Authors of the newly revised Teaching with the Brain in Mind, Liesl McConchie and Eric Jensen offer whole-brain approaches teachers can take to engage students in new learning and retaining that knowledge.

Reading and analyzing texts with elementary students are perfect ways to introduce larger questions about the ways in which we interact with one another and the larger world. Boyles discusses how teaching social-emotional learning through literature can easily be incorporated into reading routines already in place. She includes three sample…

When a school weaves social-emotional learning throughout its curriculum and culture--both helping students tune in to emotions and teaching "emotional skills" for handling difficult feelings--students and teachers thrive. Brackett discusses ways to develop the emotional intelligence of everyone in the school and lists five key emotion…

As social-emotional learning has gained prominence in K-12 education, some educators have wondered how ASCD's Whole Child approach intersects with this movement. In fact, the Whole Child approach encompasses and overarches the components of social-emotional learning, as well as other holistic education models, and as such can serve as a helpful…

In addition to excelling in subjects such as science, math, arts, and social studies, students must also develop skills like resiliency, adaptability, and collaboration in order to truly succeed in the world. But how do schools effectively measure those skills when they so often rely on standardized assessments? This article provides a thorough…

Charts that keep (public) track of whether a student's behavior is in some equivalent of a red (problem), yellow, or green ("well-behaved") zone are ubiquitous in elementary schools. This strategy based on shaming students is due to be retired because (1) it promotes only compliance, not social-emotional learning; (2) charts don't teach…

Leading a school can be a lonely, challenging job, Elena Aguilar has found in her years coaching principals. Aguilar describes how coaching approach she's developed--transformational coaching--helps principals get three things most of them need: a neutral person they can talk with confidentially, job-embedded professional development, and a safe…

Early childhood education must bolster basic cognitive and social-emotional competencies to prepare children for authentic learning. The preschool educators should view academic skills and concepts as valuable tools in the process of developing essential competencies.

Many schools are using evidence-based social and emotional learning (SEL) programs to prevent certain student behaviors such as bullying and harassment, drug and alcohol abuse and violence. The changing of students' social and emotional behavior requires more than skill lessons, as it requires attention to the environment in which students learn.