Social and emotional learning (SEL) is a combination of cognition, emotions and behaviours – soft skills fundamental to one’s personal and social well-being, growing one’s character, developing values and building positive relationships. Research have shown that immersing students in SEL-rich contents seem to have a significant positive effect on the way they think, feel, and behave, thus creating a profound impact on their well-being both in and out of the classroom. NIE Education Research Scientist Dr Betsy Ng shares some strategies that could help promote SEL in schools through her research which focuses on self-determination theory.

A Theory of Human Motivation

The self-determination theory (SDT) suggests that the motivation behind one’s behaviour is influenced by three innate and universal psychological needs: autonomy, competence and relatedness. It is a broad theory on the intrinsic and extrinsic motivations that affect one’s cognitive and socio-emotional development, their differences and behaviour.

Dr Betsy Ng, who has been actively involved in education research since 2009, shares that research has shown that these basic psychological needs have a direct influence on students’ social and emotional learning (SEL). This inspired her to embark on a new research study that hopes to identify strategies related to SDT to promote SEL in Singapore classrooms.

“My research study is anchored on this macro theory of self-determination which brings up interesting areas of motivation,” she explains. “It highlights the importance of reflecting upon what we have done, what we are doing now, and what we intend to do – all of which are in relation to our needs as human beings. So, if we bring this back to the school setting, we can help nurture SEL in our students.”

“Through my research, I hope to answer the following question: What are the SDT-based strategies that can promote SEL in both teachers and students? As my research is still in its preliminary phase, implementation of these strategies will likely only be done in the second half of this year,” she adds. Betsy has, however, already identified some potential strategies based on her literature review on SDT and SEL that could nurture SEL in schools.

Strategies to Nurture SEL

“It is not easy to gain the competencies that can help you deal with emotions. As teachers, we need to be able to regulate our own emotions while also be aware of how our students are feeling.”

According to Betsy, these strategies require a mindful approach, which some teachers may already be familiar with but at the same time, find it challenging to apply in the classroom.

Take Student’s Perspective

“To quote the famous author of To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee,” Betsy explains, “try to stand in the students’ shoes, walk around in it and understand how they feel and then having known that, you’re able to actually bring [the point] across to the students.” Teachers can start by being mindful of students’ needs and thinking of the elements of SEL while preparing for lessons.

Vitalize Students’ Inner Motivational Resources

Students’ inner motivational resources refer to students’ interests and preferences. Teachers can make use of those by planning activities that could ignite students’ intrinsic desire to learn. For instance, for a topic on insect life cycle, Betsy suggests bringing into the classroom a real insect or a video clip to get them excited about the topic and learn how life all begins.

Use Non-Pressuring Informational Language

It is often a challenge for teachers to be aware of what they say in the classrooms given all the tasks that need to be completed in a few short classroom periods. However, Betsy highlights that it is important that teachers recognize the importance of using non-pressurizing informational language and to avoid using modals such as “should” and “must”. Words like “may” and “could” are less pressurizing and tend to give students the flexibility to nurture their motivations, such as during group work where they have options to select one out of two or a few tasks.

Provide Explanatory Rationales

With huge time pressure and demands from the syllabus, teachers may find themselves jumping into lessons right away. Betsy recommends that teachers share the objectives of the lessons and provide explanatory rationales to students for the lesson and the tasks within the day’s lesson. This includes providing rationales when rewards are given, as compared to merely dishing them out.

Display Patience

Displaying patience towards students by giving them time and space in turn demonstrates to them how they could also watch and listen when working with their peers, especially in groupwork. This may be trying, especially during stressful periods such as when examinations are near. Hence, teachers may consider having such learning opportunities for students during other times of the year, to work at their own pace to build up their self-awareness and self-management skills.

Acknowledge and Accept Negative Affect

Affect refers to any experience of feeling or emotion. “Acknowledging and accepting negative affect is often easier said than done,” Betsy acknowledges, while sharing her teaching experience years ago. Nonetheless, she encourages educators to do so, explaining that this showcases the empathy they have for their students and their own emotional regulation. “When your students are feeling restless, or when your students are getting a little bit not so enthusiastic, you could ask, ‘Is there something that you would like to have the next time?’” Betsy suggests. Welcoming suggestions to get students to play an active role may even help teachers in crafting a project or task that encourages students’ interest in the activity.

Challenging but Worthwhile

“Teachers need to be good listeners and observers to understand students’ needs and interest level on the tasks. In addition, we must also be aware of one’s own body language where we may unwittingly display a lack of patience that discourages students from voicing out in the process,” Betsy explains.

In employing these strategies, Betsy also emphasizes the importance of first having to develop the very social-emotional skills that we seek to inculcate in our student which includes having a high level of self-awareness, and being reflective thinkers and doers.

As with most things, Betsy advises that it is okay to start small first. “It is probably challenging to immediately work on all the strategies at one go, so what we can do is try the one that is the least challenging. Like say for me, it is first learning to take students’ perspectives.”