Unit 4: SEL in Science

Dan Haber's Portfolio Page - My Mini Lesson

When looking into social emotional learning in the sciences, we should look at experiments, group work, and who is participating in the group work. I hate to say this, but many little girls often shy away from the sciences, even in their early elementary school years.

Here is a CNN article about when girls often lose interest in math and science:

https://money.cnn.com/2017/02/28/technology/girls-math-science-engineering/index.html

We need to be advocates for all of our students and promote all of them to stick with math and science. This starts with addressing the social emotional climate of your classroom. With that being said, we need to ask engaging questions and take note of which students are participating the most during science. If you see 2 out of 3 students doing an entire experiment and leaving a third child out, ask them to explain the jobs of all 3 students during this learning activity.

When teaching science, I try to refer to all my students as scientists. This promotes a positive learning environment where all students are encouraged to take charge of their learning.

Please read these brief articles that talk about social emotional learning in the science classroom: https://www.edutopia.org/article/social-and-emotional-learning-science-class

https://twigeducation.com/blog/5-ways-to-use-social-and-emotional-learning/

Put yourself into your students' shoes

Stop and Jot in your digital notebook.

1. Why is it important to push all of our students towards STEM?

2. Can you recognize how some students may feel left behind or pushed away from STEM?

3. What can you do as an educator to make sure all of your students feel a sense of achievement in your class, specifically in science?