GUIDELINES on
INCORPORATING SOCIAL
EMOTIONAL LEARNING into
ACADEMIC SUPPORT
Anne L. Gilligan, M.P.H.
Safe and Healthy School Specialist
Learning Support Services
May 23, 2012
What is Social Emotional Learning?
Social and emotional learning(SEL) is a process
through which children and adults learn to
recognize and manage emotions, demonstrate
care and concern for others, develop positive
relationships, make good decisions and behave
ethically, respectfully and responsibly.
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Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education
Schools that create socially and emotionally sound
learning and working environments, and that help
students and staff develop greater social and emotional
competence, in turn help ensure positive short- and longterm academic and personal outcomes for students, and
higher levels of teaching and work satisfaction for staff.
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Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education
Social Emotional Learning
SelfManagement
Self-Awareness
Social
Awareness
Personal
Decision Making
Relationship Skills
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Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education
Blueprint for the Massachusetts Tiered System of Support
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School-wide Positive Behavioral Interventions
and Supports
The social culture of a school matters.
A continuum of supports that begins with the whole school and
extends to intensive, wraparound support for individual students
and their families.
Effective practices with the systems needed for high fidelity and
sustainability.
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SEL improves students’ positive behavior and
reduces negative behavior.
SEL is also associated with significant
improvements in students’ academic
performance and attitudes toward school.
SEL prepares young people for success in
adulthood.
ZINS, WEISSBER, WANG & WALBERG (2004):
• Safe, caring and orderly environments are
conducive to learning.
• Caring relations between teachers and students
foster a desire to learn and a connection to
school.
• Socially engaging teaching strategies, such as
cooperative learning and proactive classroom
management, focus students on learning tasks.
• When the instructional content is made more
interesting by applying SEL to reflecting on the
content, students are more engaged.
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education
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• When peer norms support academic performance,
students try harder.
• When teachers and families work together to
encourage and reinforce learning commitment,
engagement and positive behavior, students do better.
• When students are self-aware and more confidents
about their learning abilities, they try harder.
• When students can self-manage their stress and
motivations and set goals and organize themselves,
they do better.
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Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education
• Students who are aware of the tasks being assigned,
make responsible decisions about completing them,
and use problem solving and relationship-management
sills to overcome barriers, they perform better and
learn more.
• When SEL prevent high-risk behaviors such as drug
use and antisocial behaviors, these behaviors do not
interfere with learning or co-occur with a constellation
of other behaviors that reduce effective functioning.
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Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education
Strategies for District Wide SEL
Assess SEL-related needs and resources
Develop SEL vision and long-term plans
Communicate with stakeholders
Implement professional development
Adopt evidence-based programs
Integrate SEL with school, family and community initiatives
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Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education
ESE Website Resources
http://www.doe.mass.edu/bullying/
http://www.doe.mass.edu/mtss/
agilligan@doe.mass.edu
781.338.6309
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Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education