Social and Emotional Learning

Purpose Statement

 

History

     

   My capstone project was centered around the whole class, but highlights growth from five particular students; however, social-emotional instruction can be implemented for all students in all grade levels.  I am a sixth-grade teacher and there were 21 students in my sixth-grade classroom.  Five of the students in my class lacked empathy and coping strategies when interacting with peers compared to the class as a whole. They demonstrated aggressive, attention-seeking, or verbal responses such as inappropriate language, name-calling, and bullying behaviors directed at their peers. Of the 21 students in my classroom, five had resource instruction provided and 17 of all the students demonstrated deficiencies in social-emotional skills and self-regulation abilities. These 17 students showed that the majority of students in the class needed social-emotional and self-regulation skills development. These students had issues in aggressive behavior, physical and technological peer communication skills, lack of empathy for others, and problems expressing their feelings through words. Out of the 17 students, five students demonstrated social-emotional skills deficiencies and self-regulating deficiencies in challenging situations with peers and adults.

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Need

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    The data collected from the students showed a need in the area of social-emotional skills and self-regulation during peer interactions, specifically through observation, tally marking for whole class unkind interactions, time on task, teacher-written notes, laps at recess for continuous negative behavior, and a beginning of the year survey. When the school year started, the students were required to write down and turn in what they wanted me to know about themselves. Their focus topic was to provide me with information that would be used in providing a safe classroom environment that would allow them to grow. This exercise provided a specified focus on connecting to behaviors, attitudes, home life, peer relationships, or anything like those topics that could impact them in the classroom. The purpose of this writing exercise was to provide me with data and insight that would allow me to support my students by strengthening my instruction. Two students identified themselves with aggressive behavior when their peers caused them to be upset by making jokes, yelling, and taking their things. Three other students started off fine, but as the school year progressed, these three students demonstrated more attention-seeking behaviors through their actions and verbal encounters. These attention-seeking behaviors included poking other students, continuously provoking classmates, stealing pencils, etc. These behaviors ultimately attracted negative peer attention and escalated behavior. Throughout the weeks of observation, teacher notes, and tally marking, the five students had accumulated six or more tallies and/or observational notes of negative interactions with peers when compared to the majority of their peers who had five or fewer tallies each week. As a result, when I documented tallies for behavior, the number of laps taken at recess increased. Each week not only did those students receive about ten laps as a group, but it also caused a domino effect and the class would get five or more laps. The class was affected because it was not able to stay on task when one of these three students was off task during the day, this behavior would trigger other students. An example to display this behavior and tallies was during guided reading in the morning. Those three students would start talking to peers and/or get into arguments with other peers. When addressed by a para, they would be disrespectful and earn a tally. Then they would earn a tally for each time they were talking. However, the more those three students would talk, even just a whisper, other peers would follow the behavior. By the end of guided reading those five main students would have eight to ten tally marks. Due to their disruption, the other students would get off track. The teacher had to give the whole class five reminders to remain on task during guided reading because of those students’ disruptions. Due to the five reminders, it cost all the students five laps at recess. This pattern created an environment where students were not at their usual 20 or more minutes on task, but would be on task for five minutes or less. In turn, student work completion was affected and caused longer time to complete. These observations and behaviors were documented only for classroom use and were important when discussing behavior and strategies with the school counselor during periods of concern for these students. While these five students demonstrated the need for social-emotional skills and strategies, the whole class benefited because students followed their peers and imitated similar behavior.

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Importance

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        The information gained from this study was important because it allowed me the opportunity to provide students with the proper coping skills and social-emotional strategies they needed to gain self-regulation skills inside and outside of the classroom. These coping skills and social-emotional strategies were needed to improve instruction by allowing the teacher to meet the needs of students and teach the social-emotional skills and strategies that they were missing. As an educator, I never realized how important the teacher’s role was in helping students achieve skills and strategies to cope with the social aspect of their everyday lives. Students spend the majority of their time in the classroom without ever truly realizing that we are the ones who help students achieve their potential outside of the classroom. So often our focus, as educators, is on curriculum, that we forget that we are teaching the whole student from the mind, heart, and soul. Empathy for others, how to identify our feelings, and how to interact with peers is often pushed to the background because of content and curriculum. However, when students are given self-regulation skills and strategies, they are obtaining the ability to be more resilient and expand their ability to communicate. Teachers provide students with the tools for self-regulation to not only face new challenges in the classroom but in the world as well.