Social-Emotional Learning and the Brain

Today’s teachers face a daunting challenge: how to ensure a positive school experience for their students, many of whom carry the burden of adverse childhood experiences, such as abuse, poverty, divorce, abandonment and numerous other serious social issues. Spurred by her personal experience and extensive exploration of brain-based learning, author Marilee Sprenger explains how brain science – what we know about how the brain works – can be applied to social-emotional learning. Specifically, she addresses how to:

• build strong, caring relationships with students to give them a sense of belonging
• teach and model empathy, so students feel understood and can better understand others
• awaken students’ self-awareness, including the ability to name their own emotions, have accurate self-perceptions and display self-confidence and self-efficacy
• help students manage their behaviour through impulse control, stress management and other positive skills
• improve students’ social awareness and interaction with others
• teach students how to handle relationships, including with people whose backgrounds differ from their own
• guide students in making responsible decisions.

Offering clear, easy-to-understand explanations of brain activity and dozens of specific strategies for all grade levels, Social-emotional learning and the brain is an essential guide to creating supportive classroom environments and improving outcomes for all our students.