One of my main academic goals was to gain a deeper understanding of social and emotional development, and to learn more about how parents, educators, and others who have influence in the lives of children could promote the development of these positive human qualities. Part of my learning would come from readings and coursework. And I would deepen my understanding of what I learned by exploring and applying this new knowledge in the real world.
Social Emotional Learning - An Overview
My academic advisor, Dr. Kimberly Schonert-Reichl, provided me with the fundamentals. What is SEL? Why is it important for children? Where and how do children learn the skills and attitudes that are part of SEL? Who are the world's leading SEL researchers? Dr. Schonert-Reichl is like a human Google when it comes to research on Social Emotional Learning. Her knowledge and enthusiasm set me on my own journey of learning and discovery.
I began by trying to understand the 'big picture' of SEL, and it's component parts. Over the past 5 years in my work as a Dialogue Moderator I have had the good fortune to learn directly from some of the gurus of SEL. As I prepared for these dialogues,researched the material and designed the flow of questions I read articles and books, watched video, and did pre-interviews with the people who were featured in the dialogue. I often spoke with Dr. Schonert-Reichl to make sure I was understanding the content and context of this person's work. I logged many hours walking and talking with my husband,Larry Haberlin, who has spent his career working "on the ground" creating caring environments in schools and other learning environments with the intention of helping children feel safe and grow strong. Then, after filling my brain with information, my task was to decide on a focus for the dialogue, remembering who the audience was, what they did and did not know, and to ensure that the wealth of information was delivered in a way that was meaningful to them. On so many levels, moderating these dialogues was a rich learning experience for me - and hopefully for others who participated. Here are a few example of people I met on my journey.
I began by trying to understand the 'big picture' of SEL, and it's component parts. Over the past 5 years in my work as a Dialogue Moderator I have had the good fortune to learn directly from some of the gurus of SEL. As I prepared for these dialogues,researched the material and designed the flow of questions I read articles and books, watched video, and did pre-interviews with the people who were featured in the dialogue. I often spoke with Dr. Schonert-Reichl to make sure I was understanding the content and context of this person's work. I logged many hours walking and talking with my husband,Larry Haberlin, who has spent his career working "on the ground" creating caring environments in schools and other learning environments with the intention of helping children feel safe and grow strong. Then, after filling my brain with information, my task was to decide on a focus for the dialogue, remembering who the audience was, what they did and did not know, and to ensure that the wealth of information was delivered in a way that was meaningful to them. On so many levels, moderating these dialogues was a rich learning experience for me - and hopefully for others who participated. Here are a few example of people I met on my journey.
The Dalai Lama - "Educating the Heart"
Educating The Heart 2006
In September 2006, during my first month of graduate school, I moderated a dialogue with His Holiness the Dalai Lama and a group of world-renowned educators and scientists. The title of the dialogue was “Educating the Heart”. Based on strong scientific research and evidence-based practice, the Dialogue explored what we know about developing social and emotional competencies in our children and society. In addition to moderating this dialogue, I worked with a group of young people who would conduct the first-ever youth dialogue with the Dalai Lama. Their session was called "Nurturing Compassion". In helping these young people prepare for this session I delved into the literature related to compassion, and spent many hours talking to these the students about their experience with giving and receiving compassion. This experience was life altering. And because it occurred when I was embarking on my academic journey, it provided
important grounding for research and theory of SEL.
important grounding for research and theory of SEL.
Mark Greenberg - "Developing Mindfulness in Families, Schools and Youth"
Mark Greenberg
In February 2011 I moderated a dialogue featuring Mark Greenberg in a Dalai Lama Center Speakers Series event. Dr Mark Greenberg is one of the pioneers of social emotional learning. He has a lot to teach us about SEL including positive child development, reducing risks in children, creating caring communities, and the effect of mindfulness on children and adults. Mark is the Director of the Prevention Research Center for the Promotion of Human Development. He is one of the authors of the PATHS Curriculum that is used in thousands of schools in over 20 countries. He is the author of more than 200 journal articles and book chapters on developmental psychopathology, well-being, and the effects of prevention efforts on children and families.
Daniel Siegel - Mindsight
Daniel Siegel
On May 10, 2011, I designed and moderated a dialogue featuring renowned author and brain researcher Daniel Siegel. The focus of the Dialogue was Mindsight, a concept that Dr. Siegel describes as a kind of focused attention that allows us to see the internal workings of our own minds. It helps us to be aware of our mental processes without being swept away by them, enables us to get ourselves off the autopilot of ingrained behaviors and habitual responses, and moves us beyond the reactive emotional loops we all have a tendency to get trapped in.
Daniel Goleman - A new Vision of Learning
In April 2008 I moderated a dialogue with Daniel Goleman, author of Emotional Intelligence. The focus was how the education can and should focus more on social emotional learning of children (and adults working with children). The audience was comprised of teachers, administrators, policy makers, media – all potential influencers of education policy and practice.
Social Emotional Learning - Digging Deeper
Once I had an understanding about the basics of SEL, I was ready to dig deeper into some of the theories and research about how we develop and learn. There are certain concepts, theories, and lines of research that were most meaningful to me. They seemed to "stick". I found myself trying to understand them better by applying them to the work I was doing. Here are a few examples.
Vygotsky and the Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD)
The Kindergarten Learning Project
Scaffolding , performing before you are competent, reciprocity in learning. These are just a few of the concepts that Vygotsky explores in his theory of learning. From the moment I was introduced to his work in EPSE 503, I was drawn to Vygotsky and I was keen to filter my experiences through his theories. In 2008, I produced a series of training videos for the BC Principals and Vice Principal's Association about The Kindergarten Learning Project, an assessment framework that emphasizes the teacher's role in supporting learning through the gradual release of support. The purpose of the videos was to help Kindergarten teachers integrate this assessment tool into their practice - to provide formative assessment for the children in their classrooms. As I worked with the developers of the KLP, and the remarkably skilled Kindergarten teachers who were featured in the video, I could see the concept of ZPD in practice.
Two years later, in EPSE 503, I revisited the concept of ZPD in the context of the role of reflection in Community Service Learning. Currently, I work with second year medical students in a course called Doctor, Patient and Society. My students do Community Service , and as part of their coursework they send me regular reflection journals. My job is to enhance their learning by responding in a way that deepens their reflections. I was curious about how I could improve my practice, and I produced a power point that explores the role of reflection in scaffolding learning. Later, I shared my findings with other tutors in the Community Service option of the Doctor, Patient and Society course.
Two years later, in EPSE 503, I revisited the concept of ZPD in the context of the role of reflection in Community Service Learning. Currently, I work with second year medical students in a course called Doctor, Patient and Society. My students do Community Service , and as part of their coursework they send me regular reflection journals. My job is to enhance their learning by responding in a way that deepens their reflections. I was curious about how I could improve my practice, and I produced a power point that explores the role of reflection in scaffolding learning. Later, I shared my findings with other tutors in the Community Service option of the Doctor, Patient and Society course.
Resilience
Resilience in the Yukon
Resilience is the capacity to thrive in the face of adversity. There is often a misconception that resilience resides within a child or adult. In fact, resilience is both an individual’s capacity to navigate health promoting resources and a condition of the individual’s family, community and culture to provide those resources in meaningful ways. It is about relationships and interaction rather than individual character. In 2008, I as invited to do a workshop about resilience with educators, policy makers, parents and youth in the Yukon. The title of the workshop was
Resiliency in Children and Youth in Times of
Transition . The purpose was to share research on resilience, and to facilitate a process that encouraged the multi-sectoral group to work together to consider approaches that would facilitate resiliency of children in families, schools, and communities. One of my deliverables was to prepare a final report that synopsized the workshop, and provided some of the key outcomes.
As part of the presentation I involved individuals who live in the Yukon who have demonstrated remarkable resilience in their lives. In many ways they are the experts on resilience - and so I asked them questions about the internal and external assets that they believe contributed to their resilience. During the workshop I presented these videos of individual stories and challenged the workshop participants to identify assets that may have made a positive difference for these individuals, and to ask themselves how they might create more circumstances that promote resilience in children and youth. One of the videos featured a woman named Shandell. She was generous in sharing her life story in the hope that it would shine a light on what children need to thrive in the face of adversity.
As part of the presentation I involved individuals who live in the Yukon who have demonstrated remarkable resilience in their lives. In many ways they are the experts on resilience - and so I asked them questions about the internal and external assets that they believe contributed to their resilience. During the workshop I presented these videos of individual stories and challenged the workshop participants to identify assets that may have made a positive difference for these individuals, and to ask themselves how they might create more circumstances that promote resilience in children and youth. One of the videos featured a woman named Shandell. She was generous in sharing her life story in the hope that it would shine a light on what children need to thrive in the face of adversity.
Later that same year I had the privilege of designing and moderating a National Dialogue on Resilience in Youth - an event that was produced by The Learning Partnership, a national organization dedicated to supporting public education in Canada. Policy makers and academics from across Canada came together for this four day event. We explored best practices, research, program evaluation. For me, one of the highlights was moderating a riveting dialogue with a group of young people from the remote northern community of Sandy Bay, Saskatchewan. Their life stories and insightful reflections provided a 'reality check' for all of the participants of the conference.
In addition to consulting on the design and moderating the dialogue I contributed to Dr. Kimberly Schonert-Reichl's paper that provided background on resilience for the conference attendees. I also collaborated with Dr. Kim in producing a video for the conference. It's called The Breakfast Club. It's the story of a group of middle school students who decided to spend a year doing random acts of kindness. It's all about resilience. And it certainly had an impact on the conference attendees.
In addition to consulting on the design and moderating the dialogue I contributed to Dr. Kimberly Schonert-Reichl's paper that provided background on resilience for the conference attendees. I also collaborated with Dr. Kim in producing a video for the conference. It's called The Breakfast Club. It's the story of a group of middle school students who decided to spend a year doing random acts of kindness. It's all about resilience. And it certainly had an impact on the conference attendees.
Developmental Stages and SEL
A father's love
Children 'learn' social and emotional skills in different ways at different stages of development. It is important to understand development because it provides clues about how we can support children and help them learn important social and emotional skills, develop positive relationships , and be happy. Part of my own understanding of child development and SEL came from working with two of my mentors: Dr. Kimberly Schonert-Reichl and Dr. Clyde Hertzman.
The Early Years
Dr. Hertzman is Director of the Human Early Learning Partnership. Over the past 5 years I have worked with Dr. Hertzman to develop videos, written reports, and live events that would help various audiences understand early child development. I acted as a communications consultant when HELP prepared their final report for the World Health Organization Commission on Social Determinants of Health. The final report is called Equity from the Start. My primary role was to consult on clear messaging and language. I also produced a short video of Dr Hertzman doing a presentation for the World Health Organization. You can see the video at this site Equity from the Start
The Middle Years
Understanding the developmental milestones for children in the Middle Years is equally important. This is a time of transition and so it is characterized by risks and opportunities. Compared to early childhood development, the middle years have received relatively little attention. But in recent years Dr. Kimberly Schonert-Reichl has done some groundbreaking research into the lives of children between the ages of 6 and 12. In 2007 Dr. Kim received funding from the United Way of the Lower Mainland to research this age group. The results are published in the report Middle Childhood Inside and Out: The Psychological and Social World of Children 9 to 12. This research provides a first look at the experiences both in and out of school of children during the middle childhood years. I joined forces with Dr. Schonert-Reichl and the United Way to share the findings of this research with a wide range of communities. First, I designed and moderated a series of public forums where the research findings were reported and discussions were held with individual communities. Then, in 2009 I designed and moderated a two-day summit called United Way Learning Summit on Middle Childhood (From Research and Planning to Action for Children ages 6-12). The summit brought two hundred people together focusing on turning research to action. Participants learned about how kids are spending their time; out-of-school programs that work; program measurement; improving community systems, and action-based policies. One of the unique features of this summit was a feature dialogue (which I designed and conducted) involving Dr's Schonert-Reichl and Hertzman. They focused on the importance of early years and middle years researchers (and practitioners) working together to maximize opportunities and minimize risk for all children.
In 2010 Dr. Kim released results of the Middle Years Development Instrument (MDI) which measured the developmental health and well-being of children in middle childhood. I moderated a public forum that invited educators, community agencies, policy makers, parents and youth to take part in a dialogue about the process ,results and potential of the MDI. The Forum included a presentation by Dr. Kim, followed by a panel discussion with Dr. Clyde Hertzman, Michael McKnight (CEO United Way), and Steve Cardwell, Superintendant of the Vancouver School Board.