Social and Emotional Learning in Math

Social and Emotional Learning in Math

While many people experience anxiety in their everyday lives, math anxiety causes a great deal of stress not only in our students’ lives but also within the classroom as a whole. Teaching students how to cope with anxiety, especially in relation to math, is vital to a student’s well-being. Teachers can help their students with this issue by incorporating social and emotional learning into their math lessons as this form of education equips students with a variety of skills such as educating students about having hope, being optimistic and persevering when they come across a difficult problem.

According to the “Curricular Competencies” in Building Student Success BC’s New Curriculum, students are expected to learn how to apply their learning to the real world (2015). This skill coincides with the “social awareness” aspect of the Social and Emotional Learning Core Competencies (CASEL 2015). However, for students to be socially aware, they first need to learn about themselves and how to manage their “emotions,” “thoughts, and behaviours” on an individual and social basis (CASEL 2015). Being competent in these areas takes time, but they are important as they enable students to not only “visualize” ways that they can use math in their own lives but it also teaches them to examine different ways that they can use it to better their communities and the world (Building Student Success BC’s New Curriculum, 2015).

Learning math through the lens of social and emotional learning allows students to take risks and to persist until they are able to solve a problem. This form of education also teaches them about “relationship skills” as students learn to ask questions when they need help or work collaboratively with their peers to solve equations (CASEL 2015). The ability to work together also enhances their “responsible decision making skills” as students are expected to listen to other people’s ideas and to objectively choose strategies that work best for the group instead of for themselves (CASEL 2015).

Educators can include social and emotional learning into the their classrooms through movement, breath work and positive self talk. Teachers can integrate brain breaks or they can teach students to move to a more secluded side of the room to stretch when they need it as this allows the blood to flow through the body more effectively, which enhances a student’s ability to focus. Also, before a test, presentation or when students have a great deal of energy, educators can teach their students deep breathing techniques as it helps sooth and calm students’ nerves. Furthermore, teaching students how to encourage themselves through self talk can benefit a student’s confidence over time as they learn to believe in themselves. All of these methods work best if they are first modeled to the students and become a natural part of the classroom routine.

When students learn in a supportive and nurturing environment, they learn to care for themselves and to respect, accept and understand other students’ perspectives. Integrating social and emotional learning into the classroom teaches students to identify emotions in themselves and in their peers, make appropriate decisions about how to react to various situations and enables them to effectively work with others. These skills are essential in teaching students about problem solving and real life applications of mathematical concepts.

References

British Columbia Ministry of Education. (2015). Building student success BC’s new curriculum. Retrieved from https://curriculum.gov.bc.ca/curriculum

CASEL Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning. (2015). Social and emotional learning core competencies. Retrieved from http://www.casel.org/social-and-emotional-learning/core-competencies/