Social Emotional Learning in Preschool

 

Stock image in Canva

My ICDP goal for this year is focusing on the area of social emotional skills.  I have notice more and more each year that kids are coming to school without knowing coping skills to deal with big emotions.  I want to be able to better identify my students feelings as well as helping them identify their own feelings.  My goal is to have students be able to identify how they are feeling and ways to help cope with those feelings in a more positive way.

Currently students are quick to scream, cry and throw fits if they are upset or frustrated.  We practice taking calming breaths.  I would like to add in more options for students.  I would also like students to be able to identify that they are getting upset before it reaches that point.

Top 20 for Social Emotional Learning

 

I want to focus on using the top 20 language to help redirect students to the learning. I feel that using a common language that students are being taught will get them back on track quicker than normal, more naggy, interactions for the same reason. 

 I only have anecdotal evidence so far on this, but there is a large amount of time wasted in class trying to get a few kids back on track constantly.  For this reason, I want to look at how to employ self-reflection techniques in the classroom to increase student mindfulness of their actions. The goal is to get myself to use the concepts in the top 20 programs to help students be more in control. This should lead to more time on task and hopefully better classroom interactions with myself and students.

 I currently intend to read the Top 20 Teens and the Top 20 Teachers books to implement some of the ideas that the students are learning in their 21st-century skills class.

To track my progress I will be taking baseline data by the end of this week with Beth and informally myself. Then periodically as I progress in reading and through the class have more data points to see how often the students are being redirected and if it is using the Top 20 techniques or not. 

Top 20 Teens and Teachers

 I am trying to implement the Top 20 teens and Top 20 teachers into my every day class routine. The students are learning this program with Mr. Boeve and he is seeing success. In order for me to be able to use the same lingo and philosophy in my classroom, I feel I need to familiarize myself with this program. It is something we hope is integrated into every class across 7th-8th. 

Check Ins and Exit Tickets

Created in Canva with Hand Drawn Back to School Exit Ticket Template

 I want to add a way for students to identify their emotions into my daily routines like check ins and exit tickets. I hope this will impact them by allowing them to understand how they are feeling when they understand a concept or when they don't. So they can realize that it is ok to feel that way and give them  a sense of relief, even if they don't "Get It Right Away".

Motivating Students to Work Independently

 

Excited Students Watching Robot Vehicle Move After Coding Lesson In Computer Programing Class. Stock Photo. Clipart.com School Edition, Vital Imagery Ltd., 05-08-2019, https://schools.clipart.com/download.php?iid=1646622&tl=photos. Accessed 12-09-2021

SMART GOAL: I will learn about and implement strategies to motivate students to work productively and assume responsibility for their own learning during group work through SEMBH and academic rubrics in order to produce an improved classroom environment which will lead to better classroom management.

What are you wanting to change about your practice and how will that impact student learning?

Science and social studies are subjects that lend themselves well to group work.  Often students work on experiments or projects with a partner or multiple students to learn.  I want to be able to not only facilitate group work well for students, but also help students take responsibility for their own learning when working with others or individually.  

What do you see as your topic for research?

My topic for research revolves around both classroom management and group work.  I believe these topics are very fitting because many of my students have trouble managing their time well and also completing assignments when working with others.  Through rubrics and self-assessments I hope to help students in their ability to work responsibly and complete their work successfully. 

Where will you look for resources on this topic?

I plan to not only talk to other teachers about the work they are doing or have done in the past, but I also plan to find resources in a book study that staff members are doing this year - “Improve Every Lesson Plan with SEL” by Jeffrey Benson.

How will you know you improved in this area? What evidence will you have?

In order to note improvement or lack thereof, I plan to use rubrics for both SEBMH concepts and academic concepts.  These rubrics will include both self-assessment and the assessment of others.  In general, I hope that grades would provide a good indication of student work, as well.

Submitted by: Leah Piper