Social and Emotional Learning in Action: Experiential Activities to Positively Impact School Climate

Social and Emotional Learning in Action(SELA) is an easy to use sourcebook facilitated by teaching and/or counseling practitioners primarily in school settings. The pedagogical basis for these lessons are shaped around the research findings of the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL), indicating that the inclusion of social and emotional development programs positively affect academic achievement. CASEL has identified five interrelated cognitive, affective, and behavioral competencies: self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills, and responsible decision making. SELA will be address all five. SELA will provide a developmentally sequenced year-long/ modular flow or stand-alone lessons that integrate the benefits of experiential and social emotional learning (SEL) into the classroom. Each lesson (36 total) will offer step-by-step instructions along with a materials list.

Tara Flippo has worked with youth/students and administered experiential education programing since 1993. She is professor of Outdoor Education in the Department of Kinesiology, at the University of New Hampshire and Youth Director at The Browne Center for Innovative Learning.