Social-Emotional Learning: Self-Management

My students often discuss procrastination. I don't like the label, because it has such a negative tone, suggesting that we are not able to manage our time well enough, or can't self-regulate. Researchers actually suggest to focus more on mood regulation than self-control. Just because it is easier to regulate than suppress emotions.  A great way to do this is to be nice to yourself! Do something you like! 

Image: HT2022

To support our own learning habits, this may mean building a study spot with something we like - beautiful items, relaxing scents, calming music. A place that is comfortable helps us to feel better and focus on what we want to (need to) do. Distractions are okay - rewarding ourselves with a break to watch TV or engage social media can help. Just remember to have a plan for getting back to your studying!

More information:

https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/how_to_regulate_your_emotions_without_suppressing_them

 https://www.self.com/story/emotional-regulation-skills

Social-Emotional Learning: Responsible Decision-Making

Responsible Decision-Making is a core competency for educators: we are making so many decisions every day. Our choices impact our students' learning experiences and learning environment. This is why the ability to make caring and constructive choices about personal behavior and social interactions is so important! (CASEL) 

We also must make good decisions about our own professional learning and focus on durable learning, not something that is forgotten by next month or school year. There is so much information about the science of learning. This is one of the most important ones:  “Learning is not an event, but rather a process that unfolds over time.” [1] Choosing to focus on durable learning is a great choice!

NCS2021 Hurricane Ridge

This picture is from the Hurricane Ridge in Olympic National Park, WA. It is such a beautiful place, but too often people get lost in the mountains. Sometimes we teachers get lost in what is important in education. It is not the test scores! The most important duty for every teacher is empowering students to focus on durable learning and keep learning on their own - so that they can make responsible decisions for their own lives in the future.

[1] Stahl, S. M., Davis, R. L., Kim, D. H., Lowe, N. G., Carlson, R. E., Fountain, K., & Grady, M. M. (2010). Play it again: The master psychopharmacology program as an example of interval learning in bite-sized portions. CNS spectrums, 15(8), 491-504.