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How Student SEL Competence Assessment Can Improve Teaching and Learning

By: Clark McKown, xSEL Labs A recent survey reported by Ed Week Market Brief indicates that 90% of instructional leaders are considering or have committed to investing in social and emotional learning (SEL). Much of that investment will go towards purchasing SEL programs, such as those listed in CASEL’s program guide. We know from quantitative summaries of many, many program evaluations that, when implemented well, these programs can lead to improved academic, social, and emotional outcomes (Durlak, Weissberg, Dymnicki, Taylor, & Schellinger, 2011). The program evaluations summarized by Durlak and colleagues carefully measured student outcomes to understand program impact. Outside of the context of this kind of study, however, educators rarely have an opportunity to use high-quality student assessment in […]

Recipe for Success: Social-Emotional Learning as an Important Ingredient within a Multi-Tiered System of Support

March 20, 2019 Inform

By: Clayton Cook, PhD, University of Minnesota Twitter: @ClayCook_PhD Delivery of school-based services and supports is perhaps best conceptualized within a multi-tiered system of support (MTSS). Like a computer’s operating system that helps organize software and programs so a user is able to navigate and access what they need, MTSS helps schools organize the delivery of a continuum of supports so students are able to access the level of supports they need to be successful inside and outside of school. Moreover, MTSS emphasizes the importance of data-based decision making in order 1) for educators to make timely decisions regarding student need and 2) for continuous improvement decisions regarding the delivery of supports with fidelity that aim to promote desired student […]

Advancing the Conversation: Challenges, Changes, and Contributions

March 13, 2019 Engage

By: Dale A. Blyth (blyth004@umn.edu) Our efforts here at the Measuring SEL website have been going on in one form or another for almost 2 and a half years now, and we hope you are finding our blogs, briefs, and and guides helpful in your daily work and enrich your conversations. We now have over 2600 members in our Collaborator Network who get weekly emails about the latest blog and related items and resources. In order to continue to Inform, Inspire, Engage, and Connect with all of you, today I want to say a little about challenges, changes, and contributions. CHALLENGES In the rapidly growing movement that SEL has become it is challenging to stay on top of what […]

Students are Like Icebergs: Their Attitudes Are Deep!

March 6, 2019 Inform

By Michael E. Bernard, Ph.D. Attitudes are especially important to a young person’s wellbeing. The iceberg model above illustrates the powerful influence that attitudes have on how young people, think, feel, and behave. Much of my work with young people has focused on helping young people to become aware of and re-structure their negative attitudes into positive ones –this does a lot to help eliminate or reduce in frequency and intensity their emotional and behavioral difficulties as well as promote highest levels of wellbeing. Negative Attitudes are main contributors to the following five social-emotional difficulties of young people: feeling worried, feeling down, feeling angry, procrastination (feeling demotivated), and not paying attention. You know how important self-talk is to student wellbeing […]

Connecting the Dots of SEL Assessment: Methodologies that Matter for Students, Teachers, and Policy

February 27, 2019 Inspire SEL Assessment in Action

By: Christina Cipriano, Ph.D. You can’t have evidence-based practice without evidence. You can’t have evidence without assessments. But, what are the “right” assessments for SEL? Assessments that matter for students. Accessible assessments match students’ needs, and their results direct student pathways to engagement and learning. Assessments that matter for practice. Good assessments capture learning in a meaningful way and promote the building of an evidence base of best practice for instruction. Effective assessments provide real-time information for educators to teach from — scores that support student growth and inform teacher instruction. Assessments that matter for policy. Formative, summative, and standardized assessment structures play a key role in federal education and accountability mandates, and scores contribute to funding distributions at the […]

INFORM

INSPIRE

ENGAGE

CONNECT

Blog

How Student SEL Competence Assessment Can Improve Teaching and Learning

Recipe for Success: Social-Emotional Learning as an Important Ingredient within a Multi-Tiered System of Support

Advancing the Conversation: Challenges, Changes, and Contributions

Students are Like Icebergs: Their Attitudes Are Deep!

Connecting the Dots of SEL Assessment: Methodologies that Matter for Students, Teachers, and Policy

INFORM

INSPIRE

ENGAGE

CONNECT

Blog

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