Substitute Teaching Tip: What is social emotional learning?

To foster an uplifting, compassionate learning environment, substitute teachers must understand what is social-emotional learning (SEL). How students respond to emotional triggers is an important part of who they are and their ability to learn. Learning SEL instructional strategies will improve classroom management and support your students’ academic success.

Key pillars of social emotional learning:

• Self-awareness
• Self-management
• Social awareness
• Relationship skills
• Responsible decision-making

What is Social Emotional Learning?

Social-emotional learning is the process of developing and honing emotional intelligence. This involves helping students create healthy social interactions, develop and maintain strong friendships, and understand how to control difficult emotions.

SEL can also help students learn how to make smart, informed decisions and can teach them how to develop empathy for others. While some of these skills are learned through natural interaction with peers, other SEL skills need to be taught and practiced.

Foundational social emotional learning concepts.

The foundational concepts of SEL include self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills, and responsible decision-making. Each of these pillars offers unique opportunities to teach students skills that will serve them in the classroom and beyond.

While SEL skills come naturally to many adults, it’s important to remember that learning how to understand the self and others is a learned skill. Many students are still working to hone their ability to read and respond appropriately to both their own emotions and to social cues.

Think-alouds can be fantastic instructional strategies to help students relate to you as a substitute teacher while also developing their emotional intelligence. They model how to use SEL strategies in real-time.

Self-awareness.

Students often experience feelings so quickly that they are unaware of how their emotions influence their actions. Self-awareness teaches students to take a step back and observe what’s happening in their minds, allowing them to stay in control in the face of big feelings.

Think-aloud: “I’m feeling a ton of energy in my body after coming inside from recess. It can take a minute for me to remember to stop using my outside voice and start using my inside voice.”

Self-management.

Social-emotional health isn’t just about being aware of our own feelings—it’s also about using coping skills to develop resilience. Teaching students how to focus, self-regulate their emotions, and ask for help when they need it are all important parts of self-management.

Think-aloud: “When we sit down for story time, we must sit still and focus on the story. Sometimes, I need to take a few deep breaths to get focused. I’m going to take a deep breath right now to help my mind get ready to read. Want to take a deep breath with me to help your mind get ready to listen?”

Social awareness.

Noticing, verbalizing, and responding to the needs of students in your classroom can show that you’re clued into their needs. When students see that you notice when they’re struggling, it can be easier for you to collectively develop coping skills that can help them manage a problem while succeeding academically.

Think-aloud: “I see that many of you are glancing at the clock, and I’m guessing that’s because it’s almost time for lunch. I get it—I’m hungry too. Let’s make a deal: I’ll set a timer to go off two minutes before it’s time to go to lunch. That way, we can all focus and make sure we have plenty of time to pack up before the bell.”

Relationship skills.

All school-age students, from pre-K to high school seniors, are learning how to develop healthy relationships. Modeling what it looks like to relate to others positively can help students incorporate healthy communication, empathy, and conflict resolution into their own lives.

Think-aloud: “Melissa, I want to apologize to you because I thought you weren’t following directions. I didn’t know that it’s your job to collect the spelling tests. You did the right thing, and I made a mistake. Thanks for being a great helper.”

Responsible decision-making.

Teaching decision-making skills can be an especially useful classroom management tool for substitute teachers. It helps students when you notice they are making a poor choice and when you want to provide them with positive options from which to choose.

Walking students through each step of the decision-making process can help to reinforce a growth mindset, allowing students to see that making a negative decision in the past doesn’t have to influence the decisions they make in the future.

Think-aloud: “I’m noticing that some people are finishing their work a little bit early, and that’s great! I’m going to make a list of quiet, non-disruptive activities that we can do when we’re done and put it on the board.”

Modeling social emotional learning as a substitute teacher.

As a substitute teacher, whether you have a single class period or an entire week with your students, modeling SEL skills can provide them with support, encouragement, and new skills that will serve them well into the future.

Modeling SEL skills can be as simple as talking about your own feelings and frustrations out loud. While it’s important to hold a strong line in your classroom, it’s also important to be human.

Talking about the classroom-related struggles you’re having can show students how to verbalize self-awareness and cultivate empathy. For example, telling a class, “I feel frustrated and angry because I’m trying to help you prepare for your test tomorrow, and most of you aren’t participating,” can be far more effective than telling them, “I’m going to leave the names of everyone who didn’t participate on a list for your classroom teacher, and she can deal with this when she gets back.”

How to help a struggling student.

Paying attention to your students’ emotional state can help to create a positive, responsive environment in which students know they are heard and cared for as individuals.

If a student seems “off,” is refusing to work, or is acting out, speak with them quietly at your desk or in the doorway (where you can still see the rest of the class). Ask for some insight with genuine curiosity to help you to build a positive rapport with them.

Finally, if the teacher leaves you information about a student who needs emotional support, follow their notes and recommendations.

Grow as a substitute teacher with Kelly Education.

At Kelly Education, we’re excited about helping you to make a difference in schools as a substitute teacher. Not only do we provide training, but we also have a library of articles like this one. Check out these topics:

• Following classroom procedures and routines as a substitute teacher
• How to set expectations for student behavior when substitute teaching
• Substitute teacher tips: 3 steps to improve student engagement during a lesson

If you are interested in substitute teaching, fill out our brief interest form, and one of our recruiters will contact you to answer your questions. We’ll also share more about opportunities to become a substitute teacher or support staff with one of our school district partners.

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