Teachers know how critical it is for students to develop their social and emotional skills, yet they frequently feel pressed for time to do so (Tsortanidou, 2022). General teaching techniques are one strategy teachers may employ to assist students' social, emotional, and intellectual skills. Coaches and administrators can monitor teacher practice and offer comments to help teachers use strategies that promote the development of the complete child. 

Teachers are worried that the focus will switch from S.E.L back to standardized tests.

Most education policy in the last two decades has focused on accountability measures and standardized testing. This is sad because we are frequently ignoring our student’s social and emotional growth post-pandemic. Policymakers and educators are starting to appreciate the importance of educating the complete child and training pupils to be contributing members of society. Just lately K12 and higher education have been discussing how crucial it is to student growth. We also know It is crucial to offer coaching and feedback to instructors to help them in their profession (Allemand, 2022). 

Coaching for Behavioral Change

Coaching usually focuses on assisting or changing novel techniques that support meeting the demands of present pupils. Because most adults struggle with teaching through an SEL lens, it is challenging to implement these changes (Burke, 2022). According to CASEL; Social Emotional Learning takes into all young people and adults acquire and apply the knowledge, skills, and attitudes to develop healthy identities, manage emotions and achieve personal and collective goals, feel and show empathy for others, establish and maintain supportive relationships, and make responsible and caring decisions. SEL provides students with secure environments to experiment with new techniques and evaluate their methods to decide for themselves what needs to be changed.

Change is a developing process and teachers worry about how things will change as time goes on. Teachers may first have simple queries regarding the technical details of such techniques. They could develop more over time but if schools are really looking to implement CASEL is a great start.

The Coaching Cycle Seen From an SEL Perspective

Prework must be done to improve coaching effectiveness, whether you are the coach or the teacher receiving coaching. An essential first step in developing a constructive connection and accepting help that results in behavior change is disclosing the views, prejudices, and abilities of both the coach and the teacher. Doing this may establish a deep level of trust with your teacher. To determine the goals of the observation and feedback, hold a pre-planning meeting with the instructor before entering the classroom. Giving useful and practical feedback is the duty of a successful coach. To maintain the teacher's trust, it's crucial to give feedback with extreme caution. Making progress is impossible without trust.

How do you measure SEL effectiveness?

Use these smart strategies to assess SEL skills:

1. Support Self-Awareness with Entrance Slips to the classroom or right at the beginning of zoom

2. Self-Management with Goal Trackers these can be individual

3. Social Awareness with Role Plays allows students to express their thoughts

4. Relationship Skills at Recess; teachers can witness, take notes, or wait for studnets to mediate thier own concerns

5. Responsible Decision-Writing is a great way to ensure studnets are able to process their thoughts.

Conclusion

Bring all necessary resources, such as the finished observation tools and notes from the preparation session. Give feedback on the areas that need the teacher's attention the most. It is crucial to focus your queries on SEL practices and the growth of students' social and emotional abilities. A continuous improvement process that starts with a focus on the facts prevents reaction and misinterpretation. Make sure you become vulnerable with your staff too, we are all learning, and thought these conversations you both will grow.

References

 Allemand, M. (2022). Personality change through digital-coaching interventions. Current Directions in Psychological Science.

 Burke, M. (2022). Delivery of smoking cessation treatment via live chat: An analysis of client-centered coaching skills and behavior change techniques. Patient Education and Counseling.

 Tsortanidou, X. (2022). Convergence among imagination, social-emotional learning and media literacy: an integrative literature review. Early Child Development and Care.