Tag: SEL

History Comes Alive: Using AI and Thinking Routines to Build Student Empathy

Author: Ruth Okoye | Posted:
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I’ve been reflecting on our OK2Ask session about Thinking Routines and SEL skills. Specifically, with increasing student needs around social-emotional learning, I’ve been thinking about how we can make these routines even more powerful in our classrooms when it comes to learning history. I love using thinking routines because they serve multiple purposes in the … read more »

World Food Day: Building Empathy Through Food Stories

Author: Sharon Hall | Posted:
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World Food Day, observed on October 16, offers educators a meaningful opportunity to help students explore the connections between food, culture, and empathy. While food is a shared experience across all cultures, access, traditions, and meaning vary widely around the world. Bringing stories about food into the classroom helps students learn to see beyond their … read more »

Building Engagement in Virtual Learning Environments, Part 2: Leveraging Live Instructional Time

Author: Traci Hedetniemi | Posted:
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When the majority of virtual students’ school day is spent on asynchronous learning, it is critical to capitalize on live instructional time as a place to push active engagement. During synchronous sessions, the aim should be to move students from simply participating in tasks towards investing in learning by asking questions, responding to feedback, and … read more »

Building Engagement in Virtual Learning Environments, Part 1: Relationships Matter!

Author: Traci Hedetniemi | Posted:
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Establishing strong teacher-student relationships in a virtual learning environment can be challenging. Students may sometimes feel their teacher is just a name on their gradebook, or they may think the computer is their teacher instead, particularly in canned curriculum situations. Research on learning and development emphasizes that student success is contingent upon learning conditions that … read more »

Digging Deeper: Using Thinking Routines to Build Empathy During African-American History Month

Author: Sharon Hall | Posted:
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As we celebrate and observe African-American History Month in February, we must recognize the importance of making this topic relevant to students beyond just learning about famous African Americans and their contributions to this country’s history. Including specific activities that promote deeper thinking allows us to deepen understanding while building empathy for others. Developing empathy … read more »

Empowering Students through Transformative SEL

Author: Erica De Los Santos | Posted:
Categories: Classroom Application | Tags: , , , 1 Comment

“SEL is the universal life jacket, keeping students afloat and open to learning. Only when children learn in psychologically safe environments that nurture their emotion skills can they move from helplessness to resilience, from anxiety to action, from scattered to centered, from isolated to connected.” – Marc Brackett, Ph.D. Social and emotional learning (SEL) can … read more »

Maker Education in Your Classroom

Author: Darshell Silva | Posted:
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What is maker education? In maker education, “students imagine, design, and create projects that align the content of learning with hands-on application” (Makered.org). Maker education was born from the maker movement, which believes that we are all “makers” and can be creators—not just consumers—of things. Makerspaces are specific spaces in schools, libraries, and community organizations … read more »

Celebrating Human Rights – Dignity, Freedom, and Justice for All!

Author: Erica De Los Santos | Posted:
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My humanity is bound up in yours, for we can only be human together. – Desmond Tutu, South African Theologian and Human Activist In December, we celebrate Universal Human Rights Month, which honors the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), an international document adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations on December 10, … read more »

Creating a Culture of Community in Your School

Author: Erica De Los Santos | Posted:
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 “We are social beings, and we need each other to thrive. A strong, healthy community can bolster us through challenging moments and bring joy to our lives. When we build community, we can build our empathy for each other; and building empathy for each other helps us build community.”  – Elena Aguilar Onward: Cultivating Emotional … read more »