Click the link below for the
Connectedness & Engagement module
The full version of the module is in the downloadable PDF above. An accessible text version is below.
Support Success with Social-Emotional-Behavioral Health (SEBH) Supports - Connectedness & Engagement
Participants will learn more about strategies to use before, during, and after instruction to support student engagement in learning and build relationships. Other modules are available through the Support Success with SEBH Supports.
Supporting Social-Emotional-Behavioral Health
Staff, family, and student emotional well-being is integral to effective instruction and student engagement. Planning for this support is critical to ensure adults and learners are ready to learn.
Teachers with Strong Social-Emotional Competence...
- Have less burnout
- Have stronger student relationships
- Regulate their own emotions
- Are social-emotional role models
Students with Strong Social-Emotional Competence...
- Have increased achievement
- Have improved attitudes
- Have less emotional distress
- Have fewer conduct concerns
Alignment to State Priorities and Goals
State Priority: Creating a Safe, Healthy, and Welcoming Learning Environment
- Goal: All Iowa schools will work with their learners to foster a culture and climate in which they feel safe and supported, and bullying and harassment do not exist.
- Goal: All learners will have access to mental health services and supports in their schools and communities.
- Goal: All schools will create environments that develop social, emotional, and behavioral health.
- Goal: All schools will develop physical health for students through structured school programs (e.g., food and nutrition, physical education, wellness programs, etc.)
Connecting to your work
How do these recommendations connect to your work?
The practices outlined in the following modules align to:
- Best practices detailed within many policy expectations for schools
- Evidence Based Practices (EBPs) for SEBH
- Universal Supports for SEBH within an MTSS
The purpose of these resources is to apply EBP for SEBH within the context of a variety of learning contexts including in-person, online, and virtual.
Connectedness & Active Engagement During Instruction
Objectives
- Promote relationships by planning for Adult-Student and Student-Student connections before, during, and after instruction.
- Identify activities to increase active responding during in-person and/or online instruction.
Connectedness & Engagement Note Taker
How do relationships and classroom culture impact learning and social-emotional-behavioral success?
Before (Welcoming)
- What did you learn?
- What do you want to try?
During (Engaging Strategies)
- What did you learn?
- What do you want to try?
After (Optimistic Closure)
- What did you learn?
- What do you want to try?
Other Important Social-Emotional-Behavioral Health Considerations
It’s important to recognize that emotional safety and school routines set a foundation for learning and student engagement. If your students are particularly stressed you may want to consider the following modules first:
- How to support learners and families who may feel emotionally unsafe following a crisis (see the Emotional Safety module)
Adjustments to your expectations and routines to support social-emotional well being (see the Expectations & Routines module)
ILC SEBH Connectedness & Engagement in Template
Watch the video “Power of Relationships” (3:40)
- Why are relationships important to student engagement?
- How are they important to social-emotional well-being?
- How are they important for academic success?
During particularly stressful times, relationships take a priority over assignment and behavioral compliance. They support building a supportive, stable, and trusting classroom/school community.
Classroom Culture
Take these into consideration as you implement strategies to build relationships and foster interactions before, during and after instruction.
Establishing connections and belonging begins with the classroom environment. Students should be represented in the classroom and their voices heard in co-developing the culture.
- Equity of voice: All participants are encouraged to speak and are respectfully heard
- Inclusion: All degrees of participation are welcomed and acknowledged
- Collectivism: All engage in and contribute to a “for the collective good of the group” experience
Building a Belonging Classroom
Intentional planning can go a long way in establishing a positive and inclusive culture. Watch the video “Building a Belonging Classroom” (4:17).
- What do you see that you can implement?
- What do you do successfully that you can share with colleagues?
- How do we successfully transition these routines online?
SEL 3 Signature Practices (CASEL)
- The SEL 3 Signature Practices are one tool for fostering a supportive environment and promote SEL.
- They intentionally and explicitly help build a habit of practices that enhance SEL skills.
- Throughout this module these practices will be used to frame up critical social-emotional practices to support connectedness and engagement.
Before (Welcoming)
- Open each experience with a welcoming inclusion activity, routine, or ritual that builds community and connects to the work ahead.
During (Engaging Strategies)
- Embed engaging strategies to anchor thinking and learning throughout the experience. Build in a balance of interactive and reflective experiences.
After (Optimistic Closure)
- Close each experience in an intentional way that highlights an understanding of the importance of the work, provides a sense of accomplishment, and supports forward thinking.
Before: Welcoming Activities
- Welcoming activities help build strong, positive relationships with students
- Welcoming activities create a sense of belonging and a supportive environment
- Integrate welcoming activities in everyday interactions to build a connection with students as individuals.
- Intentionally get to know each student on a personal level and find the “spark” in every student.
- For some students, recognize that it takes additional time to connect.
Welcoming Inclusion for Active Engagement
- Open each class period, meeting, or learning experience with a WELCOMING INCLUSION ACTIVITY or ROUTINE that builds community and connects to the work ahead.
- These may also be known as Bell Ringers, Entry Tickets or Warm Ups.
What do these welcoming practices look like in different learning contexts?
In-person
- Greet student by name when entering the room
- Meet 1:1 with each student at the start of the year to get to know them
- Use morning meetings as a way for students to share about themselves
- Have students complete a bell ringer
Online
- Greet student by name when they enter the virtual room, when emailing and when calling
- Meet virtually 1:1 with each student at the start of the year to get to know them
- Use virtual class meetings as a way for students to share and get to know each other
- Have students complete a bell ringer online poll
Consider Relationship and Diverse Needs of Students
Keep relationships and the diverse needs of the students in mind when planning a Welcoming Activity. How well your group knows each other, how comfortable they are with one another, and how many times you’ll be meeting as a group are some of the factors that help you determine your activity.
Ask yourself: How can I meet the diverse needs of learners? How can I modify these for online?
If Learners Are....
Brand new to the learning environment
- Incorporate getting to know each other welcome activity.
- Name and Motion pg.13 SEL Playbook
Working towards building trust with each other
- Activity done individually & students determining when they want to share
- Journaling
Making difficult decisions in class activity
- A welcoming activity that asks learners to make a choice.
- Discussion/Debate
Tired and low-energy
- Involve movement and upbeat tones.
- One, Two, Three, CLAP pg. 14 SEL Playbook
Learning how to work in groups
- Create grouping and organize in trios and debrief in large group.
- Synectics pg. 17 SEL Playbook
During: Engaging Strategies
Engagement strategies involve all students in reflection, processing, and learning and give the students opportunities to actively respond to their learning.
Engagement Strategies:
- Build relationships to one another and the content
- Create the opportunity for sense-making for self or with others
- Support everyone’s learning
- Help the group stay focused and in a state of optimal learning
- Include a variety of strategies and activities that honor the array of cultural norms and personal learning/working styles that exist in your group
Increasing Engagement and Opportunities to Respond
Active engagement practices contribute to a positive learning environment by:
- Keeping class moving along
- Increasing:
- engagement
- on-task behavior
- accountability
- desired behaviors
- Reducing:
- inappropriate behaviors
What do these during/engaging strategies look like in different learning contexts?
In-person
- Use apps or charts for classroom polls and reactions
- Use evidence-based cooperative learning strategies for small groups
- Provide graphic organizers
- Pair students to create, reflect, critique, refine their ideas and work
- Give students choices as to how to demonstrate their learning
- Provide opportunities for students to share and provide feedback on one another’s work
Online
- Chat, polls, and reactions as online response cards.
- Breakout rooms for partner and small group work.
- Google docs and google slides for written responses, response slates, and for students to work cooperatively.
- Action responses and verbal responses can be done virtually, too! Have students keep their cameras on and in gallery view. Have students use a neutral virtual background to reduce equity issues.
Consider Engagement and Diverse Needs of Students
- Keep engagement and the diverse needs of the students in mind when planning engagement strategies.
- Embed engaging strategies to anchor thinking and learning throughout the experience.
- Build in a balance of interactive and reflective experiences.
Ask yourself: How can I meet the diverse needs of learners? How can I modify these for online?
If Learners Are....
Answering questions that have a short or the same response, checking for understanding, recalling information
- Increase opportunities for students to respond by using procedures that result in all students responding. Provide choice in how they respond.
- Verbal Responses
- Written Responses
- Action Responses
Asking questions, receiving feedback, and externally processing the material to better understand and to better retain the information.
- Provide a discussion question and ask each student to answer the question in the online forum.
- Students can respond to a minimum number of classmates, collaborate in small groups. or respond to each member of the discussion group
- Use a Fishbowl Activity p. 26 SEL Playbook
After: Optimistic Closures
Optimistic Closures are activities that will close your instruction in a purposeful and thoughtful way. They help anchor learning, build anticipation for what comes next, or provide educators with feedback. These may include activities that are done individually or collectively and may include a reflection on the learning, identifying next steps, illuminating connections, or affirming effort.
Key Questions:
- What will assist your learners to anchor their learning?
- What will assist your learners to feel affirmed and/or a sense of accomplishment?
Consider:
- Thoughtfully frame the closure prompt
- Choosing a context: looking backward, inward, forward, or outward
- If the process is better with individual, small or large group response
- Mixing it up
- Allowing choice: sharing verbally, writing, creating art, and/or through technology applications
What do these after/closing practices look like in different learning contexts?
In-person
- Summarize key learnings through:
- journaling or drawing
- sharing verbally with a partner
- filling out a template
- completing an exit slip
- Use technology-based apps for formal or informal responding by:
- creating a collective word cloud
- providing opportunities for students to select & lead
Online
- Respond to a prompt with:
- breakout rooms
- collective Google Doc
- apps (e.g., padlet, Flipgrid, One Note)
- Use focused Backchanneling to capture thoughts and review at closure (e.g., FunRetro, Slack)
- Use technology to provide opportunities for students to select & lead
Reflection: Equity Considerations
For students to feel that their voice was truly heard, respond to what they share by sharing an aggregate summary or highlight specific ideas without “calling out” students. Share how you change your thinking or planning based on what what they share, or why you didn’t make any changes. Always affirm and acknowledge their voice even if you disagree with it.
As you plan your connecting/engaging activities, consider:
- Will all students be comfortable with others seeing what they share or should it be individual/small group sharing?
- Do all students have & know how to use the process/app you select?
- Are the prompts & process sensitive to cultural differences & traditions?
- Is the activity engaging, accessible, and encouraging of authentic & meaningful learner voice?
- How will you act on what you hear?
Example: Action Plan for Connectedness & Engagement
The slide shows an example action plan to get started using Before, During & After activities. In this situation, it shows how a teacher partners with the grade-level team to plan connections. You might also review the “Getting it Down PATT!” activity on the next slide to expand your activity plan.
Goal: Build strong relationships by adding 3 new connectedness and engagement activities into my class’ day.
Follow-up Activities (Optional)
The following activities are suggested to support planning and implementing these practices within your school:
Activity 1:
- Review the Welcoming Inclusion Activities, Engaging Strategies and Optimistic Closures on pages 58 and 62 of the 3-Signature Practices Playbook.
- Choose 1 practice from each area that you want to build into your schedule.
- Use “Getting it Down PATT!” to plan your activities.
Activity 2: Ideas for Welcoming Activity
"Do Now" Themes
Motivational Monday: What are Kinda and supportive things we can say to each other? (Individually then discuss - Start class off positive)
Tell me about it Tuesday: What do you need from me this week to be successful? What do you need from your classmates? (Individually then discuss - Gain understanding of what is needed to be successful in class)
Would you rather Wednesday: Would you rather be 10 min late or 10 min early? Why? (Individual think time then group or partners - Learn about students)
Think it through Thursday: "What belongs to you but others use it far more often than you use it?" Answer: Your Name (Brain teasers or question that create collaboration)
Figure it out Fridays: Active puzzle students engage in OR discuss how to work together to get assignments done collectively. (Creates collaboration)