All Learning is Social and Emotional: Developing Essential Skills for the Classroom and Beyond

Although social and emotional learning (SEL) is most familiar as programs separate from academics, the truth is, all learning is social and emotional. What educators say, the values we express, the materials and activities we choose, and the skills we prioritize all influence how students think, see themselves, and interact with content and with others. Along with a toolbox of strategies for addressing 33 essential competencies, this course also offers real-life examples highlighting the many opportunities for social and emotional learning within the K–12 academic curriculum. Children's social and emotional development is too important to be an add-on or an afterthought, too important to be left to chance. The projected outcome of this course is to provide educators with the knowledge, understanding, and methodologies needed to integrate a SEL approach that builds essential skills that will serve students in the classroom and throughout their lives.