Social and Emotional Learning to Support Formative Assessment
Self-Regulation Research Overview
Time: 35-45 minutes Audience: School-based educators
SEL for Formative Assessment by Davidson, S., Bates, L., McLean, C., and Lewis, K., is licensed
under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License
Step-by-Step Guidelines
Timing / Content: topic/steps/activities / Notes to facilitator / Resources/ materials2 minutes / Welcome and objectives
1. Welcome group and introduce yourself.
2. Review the session learning objectives. / It’s okay if you are not an expert.
Option: Create a customized ice breaker that reflects the cur- rent climate in your school or community. / Slides 1-2:
• Title slide
• Learning objectives
2 minutes / Define self-regulation
1. Show the Self-Regulation: What’s in a Name? slides.
2. Make the following key points:
Key points
◇ Self-regulation is known by a lot of related terms. Researchers generally have well-reasoned arguments for distinguishing between them, although it can seem like they are used interchangeably.
◇ Self-regulation is an umbrella term that encompasses other concepts, such as future orientation, self-control, perseverance, and grit. / Slides 3-4:
• Self-regulation: What’s in a name? (2 slides)
Timing / Content: topic/steps/activities / Notes to facilitator / Resources/ materials
2 minutes / Future orientation
1. Show the Future Orientation and Example of Future Orientation slides.
2. Make the following key points:
Key points
◇ Why set goals and monitor your progress if you don’t have optimism regarding your future potential, goals, and options?
◇ A personally valued future goal is the first step to developing a system of proximal sub-goals and self-regulatory behaviors to achieve it. / The example slide can be tailored to represent a different age group. / Slides 5-6:
• Future orientation
• Example of future orientation
5 minutes / OPTIONAL ACTIVITY
1. In small groups, have participants read the Example of Future Orientation (or an adapted version).
2. Ask groups to identify each stage of the diagram in the Future Orientation slide in Marina’s story. / The example slide can be tailored to represent a different age group. / Slides 5-6:
• Future orientation
• Example of future orientation
Timing / Content: topic/steps/activities / Notes to facilitator / Resources/ materials
4 minutes / Self-control
1. Show the Self-control slides.
2. Make the following key points:
Key points
◇ Many of you may have heard of the “marshmallow” studies conducted by Walter Mischel and his colleagues in the 1970s. In these studies, preschoolers were given a choice between having one marshmallow whenever they wanted or having two marshmallows if they waited. Children’s responses varied greatly, ranging from eating one marshmallow in a few seconds to waiting a full 15 minutes to have 2 marshmallows. Years later, researchers have followed up with the participants and found significant positive correlations between children’s ability to wait as preschoolers and a range of outcomes in their childhood, adolescence, and even adult lives.
◇ The study has been replicated in other countries with similar findings.
◇ Self-regulation allows students to put aside activities that may distract or tempt them in the short term so they can pursue tasks that are important to their long-term success. / Slide 7-8:
• Self-control
(2 slides)
8 minutes / OPTIONAL ACTIVITY
1. Show a YouTube video about the marshmallow study. Lead a discussion about the experiment: What can we learn from this? Are there any problems with the experimental design? How can the lessons learned be translated into education? / Optional video link:
www.youtube.com/ watch?v
=0mWc1Y2dpmY
Timing / Content: topic/steps/activities / Notes to facilitator / Resources/ materials
8 minutes / Perseverance and grit
1. Show the Perseverance and grit slide.
2. Make the following key points:
Key points
◇ It is important to distinguish between self-control, which involves the ability to resist temptation and control impulses in the short-term, and perseverance, which add the element of time.
◇ Another well-known construct called “grit,” emphasizes perseverance in the pursuit of long-term goals.
◇ Results linking grit to student outcomes have been mixed and unreliable.
3. Show the Am I gritty? slide.
4. Make the following key point:
Key point
◇ This 12-point scale is the most commonly used instrument for measuring grit, but the results coming from it have been mixed. / Grit is a good topic for starting a discussion about how SEL relates to the systemic inequalities in our society. Is promoting SEL enough to close gaps between youth with different levels of opportunity? What else can we, as educators, do to respond to the reality of our students’ lives? / Slides 9-11:
• Perseverance and grit
• Am I gritty?
• Discussion about grit
Timing / Content: topic/steps/activities / Notes to facilitator / Resources/ materials
Discussion about Grit
5. Use the questions on the Discussion about Grit slide to have a group discussion.
6. Hit upon the following key points while wrapping up the discussion:
Key points
◇ Grit is controversial. Critics believe that it leads to victim-blaming and ignore systemic inequalities in our society.
◇ Interventions directed toward individuals hold promise, but are ultimately limited. Children and youth whose lives are affected by poverty, racism, and other forms of oppression face challenges that are difficult to rise above through individual agency alone.
◇ Educators and community members need to focus on the environments they create for youth.
◇ We need to work toward structural and institutional changes that will afford all children the opportunity to both imagine and achieve the future they desire.
Timing / Content: topic/steps/activities / Notes to facilitator / Resources/ materials
3 minutes / How does self-regulation relate to formative assessment?
1. Show the first How does self-regulation relate to formative assessment? slide.
2. Make the following key points:
Key points
◇ There are three main ways self-regulation relates to formative assessment.
◇ The first way is the physical/physiological relationship.
◇ Formative assessment practices require that students reveal their thinking, which can make them feel vulnerable and stressed, especially when they’re not used do doing so.
◇ Stress causes physical changes and sensations, like having tense muscles, feeling knots or butterflies in the stomach, getting sweaty palms, having a racing heartbeat, getting a dry mouth, and more. / Slide 12:
• How does self- regulation relate to formative assessment?
1 minute / How does self-regulation relate to formative assessment?
1. Show the second How does self-regulation relate to formative assessment? slide.
2. Make the following key points:
Key points
◇ It’s normal for anyone to feel confused, frustrated, and stressed when we’re learning something new.
◇ We can make classrooms less stressful by building social belonging within them and by teaching students to notice and manage their stress. / Slide 13:
• How does self- regulation relate to formative assessment?
Timing / Content: topic/steps/activities / Notes to facilitator / Resources/ materials
2 minutes / How does self-regulation relate to formative assessment?
1. Show the third How does self-regulation relate to formative assessment? slide.
2. Make the following key points:
Key points
◇ The second way self-regulation relates to formative assessment is through metacognition, or thinking about one’s own thinking.
◇ A long-term goal of formative assessment practices is for students to learn to self- monitor or self-assess their learning, and then act to deepen their understanding or correct misconceptions.
◇ Students, then, learn to formatively assess themselves—they self-regulate their learning. / Slide 14:
• How does self- regulation relate to formative assessment?
1 minute / How does self-regulation relate to formative assessment?
1. Show the fourth How does self-regulation relate to formative assessment? slide.
2. Make the following key points:
Key points
◇ A third and final way self-regulation relates to formative assessment by fostering perseverance.
◇ When teachers and students use formative assessment practices, they commit to an ongoing learning process in which both need to keep trying and adjusting. / Slide 15:
• How does self- regulation relate to formative assessment?
Timing / Content: topic/steps/activities / Notes to facilitator / Resources/ materials
1 minute / How does self-regulation relate to formative assessment?
1. Show the fifth How does self-regulation relate to formative assessment? slide.
2. Make the following key points:
Key points
◇ Student and teachers may go through multiple formative assessment cycles for all students to reach mastery.
◇ Self-regulation helps students stay focused on learning tasks, which enable them to persevere through challenging content. / Slide 16:
• How does self- regulation relate to formative assessment?
4 minutes / Strategies to promote self-regulation
1. Show the Promoting self-regulation: What can we do? slide.
2. Make the following key point:
Key point
◇ Belonging, stress regulation, and mindfulness are three approaches to creating a classroom culture that promotes self-regulation. / Slide 17-19:
• Promoting self- regulation: What can we do?
• Classroom strategies to promote self- regulation
(2 slides)
Timing / Content: topic/steps/activities / Notes to facilitator / Resources/ materials
3. Show the Classroom strategies to promote self-regulation slide.
4. Make the following key points:
Key points
◇ Because belonging is a key psychological “hub,” promoting belonging is a key foundational practice.
◇ The classroom strategies outlined here (space, breathing, etc.) are especially important for students with adverse childhood experiences or other forms of trauma in their background.
2 minutes / Mindfulness experiment
1. Show the Mindfulness experiment slide.
2. Make the following key points:
Key points
◇ Experimental research evidence demonstrates the effect of mindfulness.
◇ Compared with the control group, students who received this simple mindfulness treatment reported significant changes in metacognitive skill, feelings of connectedness to school, and executive function (related to self-regulation). / Slide 20:
• Mindfulness experiment
Timing / Content: topic/steps/activities / Notes to facilitator / Resources/ materials
5 minutes / Possible selves exercise
1. Show the Possible selves exercise slides.
2. Make the following key points:
Key points
◇ Possible selves involves group discussions and/or writing exercises in which students reflect on their possible future selves to develop their vision of their own future.
◇ Research suggests this activity can reduce depression, absences, and in-school misbehavior while boosting belonging, and engagement in school.
◇ This exercise should only be done if there is an atmosphere of trust and safety in the classroom. / Detailed instructions for this activity are packaged under separate cover. / Slide 21-25:
• Possible selves exercise (4 slides)
• Thank you