Social Emotional Learning in Virtual Space
When the schools closed in March 2019, Meera, a software professional, wasn’t sure how to manage her kids on screen time when classrooms went virtual.
Her daughter Maya, in the preschool, wasn’t engaging with the videos shared by her teacher, and her teen son, Aadi struggled with time management. When Aadi started spending a lot of time on social media and experiencing headaches and eye problems, Meera decided to set limits on his phone and computer use. “I want him to spend time doing other things,” she says. But can there be other useful things online that her teenage son could learn?
Meera is one among millions of parents grappling with how to balance their children’s increasing digital usage with their physical and mental well-being. For almost 20 months, now children all over the world are struggling to adapt to the new ‘normal’ and as classrooms move online and extracurriculars are on hold, experts agree children are spending more time on screens . But, what about those children who do not have access to gadgets or technology and are confined to home? How are they learning and more importantly are they learning?
Data from various studies have shown that confinement in home took a toll on the mental and social emotional wellbeing of children. Even though discussions on an online and blended model of learning were on board its need was realised most in the last one year. With COVID came a demand for online schooling. There are two models of online learning that became widely used in the educational space: synchronous and asynchronous learning. Synchronous learning is a kind where interaction is possible in real time. One of the major synchronous mediums that came into use is live online meetings/video conferences. Asynchronous learning is a kind where the interaction does not happen in real time. In this medium the content is loaded and the learner has a discretion to schedule their learning.
After thinking about synchronous and asynchronous mediums, now let’s think if engaging in social emotional learning through an online medium is possible? Is online medium suitable for such engagements? What do expert organisations like CASEL think about facilitating SEL online?
CASEL identified a few ways through which online SEL can be facilitated. Let us understand what these ways are. One of the ways to establish emotional and social contact with students in an online medium is through a regular check in question. Through a check in a teacher can understand the emotional state of their students. The responses can help teachers identify the needs of children and support them thereby. Other alternative strategies lean towards a synchronous online set up of learning where virtual improv discussions are few suggested activities.
Although online SEL is seen as an alternative, facilitating SEL intervention in this mode can be very challenging. Let us explore what those challenges are. Now, try thinking about what is being lost in the online mode of SEL instruction? Is it just the question of physical space being replicated in a virtual space? A broader question is does online medium give enough opportunities to children and teachers to connect beyond passing content/information? Are establishing and sustaining human connections possible in online mediums? How different is online interaction than in person interaction? Let us try to find answers to some of these questions.
Not sharing the same physical space can change the dynamics and nature of interpersonal relationships people share. The medium of instruction we select has a huge impact on the nature and quality of relations we build with our children and learning that takes place. At this point it is important to explore the possibilities an online medium offers to engage in SEL. Each medium has its own pros and those qualities need to be put to use. Let us explore this argument a little further. Consider engaging in SEL through an asynchronous online medium. Few options that are available are sending across texts, content or pre recorded videos via mail or Moodle or any other online space created. Now let us think of how an asynchronous medium can be used to engage children in SEL and how it should not be used? The asynchronous medium of online learning helps to break geographical barriers. It gives us bandwidth to mass disseminate information or material to multiple stakeholders with minimal costs. But does it give us opportunities to personally interact to establish a deeper human connection? At this point is it not wrong to say that trying to replicate in person instruction using asynchronous online instruction will not serve the purpose? Hence the material sent through this medium needs to be of a kind where the child can self direct herself/himself. However, exclusively engaging through this medium to engage in SEL can be extremely passive and limited in nature.
Now, let us think about engaging in SEL through a synchronous medium. Synchronous online interactions are conducted using video conferencing tools. The engagement is possible at real time. Like discussed before, activities like improv, discussions and expressing opinions/feelings can be facilitated but conducting hands-on group activities can be challenging.
Now think of how different are online interactions from in person interactions? All of us can agree that interaction in physical space is very different from the ones happening in online space. In a physical classroom teachers have more opportunities to observe/track emotions and feelings of children throughout the day. In school, children have the opportunity to have lunch with their friends, play with them and participate in different activities of the day. It could be as simple as waving their hand to a friend or sitting beside a friend to share something. All these seem distant in an online medium. Engagements in online mediums are of completely different nature and require increased self-regulation from the child’s side.
Throughout the discussion we have realised that the online medium cuts across geographic barriers and helps in reaching out to students in their respective physical spaces. Online mediums are efficient in mass dissemination of information/content/resources. But all these alternatives necessitate access to electronic gadgets like an android phone and a stable internet connection, which might not be the case in the under-resourced areas. We cannot ignore access issues in developing countries like India. This is the major challenge we at ‘Learning Curve Life Skills Foundation’ faced in the COVID times too. We are an organisation working in the field of Social Emotional Learning (SEL). Our program approaches SEL in a systemic manner. A part of our work is to develop content for children and build the capacity of teachers to engage with children in their social emotional learning. We follow a whole school development approach. Our intervention focuses on teachers, students, school leaders and school as a unit itself. With the schools getting shut pertaining to COVID 19, left no option for us but to think alternatively in terms of reaching out to our stakeholders. Early on, it was realised that in these tough times we have to support our children and teachers and not just wait for the schools to open in person again. We had to find an alternative other than online SEL instruction as the students had limited access to android phones and stable internet connection.
With this we came up with Connect@Home. It is a home-based SEL intervention developed by Learning Curve to enable children to manage emotions, build resilience, handle uncertainties and cope with stress and change. The argument is home can be a place to engage in social emotional learning too! Parents and caregivers can involve their children to collectively engage in SEL activities. The intervention consists of 7 custom designed tool kits. Each tool kit consists of interesting activities, engaging posters, fun stories and worksheets to practice. The content is self directed in nature and the child can engage in SEL in collaboration with her/his caregivers. We made the content available to the stakeholders with access to phones and the internet using a digital medium. Also printed copies of the material were delivered to students who had difficulties in accessing content online. Here is an exciting opportunity to engage yourself in SEL. If you are a parent, teacher, school leader interested in developing your child’s social emotional skills @home then you can contact us at https://rzp.io/l/connect_home.
References
Katzman , N. F., & Stanton, M. P. (2020, November). The Integration of Social Emotional Learning and Cultural Education into Online Distance Learning Curricula: Now Imperative during the COVID-19 Pandemic . Scientific Research Publishing , 1561–1571.
Yoder, N., Posamentier , J., Godek, D., Seibel, k., & Dusenbury, L. (2020). State Efforts to Elevate Social and Emotional Learning During the Pandemic . CASEL.
Stern , R. S., Harding, T. B., Holzer , A. A., & Elbertson, N. A. (2015). Current and Potential Uses of Technology to Enhance SEL What’s Now and What’s Next? . Handbook of Social and Emotional Learning: Research and Practice. (pp. 516–531). The Guilford Press.
