DAY SIX - Social-Emotional Learning

Quick Notes: 

- Google Scholar 

- What is your teaching pedagogy? What's your philosophy of teaching? 

- PechaKucha: 20 slides, 20 secs narration, total time 6:40, judging after for who's the best BS'er. 

Today's Reflection:

- What can we do to build up our students affectively to help prepare them for learning?

I think this is one of the greatest questions teachers can ask themselves when planning for lessons, units, differentiation, adaptations, assessments, etc. A huge part of my teaching philosophy begins with the foundation of creating a welcoming and supportive classroom environment that not only provides a safe place for students to not only learn curriculum, but learn social-emotional strategies that they can use in "the real world". Often times when students are learning new content, particularly in the middle years streams, there is a lot of frustration, anxiety, and anger. Students at that age are not comfortable being vulnerable and are going through immense physical and mental changes as they enter into puberty. Concepts like trauma-informed teaching, growth mindset, and grit have become common trends in education and are complemented nicely by other models such as Mazlow's Hierarchy of Needs. It is no secret that students are not able to learn effectively if they are in a heightened state of anxiety, fear, or hunger. As teachers, we need to ensure that we come prepared with a wide variety of tools that we can share with our students that will help them reduce their anxieties, increase their confidence, and better understand their own learning habits. In doing so, we help them develop their independence as learners and hopefully assist them in their social-emotional development.