Academics / Professional Development / Early Childhood Workshops & Training

Social & Emotional Learning (SEL) Initiative

Professional development for teachers, administrators and early care professionals.

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“Love causes learning.”

— Amanda Moreno, PhD, Director of SEL Initiative

Read Amanda’s Bio

Love Causes Learning

That is the philosophy statement behind the SEL Initiative at Erikson Institute.

We conduct professional development with teachers and school staff, direct service with children and parents, and research to help schools become more compassionate and productive places, from top to bottom. We specialize in using whole-child development principles, brain science, and culturally-responsive and trauma-sensitive lenses to infuse SEL and mindfulness strategies as a natural part of the school day rather than an “add-on.”

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Benefits of SEL

Classrooms and schools are incredibly complex environments where children and adults alike are constantly learning – not just about reading and math – but also about relationships. Regardless of where a school is located or the community influences that a child experiences, children can’t isolate their academic brain and leave their emotional brain behind.

Addressing the whole child with Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) provides the foundation for students’ academic performance and the development of skills that will serve them throughout their lifetime:

Self-awareness
Inter-personal and decision-making skills
Resilience

When these critical skills are prioritized in schools, adults and children learn that they matter, that they care and are cared about, and that they can overcome challenges.

Increasing

Connectedness and sense of belonging between teachers and students
Children’s engagement in learning; creating lifelong learner identities through connection to teacher, peers, and activities
Kindness and compassion at all levels
Children’s self-regulation including calming down, attention skills, and problem-solving
Teacher’s presence, attunement, and non-reactivity

Decreasing

Teacher and staff stress by helping to find balance points between the inevitable ups and downs of the school day
Impacts of home and community stress on learning
Teacher-led and child-initiated activities and discussion
Behavioral disruptions by speeding up “recovery time” from classroom upsets
Classroom conflicts, bullying, and exclusion

Trainings, Workshops & Coaching

Teachers
Leadership
Auxiliary Staff
District-Wide
Parents
Speaking Engagements

Calm Spot App

Tablet Set-Up
Teacher Training
Child Training

Calm Community

(Mindfulness-Based SEL Curriculum)

Direct Facilitation
Co-Teaching
SEL Vocabulary Lessons

Evaluations

Implementation
Needs Assessments
Consultation for Programming

Research

What does high-quality SEL in the early years look like?

The SEL Initiative conducts research along two main lines:

Original research in schools and other learning settings to advance the SEL field and test innovations that improve outcomes (for children and adults) and ease implementation.
Evaluation support around your ongoing programs, practices, and innovations. In both cases, we intend to help build the repertoire of easily visualized best practices—because if you can’t picture it, you can’t do it.

Scholarly Articles

Media

Ms. W

1st Grade Teacher

“ When my father died, my students showed me compassion, something we talked about in our Calm Community lessons, and it really helped me when I needed to be present for them. ”

Patricia (Trish) Jennings PhD

Associate Professor University Of Virginia, Lead Developer And Researcher Of CARE For Teachers

“ Erikson’s mindfulness in the schools project provided young students and teachers an unprecedented level of access to strategies that have been shown to create more peace and engagement in classrooms. ”