The Connection Between Social-Emotional Learning & Academic Achievement

I just finished an email in response to a request for some research links relating social-emotional learning with academic achievement.  This communication provided me an opportunity to revisit some of the work I've done over the years and to reflect on why and how I believe that ANYONE engaging in the learning process -- whether as a student or as a student-of-the-student (read teacher) can only prove more effective if they understand and can leverage the power of positive emotions and curiosity.  Whether we call this establishing rapport, creating a therapeutic alliance, identifying with the learner, championing the individual and/or meeting the student where s/he is, it all relates to interpersonal relationship, attachment and/or the impact one individual has on another.  The neuro-imaging and brain science of late is providing visible proof of what we've known to be true for eons.  Here's just a sampling of the work that is out there:

My interest in the intersection of emotions and learning, combined with the practical needs of creating lesson plans around learning targets and engaging students in the learning process has resulted in my own biases and beliefs, but ultimately, I like the BRAIN PROOF models that discuss the science behind the touchy-feely stuff of psychology.   — Feel free to read on if you like…

• The most recent and significant work I’ve seen that relates to “raising healthy 35 year-olds” or as an elementary school principal recently put it, “making our children awesome” comes from Daniel Siegel’s work on the Developing Mind — Originally published in 1998, and reprinted in 2012, his The Developing Mind provides the science and details of interpersonal neurobiology that inform his more recent books: Mindsight and Brainstorm.
• Carol Dweck’s work on Mindset has been informed by and feeds into the neuroscience and psychology of learning —  Jennifer Mangels' work explores the connections between engagement, curiosity and deep learning, particularly in middle-school math and science classrooms. In her presentations, Dr. Mangels offers images that provide an idea of the neuromonitoring her lab does as they study response to failure, resilience/persistence and self-awareness.
• Mary Helen Immordino-Yang does a great amount of work at the intersection of neuroscience and education. She’s produced videos for educators through the Annenberg Education foundation.  Her images are particularly “cool,” I think. She speaks passionately and smartly about the neurobiology of social-emotional learning, and you can find her on a TedTalk —  [Mary Helen’s work takes the more science-specific work of various researchers (Damasio, Siegel, Baron-Cohen, Dahaene, etc.) and relates it specifically to education.]
• Finally, Judy Willis has spent much of her career generating visible proof of the relationship between social-emotional well-being and learning.  A not-too-recent (2007) article from Educational Leadership (ASCD) lays it out rather nicely.

Working by the numbers -- THREEs

So the book I haven't written, but that is taking shape in my head is called Simply Three: Living, Learning and Thriving in a Complex World.
The more work I do with students of all ages the more strategies and tools I explore that are based on my "rule of three."  Ask just about any student with whom I have worked and they will be familiar with this idea.  It's not a new concept, and certainly I learned it from somewhere, but I do find that with every sitting, I "invent" a new way to utilize this rule of three.  Here are just a few:

Three stages of preparing for an important assessment
1. Build your fund of knowledge --Learn by reading, questioning, connecting, thinking and interacting
2. Recite and deepen your fund of knowledge by articulating what you know, incrementally -- PRACTICE, Correct and Reflect (look, another THREE!)
3. Take or create a practice test that mimics the real assessment -- this allows for "the testing effect"

Three steps for approaching a problem to be solved (I thought of this today on my way home AFTER working with a twenty-something student struggling to track information in word problems)
1.  Identify the critical elements (bits of information) within the problem to be solved
2. Consider the relationship(s) between these critical elements and the prompt for solution
3. Designate a first next step for moving toward solution

Three questions to ask when evaluating or critiquing the written word (When I teach critical reading or comparative essay writing, I use these questions)
1.  What is the point the author is making?
2. How does s/he go about making that point?
3.  What's missing in the article or what questions do I have with which to move forward?

How to create meaningful flashcards
1. Jot down the critical information to be mastered
2. Include two bits of information that connect the critical information to other content
3. Consider an example or a visual representation that can trigger a reminder for key words or concepts

How to manipulate flashcards once they are made  (It's not about "running them" word for word on the front and back)
1. Select 8-10 cards from your deck and sort them into THREE categories [first pass]
2. Articulate the categories and name all the cards that fall into each category [second pass]
3. After sorting, pick a pile then lay out the cards and talk through what and how these items relate to each other -- both similarities and differences; do this for all cards in one stack and for each stack. Work beyond the information contained within the card to incorporate more of what you know [third pass]
* helpful hint: Articulate the name/terms on the card -- Avoid using "it" or "they" -- the more accurate and specific auditory input to generate, the more will "stick" in your head.

Please post you Rules of Three -- I'd love to swap strategies!

Cultivating Confidence -- from an earlier post

Whenever I get ready to call my parents these days, I have to psych myself up.  Not because I don’t want to talk with them, but because I know I have to bring my “A” game to the conversation.  If I want to complain about something, I need to be prepared to troubleshoot; if I have news to share, I need to be prepared with lots of information.  Once we’re talking, it’s wonderful!  But it’s been this way for as long as I can remember. 

Growing up, my mother had a knack for asking the one question I could not answer. Not in a bad way, though— it was as though she believed I had the answer or could find it. Both her and my dad also made a point to praise my successes as they observed them. And for all the things I was bad at (and there was plenty; still are) they were great at acknowledging my frustration while simultaneously redirecting and encouraging me. They were both (and still are) amazing at accentuating the positive without ignoring the negative. They inspired confidence!

I received a gift from a parent my last year in New Jersey. It was a token of her appreciation, but it was the note that came with it that I appreciated most— it read, “You instill confidence.” As an educator, this was the best compliment I could receive and I didn’t even know it until I read it. 

Since then, I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about how I encourage students, what is possible through coaching and how asking the right questions can motivate students to not only find answers but also try new learning strategies on their own. In a lot of ways, this is essentially what my parents did for me but with greater focus on skill-building.  Giving students an opportunity to reflect on their attempts and intentions allows them to better understand their potential, identify gaps in their developing skills and determine how to best close those gaps. Since receiving that inspiring thank you note a year ago, I believe this is what instilling confidence is all about. It also happens to be the action plan associated with Assessment for Learning, heralded by Rick Stiggins, Jan Chappuis and others in Portland, Oregon as part of the Assessment Training Institute.

I always go back to Vygotsky’s Zones of Proximal Development when I assess what could work for students and what’s not working.  I have to listen to their routines and their habits to find “windows” of opportunity for improvement.  If I can point out patterns to their routine or regularities in their habits, we’ve pinpointed that window.  I often start with asking about preferences: time or task?  This, in the context of a desired short-range goal—prepping for cumulative exams or embarking on a long-term research project, for example—provides the laboratory for experimentation.  If they seem more task oriented, we start there; if time boundaries appeal, we start there. Always, though, this starts as a conversation.

By the end of the conversation, the student and I have worked together to identify specifics related to task, time, outcome and how to begin. We are deliberate about these specifics, always committing them to writing using language that speaks to what the student can and wants to do and how to best leverage what already works.  We end our session agreeing to check-in and debrief on the plan.Then, when I see students in the hall, outside of school or on their way in or out, I like to think that seeing me reminds them of the commitment they’ve made to themselves and the confidence I have that they can do what they have expressed a desire to accomplish.

Technology on a Sunday Afternoon: Virtual space maintains actual connections

Family visits on Sunday afternoons often rely on technology these days.  Now that we don't live within driving distance, Skype sessions with grandparents are a new norm.  A text from my brother, "you there?" precedes a phonecall that results in a quick chat to catch up with the family.  Later in the day, or perhaps tomorrow, I'll text my sister to say hello and send a HUG -- I'm really not much for talking, but it's great to reach out and stay connected.  The draft on Sunday, however, took the whole "staying connected" thing to another level.
Joe and I rushed home from the grocery store after church two weeks ago Sunday, just in time for the 1 p.m. Fantasy football draft.  Bob was connected to his HP laptop, Matt sat on the couch with his MacBook Air, and Joe went bounding upstairs to the iMac to log in and get started.  Online, via Skype was Uncle Mike (in LA). But Google hangout allows for multiple participants for free, so.... Matt was generating invites as the draft began.
"Your team is on the clock" echoed upstairs and down.  I could hear all three computers, and the unknown voice inside the machines helped me keep tabs on who was picking when.  The "old" HP froze and cost Bob a pick or two, so he switched to the iPad, leaving the computer up for Skyping once it rebooted.  In between the smack talk and laughter, the boys were choosing teams, separate but together, participating in a visit and an event despite the miles that separate LA from Chicagoland. Grandpa lives in Tennessee and the Frasco cousins are in Maryland -- they were invited to the video call, but focused only on the draft.  We were bicoastal, with one foot in the midwest and another in Dixie.
As the hour went by, I heard Matt giving Uncle Mike step-by-step directions for shifting from the Skype call to Google+.  Once the four of them were all in the same chat room, the fun really began!  Matt, as the initiator and chief IT guy for the forum, started using special effects -- sounds and sights to make us laugh and perhaps even distract from the task at hand.  Ensuring productivity, "Your team is on the clock," announced repeatedly from around the circle.  Occasionally, I heard an "oh shoot! It's my pick."  Other times it was, "who's left?"  There were party hats and viking horns floating on top of heads in the hangout, and plenty of echo-y sound effects that proved annoying for some, but generally just entertaining.
This level of visiting, despite the distance really took me back -- to the days of casual visits with purpose; when relatives lived nearby, and you never knew who would drop by, but you were always glad to see them.  That Sunday,  I was reminded more of our in-person time, with cousins, aunts, uncles and grandparents as our mostly-empty house echoed with the laughter and fun only family shares during the rarest and yet most normal of occasions-- being gathered in one place.  Only this time, the one place was virtual.  Virtual space providing actual connection... think of that!

Quiet, by Susan Cain -- intro to a book review

Always start with something personal.  "It's more meaningful," they say: Matt is quiet, easily overstimulated, and yet a good conversationalist and an eager learner. They say I'm quiet too -- always have been. I listen intently, always interested in the world around me, and very observant.  I'm not shy, though I don't like crowds. I don't tend to speak up unless I have something important to say, and I HATE being somewhere for no reason.

My willingness to listen and keen observation skills have yielded what my husband refers to as a "Cliff Clavin-like" sense of expertise on a variety of topics. I'm good at Trivial Pursuit, but not a big fan of board games or party games -- I have to be in the right mood.  I hold on to and reflect on other peoples' worlds, forming opinions and offering advice, which is what I think makes me a good counselor.

Matt on the other hand, loves games, thinks strategically and logically and appears to be much more "in his head" than in the world.  We are both quiet, yet our introverted natures differ.  I reached for Susan Cain's book as means to understand better how to parent Matt and help him relate in a world of talkers. What I also discovered while reading were ways to articulate more about me and to consider how I relate with the world.

Cain provides an elaborative mix of case examples and research studies, along with quotes and ideas that speak to both head and heart.  She introduces us to some VERY effective introverts as well as the researchers who inform who and why we matter.

It's Chapter 6 that I marked for Matt to read: Why Franklin was a politician but Eleanor spoke out of conscience: Why Cool is Overrated.  When I explained what I had read and why he might want to take a look, his interest piqued a little -- with eyebrows raised and a bright expression on his face, he said "cool!"  This from a 15 1/2 year old boy!  I heard and saw a connection, despite the single-syllable utterance.

I think what I appreciate most about the book is Cain's insistence that the complementary nature of introverts and extroverts yields the best possible outcomes; the inextricable link that's the yin/yang ideal. Cain notes that different situations and/or circumstances require different strengths.  She points out the necessity for balance, citing examples, like the financial crisis caused by institutions "too big to fail" which illustrates what happens when risk-tolerant, impulsive types are not checked by the risk-averse, perspective-taking thinkers. She also acknowledges the value of cultivating habits that support realizing one's dream and/or cultivating a passion that requires extrovert-like skills.  She calls the animated, public-speaking, sociable roles we play, putting on an extrovert persona. Cain harps on the necessary acts of extroversion that are part of pursuing a dream, while reminding the introverted reader to be true to herself. "Figure out what you are meant to contribute to the world and make sure you contribute it. If this requires public speaking or networking or other activities that make you uncomfortable, do them anyway.  But accept that they're difficult, get the training you need to make them easier, and reward yourself when you're done." (p. 265)

Cain's primary objective in publishing Quiet and proceeding to promote it appear to be about articulating the value of being an introvert.  She provides a litany of role models and examples that one who is deemed quiet might aspire to be. She captures Eleanor Roosevelt's nature as complementary to Franklin's and captures Professor Little's seemingly multiple personalities as "just right" for the contributions they've made.  The book also reassures and proclaims the value of introverts to a world that just now appears to be swinging back from an over-reliance on the extrovert ideal.  Maybe my awareness has been heightened, but I'm hearing more about taking stock of the value of those who are more contemplative, persistent, sensitive and/or serious.

Susan Cain highlights the value of a "both...and..." world, raising the status of introverts such that extroverts and introverts alike can appreciate the power of Quiet.

Teaching & Learning: the diplomacy of education

I recently had a conversation with our communications manager.  "What's your angle?" he asked.  I wasn't sure at first how to answer, but he kept talking:  "You seem to have a good sense of what's happening in schools these days and how teachers work to deliver effective curricula."  Yes, I guess I do --  I'm also well aware of the psychological toll struggling students can have on conscientious teachers.  Just as I work from the perspective that "students do well if they can," (Ross Greene) I've known enough teachers professionally to believe that teachers teach well if they can.  And so, I guess, THAT's my angle -- negotiating the expectations and competencies of learners, whether they are teachers or students, so that learning can proceed.  Learning occurs as a direct result of identifying and filling gaps -- of skill, strategy and/or knowledge. Often times acknowledging the gap(s) can be scary, and figuring out how to address them, overwhelming.  BUT this is what I can do!  And, I'm told, I do it very well...

My number one mentor in college, Dr. Gersham Nelson, told me repeatedly that I needed to go into diplomacy.  He spoke about the foreign service and my passion for Latin America, but what I discovered, thanks to my graduate work in educational policy, study in a few Chicago public high schools and classroom work for more than ten years, was that there's plenty of room for diplomacy within our educational institutions. And so, here's my proposal:

 --  Maintain a blog that allows for learning about learning.  Presuming that teachers, parents, students and administrators alike are willing to learn, you are my audience.  As I assume goodwill on the part of each constituent, my purpose is to keep the student at the center of the conversation and to engage in and respond to the puzzles of teaching and learning. I invite you to ask questions, pose problems and/or share ideas that promote perspective-taking and knowledge building.

 Please let me know what you'd like to talk about.

Negotiating Teacher Expectations (and acknowledging your own)

Many years ago, when I started working as an Educational Counselor at the University of Chicago, my mentor introduced me to Bloom's taxonomy of educational objectives.  As I worked to understand the categories to inform my work with students, I had a bit of an epiphany regarding HOW to dig in to assignments and opportunities to learn regardless of interest.  It was the "A-ha" moment I wished I had experienced years before; The language and understanding that help interpret course syllabi, authors' notes, project and/or research assignments, etc., etc. would have made a difference, particularly in the courses that I dreaded. Using the categories was like receiving a key to unlock the mystery of what many good teachers ask of their students.  I started sharing the document I created with students as we worked together to identify teacher expectations within a course or assignment AND opportunities for personal investment (comment or email me to request the full document as a pdf):


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Teachers usually have specific reasons for the assignments they offer.  Each assignment enables the student to utilize specific thinking skills.  The background, directions and explanations the teacher gives with the assignment often indicate his/her expectations for student learning.  Many times, a grade will reflect the degree to which the teacher is satisfied with the learning, and/or the degree to which the student has demonstrated his/her ability to apply the appropriate thinking skills.

After so many years of using the document and approaching course expectations through the lens of identifying expectations, when I started teaching in the classroom I had no problems articulating learning goals and/or course objectives for my students.  That doesn't mean they could identify them any more readily on their own, but I could then use my Bloom's Taxonomy key to help them understand the depth and level of understanding that I expected from them.  It provided a means for me to communicate expectations for time, energy and depth of engagement.

 
Students also have reasons for completing assignments (other than the obvious necessity of passing the course).  As the student interprets the assignment, he/she must identify some objectives for learning and determine the thinking skills necessary to complete them.  Doing so will not only enable him/her to better meet the teacher’s expectations, but can also result in greater motivation to complete the assignment effectively

It's the motivation that will drive learning.  I have recently learned a new phrase that perhaps captures the source of the intrinsic motivation that most good teachers try to tap into as they design curriculum and assign learning tasks -- epistemic curiosity.  Shared by Jennifer Mangels, Ph.D. during a presentation at the Learning and the Brain conference I attended last year in Chicago, epistemic curiosity is "an emotional or motivational condition that creates the drive for knowledge-seeking, potentially suppressing anxiety and fear that might arise in the face of uncertainty or even failure (from her website)

Providing the time and space for students to consider their own learning objectives (targets, if you will) AFTER helping them to understand the goals or objectives of the teacher (author, presenter, lecturer, guide) can often ensure that students can make active (or intentional) decisions about how, when, why and for how much they engage in the learning process.  It can also help the learner prioritize tasks and gauge level of engagement.


[A later topic to explore... Trust -- How students' relationships with their teacher, their tutor, their coach, their parent, etc. can inform and motivate achievement that is personally satisfying and can drive learning]