Starting in March, education leaders have been working to create new methods for schools that must satisfy public health, education, economic, and labor concerns. Now that most classes are operating online, students are being asked to learn in an atmosphere of prolonged stress and anxiety, often through a Zoom call or Blackboard. In this kind of situation, it’s important to ask educators how they can meet students’ needs? Moreover, the pandemic has complicated how schools address students’ social-emotional needs, with some having adapted their models to provide for them in a remote or hybrid setting. Their willingness to innovate can help other schools explore and implement similar practices. Here are 10 social and emotional learning strategies for responding to COVID-19.
1. Build Community
Families and educators can support their children and students by applying SEL into every part of their daily lives - across their classrooms, during all times of the school day, and when they are in their homes and communities. A supportive environment includes a caring, responsive learning community, where students are well-known and valued; structures that allow for continuity relationships, consistency in practices, and predictability in routines; and relational trust between students, educators, and parents.
2. Assess Social and Emotional Needs
During remote learning, it’s important to conduct a needs assessment for SEL for students and educators, to understand students’ home environments during COVID-19. The back-to-school season can help schools understand how best to provide resources to address the challenges students may have faced. It’s crucial to identify and build on the strengths, but pinpoint and nurture the areas that need attention. By asking a general question like “How are you?”, educators will demonstrate that they are putting the well-being of their students first.
3. Engage in Self-Reflection
When students are experiencing stress and anxiety, it’s difficult for them to focus and pay attention, keep their emotions under control, or handle frustration in an appropriate manner. Providing students with the opportunity to reflect on their experiences and accurately identify their feelings through journaling or conferencing is essential. It allows them to recognize, label, and share their true emotions and feelings during these uncertain times. While looking out for the students and community, educators and families need to take some time to care for themselves first, to reflect on how they are feeling at this time, before being able to care for others.
4. Reinforce Self-Regulation Skills
The prolonged physical isolation from the pandemic may cause collective trauma, misbehaviors, and lack of self-regulation amongst students. Educators and families should work to understand and identify the cause of the emotion and help them overcome the behavior, rather than immediately punishing the students for their misbehavior. Building a stronger relationship with the educators and families can result when the students feel cared for rather than judged.
5. Promote Stress Management
Investing time in teaching students effective stress management techniques and providing physical activities or spaces within the classroom for students to practice deep breathing and yoga stretches is not only important for students, but also for educators, school leaders, and family members alike. Practicing self-care and maintaining one’s own positive well-being are crucial as educators model those behaviors to their students and children.
6. Nurture Diversity and Empathy
The integral SEL competencies are about considering multiple perspectives and appreciating those from diverse backgrounds and cultures. SEL includes having empathy for others, showing respect for others, and the ability to understand social and ethical norms for behavior. Listening to each other’s experiences and showing empathy towards others helps bring communities together. Understanding that one’s experience might be different from someone else’s is essential to acknowledge, and demonstrates that everyone has unique stories to share while collectively experiencing a common trauma. It’s very crucial for educators to promote respect and be a model for all rather than harboring discriminatory thoughts.
7. Serve as a Confidante to Promote Responsible Decision Making
Support all students by being a confidante for students when they need to make difficult decisions. By doing this, it not only strengthens a trusting relationship, but also develops a student's knowledge - solving and analytical skills.
8. Establish a Sense of Belonging
A sense of belonging in the classroom and school is essential to their feeling of comfort and readiness to learn. To prevent misconduct, creating bonds with peers, educators, and others at school are also major key factors. Both online and face-to-face, promoting a sense of belonging and connection leads to happier and more engaged learners. For example, beginning the day or class by asking them some questions of the day or week leads to students sharing information about interests, family, and community values.
9. Build Relationships
Research illustrates that building and strengthening the relationships that students form with educators, and each other, plays a major role in their face-to-face and remote learning environments. Hold office hours to provide a safe haven for students to discuss their emotions and feelings. Schedule one-on-one check-ins with each student-especially those who may be exhibiting depression, stress, and anxiety issues.
10. Partner with Mental Health Professionals
Build and deepen relationships with mental health professionals within and outside the school. Educators can serve as liaisons with health care professionals to identify students who may need additional follow up counseling support.
Meta description: 10 Social and emotional learning (SEL) strategies for responding to COVID-19 help and support parents, schools, and educators explore and implement all strategies and apply them to each child's needs.
Reference: https://www.hmhco.com/blog/10-social-and-emotional-learning-strategies-for-responding-to-covid-19
