This report, published in January 2014 by the Center on Great Teachers and Leaders at American Institutes for Research, provides an easy read on social and emotional learning (SEL) and the student academic outcomes associated with SEL. In particular, it identifies 10 SEL teaching practices that occur most often across SEL programs to promote student competencies, namely: (1) Student-Centered Discipline, (2) Teacher Language, (3) Responsibility and Choice, (4) Warmth and Support, (5) Cooperative Learning, (6) Classroom Discussions, (7) Self-Reflection and Self-Assessment, (8) Balanced Instruction, (9) Academic Press and Expectations, and (10) Competence Building—Modeling, Practicing, Feedback, and Coaching. Each of these practices, which can also be considered teaching strategies, are described in detail in the report. Links are explicitly drawn between these SEL teaching practices and three teacher evaluation frameworks, to make a case for the importance of supporting SEL instruction in the classroom by leveraging teacher evaluation systems.

Citation: Yoder, N. (2014). Teaching the whole child: Instructional practices that support social and emotional learning in three teacher evaluation frameworks. Washington, DC: American Institutes for Research Center on Great Teachers and Leaders.