How Are the Children? Implementation of an SEL Program in a Traditional and Alternative High School Setting

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session Saturday 8:00 am Four Seasons Ballroom 2-3
  In Roundtable Session: Realities of SEL Technology Integration and Usage (Table 10)

Abstract

This work examines the implementation of How Are the Children, a project-based learning social-emotional curriculum, in a traditional and alternative high school in an under-resourced district in western Illinois. Using preliminary data, we compare and contrast the qualitative experiences of teachers during the first year of implementation. Despite early concerns raised by teachers that filmmaking would not be engaging to students because of the ubiquity of smart devices, most interviewed teachers reported that their students were excited to create their documentaries. As intended, the peer-to-peer production process empowered most students to work together and to create something they could take pride in. Overall, filmmaking appears to have been a successful medium for engaging students in PBL around SEL.

Authors

• Rebecca Dowling, Empirical Education Inc.

• Mayah Waltower, Empirical Education Inc.

• Kathy Ruggeberg, Black Hawk Area Special Education District

• Andrew P. Jaciw, Empirical Education Inc.

• Jenna L. Zacamy, Empirical Education Inc.