An important part of schoolwide SEL implementation is ongoing, high-quality professional learning that supports staff in developing practices that prioritize and promote SEL. Effective professional development involves educators as active participants in their learning and is focused on schoolwide impact.
If you have already begun developing a professional learning plan, use the rubric or the questions below to identify areas for continuous improvement:
Do staff engage in ongoing, high-quality professional learning, including receiving coaching and formative feedback when practicing new strategies?
Is professional learning aligned to the school’s SEL goals?
Is professional learning designed in a way that demonstrates and develops skills for cultivating supportive, equitable learning environments and promoting SEL for students?
Are professional learning opportunities scaffolded to support staff based on their roles and current knowledge of SEL?
Has the SEL team developed a culture of learning that invites curiosity and reflection, and do they collect staff input and ideas to shape an effective approach to ongoing support and coaching?
When your school community has developed SEL goals, an aligned professional learning plan lays out what learning needs to occur so that all staff members:
Professional learning about SEL, as with any kind of professional learning, needs to have a clear purpose and immediate applicability. Show staff members how professional learning will lead to intended changes by drawing direct connections to schoolwide SEL goals. For example, here’s how one school developed a clear goal, then planned professional learning in alignment with that goal:
SEL Goal: All teachers will self-report that they consistently use one or more research-based SEL strategies for building relationships in the classroom by the end of November. As we make progress on this implementation goal, we expect to see improvements in student and teacher perception of school climate as well as student attendance and engagement.
Aligned Professional Learning:
As you begin to organize your plan for professional learning, work with your team to describe the following for each of your SEL goals:
A template to organize a learning plan that is clearly tied to the schoolwide goals for SEL, can be assessed for effectiveness, draws upon available resources, and includes intentional follow-up to ensure that new practices are sustained and supported over time
Experienced professional learning facilitators infuse SEL into the way they design sessions to ensure impact and engagement. Learners use social and emotional skills during professional learning when they exercise self-awareness about their own effectiveness, self-management as they tune in to and manage emotions that surface, relationship skills as they share with and listen to their colleagues, and social awareness and responsible decision-making as they work together on solutions to improve instruction and support for students. In all professional learning, whether specifically on SEL or any topic, SEL-embedded activities and experiences align with the science of how adults learn best (Learning Forward, 2022), by:
Professional Learning on Improving Classroom Engagement
During the pandemic, a large school district in Maryland created a Teacher Fellowship on Virtual Engagement. They collected student experience data using the Elevate survey and student empathy interviews to determine which learning conditions they needed to address to increase student engagement. Teachers reviewed and discussed the data in a professional learning community and collectively recognized the need to work on the learning conditions of classroom community, meaningful work, and student voice (PERTS, 2023).
Teachers made choices about how to apply learning for their context. Two teachers decided to focus on the classroom community by implementing “Student Celebrations,” where students learn about their peers through highlights they choose to share about themselves. A second group of teachers opted to work on student voice. They gave students “choice in output” by asking students their preferred mode of output and then allowing them to choose from three formats to demonstrate their learning on weekly assignments. After teachers implemented these changes, later administrations of the student survey showed that the modifications greatly impacted students’ sense of belonging, student voice, and meaningful work. Assignment completion and mastery rates also increased. Teachers continued to monitor progress on these objectives and refine their practices over time, even after the return to classroom learning.
From Using Student Experience Data to Co-Design Learning Environments (CASEL & National Equity Project, 2023)
For more ideas, examples, and tools, explore Lead by Learning’s Playbook for Creating the Conditions for Adult Learning and our tools below:
Clear strategies for facilitating effective SEL professional learning
Guidance and examples for using inclusive welcoming activities, engaging strategies, and intentional closings in professional learning.
How can professional learning facilitators lean into the five SEL competencies to advance equity …More
How can professional learning facilitators lean into the five SEL competencies to advance equity and excellence?
SELF-AWARENESS → with a focus on identity
“My identities impact how I perceive and navigate the world and how others perceive me. It is important to be aware of this and continue to explore and reflect on this.”
Example: A facilitator reviews their session design and facilitation plan with a lens for biases. They ask, “Did I design this session to meet my own needs as a learner, or did I take into account other people’s learning styles and preferences? In what ways can my session design or facilitation style be more culturally responsive or culturally aware? What would that look and sound like? How will I be perceived by this group of people, and what gaps should I be aware of or acknowledge between our lived experiences?”
SELF-MANAGEMENT → with a focus on agency
“I know I can have an impact and choose to act to improve conditions for myself and others. I will intentionally make room for others to act as well.”
Example: A facilitator recognizes that the choices they make have power to promote deeper engagement among participants. They consider what can be done to meet the needs of everyone participating, such as compensation, adequate time, classroom coverage, or meals. They offer participants choices about how they will engage with material, and during the session provide time and guidance for them to plan their next steps.
SOCIAL AWARENESS → with a focus on belonging
“I am best able to contribute when I feel I am valued, welcomed, and an essential part of this community. It’s important to support others to feel this way, too.”
Example: A facilitator first determines why the topic matters to participants and how they need to feel in order to engage in learning activities. They recognize that participant behavior that may look like resistance or hesitance to engage is often connected to social dynamics, and they tailor the design of their session with activities to build trust and a sense of belonging.
RELATIONSHIP SKILLS → with a focus on collaborative problem-solving
“I am more effective when I listen to others to understand problems and share ideas to develop solutions. The process of sharing power and working together is important to get to the best solution.”
Example: A facilitator designs the session to limit their own talk time and promote opportunities for individual and group processing and discovery. They ask for feedback and openly share what they learned from the group’s feedback and how it will be incorporated.
RESPONSIBLE DECISION-MAKING → with a focus on curiosity
“I lean in with courage and choose to learn about myself, others, and the world. It is important to be open to and seek new information and perspectives when making decisions.”
Example: A professional learning participant makes no secret of the fact that they don’t think the session is a good use of their time. Resisting the impulse to feel defensive, the facilitator leans into curiosity and asks questions to better understand where they are coming from, looking for common ground. They communicate that critical perspectives are an asset and make shifts so that all participants can use built-in planning time to do work that is meaningful to them.