Integrating Social Emotional Learning Strategies in Higher Education.

Chiara Elmi

doi:10.3390/ejihpe10030061

Abstract

Social and emotional learning (SEL) strategies develop skills linked to cognitive development, encourage student focus and motivation, improve relationships between students and teachers, and increase student confidence and success. More attention should be paid to students’ emotions in higher education to enhance students’ engagement in the classroom and improve social awareness (i.e., respecting others, understanding other perspectives, providing help to those who need it), motivation, and academic achievement. This article focuses on the implementation of practices that promote SEL in higher education and science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) programs. The paper aims to assess the academic and behavioral-related outcomes of applying SEL in mineralogy, an Earth science introductory course in a four-year university. The results of the present paper reveal that instructional practices supporting SEL are suited for engaging and stimulating learners’ multiple intelligences. The observed student course assessment performance suggests that integrating SEL may be a viable strategy for promoting student interest in science, building stress resilience, and creating more positive engagement with students. The instructional practices reported in this paper could support science instructors in designing teaching methods that promote self-management and social awareness to increase students’ academic outcomes.

Highlights

Students with diverse abilities comprise a growing population on college and university campuses.With increases in students from diverse backgrounds [1] and students with disabilities [2], the university classroom is becoming more diverse
Willis [7] observed that as students experience the connection between practice and progress in achieving their goals, they will appreciate their teachers for having provided them with the keys that unlock the doors to their aspirations
Accomplished teachers base their practice on the fundamental belief that all students can learn and meet high expectations

Summary

Introduction

Students with diverse abilities comprise a growing population on college and university campuses.With increases in students from diverse backgrounds [1] and students with disabilities [2], the university classroom is becoming more diverse. Students with diverse abilities comprise a growing population on college and university campuses. Adult students used to be called nontraditional students They have become common across U.S higher education, in metropolitan universities and colleges that serve urban regions with large populations of place-bound working adults in need of higher education and the certifications that come with that education. Adult students in higher education in the United States (U.S.) are as diverse as the over 4000 colleges and universities that they attend [3,4]. With equal-access requirements and increasing rates of enrollment of students with disabilities and adult students in higher education, universities must find appropriate and efficient ways to create accessible materials that benefit and support all students [5]. Because each student is unique, teachers must use diverse strategies suited to students’ broad array of abilities and multiple intelligences, enabling all students to be true participants in a community of learners [6,7]

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