Seminar Summary

We began our discussion with the question, To what extent should teachers be responsible
for teaching students social-emotional skills in the classroom? This question stemmed from
discussions which took place in our Teaching and Schooling in Western Civilization course from last
semester about the added information that teachers are expected to teach over and above the
outcomes which are outlined within the Alberta Programs of Study. This question was met with
varying degrees of opinions, ranging from teachers should not be responsible at all, to teachers
should be responsible as some students may not be given any opportunities to grow socially
outside of the classroom. One main point was that there should be communication between the
parent and the teacher as to which methods are used so that there is continuity.
After outlining what social-emotional skills are, the question why should we care? was
posed. Through the discussion that followed, it was clear that there are distinct connections
between school achievement and a student level of social-emotional skills. In addition, it was noted
that a child with high social-emotional competencies are better able to cope with the real world
because they are able self-regulate and communicate with others effectively.
A brief description of the possible signs of social-emotional issues was then shared, along
with the warning that not all students who exhibit such signs necessarily have low social-emotional
competencies, and like-wise, not all who do have love social-emotional skills may exhibit those
signs, so it is important to try to help all students regardless on the outwards signs they may show.
Some of the possible causes of low social-emotion skills were also shared, with a focus on
stress, the family structure and the school setting. When discussing the effects of stress, it was
pointed out that some students in our class may be arriving from chronically stressful situations
which negatively affects their concentration and in turn, their schooling. The question was then
posed, what are some ways that we would be able to create a safe environment for students to be;
away from stress so that our students are better able to concentrate, remember and feel safe?
Many practical ideas were raised through the discussion including, schedules on desks to help with
transitions, the tone and pacing of your voice and the way your present yourself so that you seem
safe to a child.
This was followed by a outline of the different strategies to promote social-emotional
competencies within our students. These strategies included teaching children about Gardeners
theory of multiple intelligences, which allows children to understand that they are all special in some
way, and that it is ok if you are not good at everything. This helps children become more selfconfident in themselves. Other methods included the consideration of the classroom as a team, with
common goals that they all strive towards rather than a completion they are fighting for; creating
democratic classrooms, where each student gets a voice within the class; the use of socialemotional games and activities, which can allow students to become familiar with recognizing
different emotions in others and become more self-confident. A final method that was discussed
was the use of literature, specifically that of childrens books. A wide selection of childrens literature
was shared with the group, and near the end of the presentation, a couple books were read, the
first being about a little boy who became very upset and through the course of the book, was given
strategies to calm himself down. This would be a valuable tool in the classroom to teach pupils
about what anger looks like as well as techniques for managing their emotions. The second book
was about bucket filling, which could be used to explain the bucket filling concept to students so
that you can use it within the classroom.
The seminar ended with an exit slip, asking the participants to reflect on the seminar and
point out something that they learned, something they still had questions about, and something that
they found particularly interesting about the information which was presented.
Participants were then given a summary sheet outlining all the information presented within
the seminar, and a quick social-emotional game was played to give participants an idea as to how
you could include them in the classroom.