Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) for Educators

Social-emotional learning (SEL) refers to the process through which individuals develop the ability to recognize, understand, and manage their own thoughts and emotions, as well as the reactions and emotions of others. It involves learning to build relationships, make responsible decisions, and handle challenging situations in constructive ways.

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Source: CASEL

To make the content easily accessible, we have organized the content into a series of self-directed modules, including a 5 hour Introduction to SEL module, and a 10 hour module for each SEL Competency. Within each module, there is a Companion Workbook, that is an application activity required for completion of the module. You are welcome to explore an area of particular interest or engage in them all. In each module, you will build a foundational understanding of how each social and emotional learning (SEL) competency is essential to, and inseparable from, student learning.

The course will be organized in alignment with the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL) framework for social emotional learning, which is anchored in five core competencies that are integral to student learning and lifelong success:

Self-awareness
Self-management
Social awareness
Relationship skills
Responsible decision-making

The modules that you can explore include:

Introduction to SEL Module

Understand that better developed SEL skills allow students to participate positively in school, to learn, and to develop healthy relationships
Begin developing an understanding of CASEL’s five core SEL competencies
Learn and apply key instructional practices that support your students’ SEL development
Recognize that these competencies are skills that are learned rather than traits that are inherited

Enroll in Intro to SEL Module!

Self-Awareness Module

Understand the importance of self-awareness in the school setting
Utilize tools to assess your students’ current self-awareness skills
Access strategies to help your students cultivate self-awareness

Enroll in Self-Awareness Module!

Self-Management Module

Understand the importance of self-management skills in your own life
Explore why self-management skills are valuable for every student
Identify which strategies will work best in your teaching practice

Enroll in Self-Management Module!

Social Awareness Module

Understand the importance of social awareness skills in your own life
Explore how social awareness skills can be taught to students
Identify which strategies will work best in your teaching practice

Enroll in Social Awareness Module!

Relationship Skills Module

Understand why relationship skills are valuable for all students
Reflect on how relationship skills are currently being taught to students
Explore the role and importance of equity in teaching relationship skills
Identify which strategies will work best in your teaching practice

Enroll in Relationship Skills Module!

Responsible Decision Making Module

Understand why decision-making skills are valuable for all students
Explore how decision-making skills can be fostered in your classroom
Try new decision-making strategies with your students

Enroll in Decision Making Module!

Learn More

Course Outline

Competency Modules

Each of the individual competency modules — Self-Awareness, Self-Management, Social Awareness, Relationship Skills, and Responsible Decision Making — contain the following:

Section 1: Companion Workbook
To capture your learning throughout your experience and to earn your certificate of completion for this module, you will be required to submit your Companion Workbook document at the end of this module.
Section 2: Activate Thinking
This section prepares you for a deep dive into the specific SEL Competency covered in this module by engaging you in a reflection activity.
Section 3: Big Idea
Develop your understanding of the SEL competency and how it impacts student behavior and the classroom climate. The core resources will be provided within this section.
Section 4: Strategies Bank
To provide a variety of ideas and strategies to best fit the needs of your students, we have collected a strategies bank. You are encouraged to explore the resources that best suit your needs.
Section 4: Try It Yourself
This section focuses on the application of the learning and strategies you have explored so far in the module. You are encouraged to identify a core class or small group to focus your application and gain student insight in the process.
Section 5: Reflection
In this final section, we encourage you to pause and reflect on how your application activity went with students and what feedback they provided.

Certificate/CEU Information

Introduction to SEL Module

In order to successfully earn a certificate of completion for 5 hours of professional development in the Introduction to SEL Module, participants must:

Complete an initial survey about your background, organization, and goals for taking the module through registration.
Engage in the materials and course activities as suits your learning needs. Review selected background materials (videos, webcasts, readings), follow personalized pathways that suit your needs, and engage in activities to help illustrate core concepts.
Contribute to the module forum by asking questions, responding to others' questions, and sharing ideas in the discussion forums; agreeing with or identifying comments as insightful; suggesting resources that will be useful to others; and sharing your expertise in other ways. A certificate of completion requires at least one new discussion and 2 replies to peers in the forum.
Reflect with your students on what strategies worked to support their SEL competency and what they could try next to identify lessons learned from student feedback.
Complete a survey about the module at the end and provide suggestions for improving it in the future.

Earning Continuing Education Units (CEUs)

Participants will have the opportunity to earn a certificate of completion for 5 hours of professional development in the Introduction to SEL Module.

You can submit the certificate to your local agency with a request for CEUs. Granting of CEUs will be subject to the policies and procedures of your state and local agency.

Competency Modules

In order to successfully earn a certificate of completion for 10 hours of professional development in each of the individual competency modules — Self-Awareness, Self-Management, Social Awareness, Relationship Skills, and Responsible Decision Making — participants must:

Complete an initial survey about your background, organization, and goals for taking the module through registration.
Engage in the materials and course activities as suits your learning needs. Review selected background materials (videos, webcasts, readings), follow personalized pathways that suit your needs, and engage in activities to help illustrate core concepts.
Complete the Companion Workbook to put the application of strategies into action.
Contribute to the module forums by asking questions, responding to others' questions, and sharing ideas in the discussion forums; agreeing with or identifying comments as insightful; suggesting resources that will be useful to others; and sharing your expertise in other ways. A certificate of completion requires at least one new discussion and 2 replies to peers in each forum.
Reflect with your students on what strategies worked to support their SEL competency and what they could try next to identify lessons learned from student feedback.
Complete a survey about the module at the end and provide suggestions for improving it in the future.

Earning Continuing Education Units (CEUs)

Participants will have the opportunity to earn a certificate of completion for 10 hours of professional development in each competency module.

You can submit the certificate to your local agency with a request for CEUs. Granting of CEUs will be subject to the policies and procedures of your state and local agency.

Course Development Team

Brittany Miller, M.Ed.

Brittany Miller works to inspire teachers to rethink their roles in the classroom and build their capacity for student-centered learning by first engaging teachers in the types of experiences and environments that show them how. This mindset drives her projects at the Friday Institute for Educational Innovation, where she works with schools and districts across North Carolina and beyond to implement student-centered pedagogies and create a culture that prioritizes the overall development of learners.

Amy Walter

Meet Amy Walter, a Research Scholar on the PLLC team with the Friday Institute. Amy is a lifelong learner and teacher, and her passion for education is evident in her dedication to creating a future where every teacher is a master of their craft, sparking a love of learning in every student, and driving academic excellence through innovative and dynamic professional development designed and delivered with passion.

With a solid understanding of curriculum and instructional practices and the ability to bring research to practice, Amy is constantly seeking new opportunities to strengthen her instructional skills and share her own learning. Her vast experience in schools, including her roles as a classroom teacher, intervention coordinator, and instructional facilitator in Caldwell and Wake County Public School Systems, allows her to establish a strong culture while ensuring quality instruction.

Amy’s areas of focus include increasing student engagement, breaking down barriers to educational success, and designing accessible learning opportunities so that all students achieve at high levels. She is skilled at working with school leadership teams as well as individual educators and is dedicated to empowering educators to unlock the full potential of their students through ongoing professional development and support. Connect with her on Twitter @drinkofwalter.

Blake Wiggs

Blake Wiggs is a former research scholar with the Friday Institute where he partners with districts to design adult learning experiences for teachers, coaches and administrators. His responsive approach to facilitation is informed by his experience with community organizing, social justice education and anti-racist affinity work. He received both his M.A. in teaching and B.A. in anthropology from East Carolina University and is currently pursuing his Ed.D. in curriculum and instruction at the University of North Carolina Wilmington. His research is largely linguistic, focusing on the relationship between language, ideology and power. Most recently, he is conducting research in Peru and collaborating with Unlocking Silent Histories to make culturally sustaining practices visible through community-led voice.

Available	On Demand
Duration	5 sections per module
Cost	Free
Primary Audience	Educators Instructional Coaches Instructional Support Teams Administrators
Certificate Available	Yes
Certificate Hours	5-10 per module