The Tip: Take 5 minutes out of your class time, either at the beginning or at the end, to check in with your students. This is five minutes devoted to talking about anything you/they want – except homework or any other subject related content! This is a chance to connect with students, see how they are, and give them an opportunity to say whats on their mind that day. It’s only five minutes, but it could go a long way in showing your students that you care, and in learning more about their relationships with each other!
#social-emotional learning #relationships
Here is some research to support:
In the article “Learning by Heart,” Cervone and Cushman (2014) demonstrate how social emotional learning and community building can and should be a part of everything we do; that it should be weaved into the fabric of the school’s identity. The article identifies six key elements that are fundamental in creating a school that supports social and emotional learning. The first of those key elements is having a web of structural supports, meaning that students should be provided with meaningful connections and relationships in a variety of ways. For example, through positive student-teacher relationships, smaller class sizes, or daily advisory meetings. The idea is that students have a multitude of support networks that serve their diverse needs.
Although making changes such as smaller class sizes, or school-wide homeroom advisory meetings is a change that requires district level support, there are still ways teachers can provide similar structural supports within their classrooms. Try 5 minute check-ins!
