strictly academic content. In addition to its roots in emotional intelligence, SEL also has strong ties to progressive theories of education such as John Dewey's work on centering the development of the whole child. SEL also were out of the desire to synthesize the multiple overlapping initiatives dedicated to students' social emotional well-being in schools such as anti-bullying initiatives, drug prevention programs and school climate initiatives. Now, let's take a closer look at the readings and videos that will be guiding our exploration. The first reading for this module is a 2006 chapter by Hatch and Kornhaber that was written for a larger edited volume, The Educator's Guide to Emotional Intelligence and Academic Achievement: Social-Emotional Learning in the Classroom. The chapter we're reading is titled Multiple Intelligences and Emotional Intelligence: Finding Common Ground in the Classroom. In this chapter, Hatch and Kornhaber discuss how theories of multiple intelligences and emotional intelligence and the popular response to them led to the development of the field of SEL. As you read this chapter, consider the similarities and differences between Gardner's theory of multiple intelligences and the theorization of emotional intelligence, in what ways are they the same and in what ways are they different. Additionally, and perhaps more importantly, how did either or both of those philosophies contribute to the development of SEL and your understanding of it? The second reading for this module is a New York Times article written by Jennifer Kahn in 2013. This article questions whether or not emotional intelligence and social skills can be taught so as to develop students' social and emotional skills and increase their social and emotional competency. In the course of answering this question, Khan provides an overview of what SEL is, as well as introduces some of the common programs and popular practices. As you're reading this article, consider the reasons provided as to why social and emotional skills are able to be learned, as well as your familiarity with any of the programs and practices discussed. What resonates with your experience, and what is new to you? There are also three short videos. The first is by Paul Ekman, and he addresses the study of universal emotions, as well as discusses the value of emotional awareness. As you watch this video, listen for the seven emotions that Ekman identifies as universal and compare them to the five identified by other psychologists. What does it mean to consider emotions as universal regardless of culture or time or location? Additionally, consider the reasons why, according to Ekman, emotional awareness is a valuable skill. The second video is by Roger Weissberg, and in it, he focuses on the origins of the Collaborative of Academic Social and Emotional Learning, otherwise known as CASEL, and its relation to SEL. As you watch this video, I encourage you to focus on the five core competencies and the strategies he proposes to teach these skills. The third and final video this week is by Maurice Elias, and in it, he discusses the relationship among emotional intelligence, kindness, and academic achievement. As you watch this video, listen for the connection he draws between SEL and academic achievement.
