Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) is a catalyst for academic learning, and SEL skills are essential for participating in the workforce. In addition to implementing a research-based SEL program, it’s important to apply and practice these skills in a variety of settings and contexts. One clear (and quick!) way to embed SEL into any content area is through Feedback Literacy.
First, here are some definitions:
According to the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL),
“SEL is the process through which all young people and adults acquire and apply the knowledge, skills, and attitudes to develop healthy identities, manage emotions and achieve personal and collective goals, feel and show empathy for others, establish and maintain supportive relationships, and make responsible and caring decisions.”
The five CASEL competencies are self-awareness, self-management, responsible decision-making, relationship skills, and social awareness.
Feedback Literacy is a set of skills that help students get the feedback they need, understand that feedback, and use it to learn. The term was coined by Paul Sutton (Sutton, 2012). Components of Feedback Literacy that are especially tied to SEL competencies include managing emotions around giving and receiving feedback, engaging in a dialog around feedback, taking action in response to feedback, peer feedback, and student self feedback.
Next, what can I do (tomorrow)?
As an educator, you can build students’ SEL and feedback literacy skills through incorporating intentional opportunities for students to give, receive, and engage with feedback. For each CASEL competency, consider the following feedback strategies:
Self-awareness
- Guided self-assessment – try these self assessment templates
- Watch this Simon Sinek video about how reflection informs personal growth with students
Self-management
- Model open recipience – seek feedback from your students, process it publicly, and show students how you use it
- Try using an interactive cover sheet, where students share in an assignment cover sheet what they’d like feedback on, and what the strengths and weaknesses might be in their work
Relationship skills
- Model and provide opportunities for student to practice the language of feedback:
- “I’d like to celebrate…” “I suggest you…” “This meets (or doesn’t meet) the criteria because…”
- Post language frames in your classroom, and add to it throughout the year exemplars that you hear from students
- Run a guided peer review
- Provide a single criterion, and ask students to offer specific feedback around it to two (or more) of their classmates*
- Use technology (like Floop!) to run a peer review
*We learn more from giving feedback to others than from receiving it! (Ion et al., 2019)
Social awareness
- Create opportunities for students to participate in feedback dialogues with instructors and with their peers – this can be a required part of the assignment.
- Students participate and track “Ongoing Feedback Conversations,“ an adaptation of Jeff Frieden’s Ongoing Conversations, with the Plus/Delta feedback framework included.
- Establish a culture of iteration
- focus feedback on the process rather than as comments for grade justification
- allow re-submissions or re-assessments
- provide opportunities to engage with assessment criteria through peer review and self assessment
Responsible decision-making
- Co-construct criteria and single point rubrics with students
- Incentivize and scaffold revision – offer next steps, and provide opportunities for students to choose to revise work
- Feedback portfolio – help students collect feedback in one place and make an action plan
Start by noticing what you are already doing to teach SEL and Feedback Literacy, then choose the strategies above that are most relevant to you and your students.
How do you teach SEL skills? What overlap have you noticed with Feedback Literacy?