Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic precipitated several mental health effects on people such as stress, depression, irritability, anger, and confusion. Especially affected were school-aged children whose daily routines were disrupted by school closure and isolation. Hamilton et al. reported that the social-emotional health of 30-40% of students in the USA was impacted negatively, especially those learning remotely and historically marginalized. The virtual learning environment for students needed an intervention to help alleviate the impacts of isolation during remote and virtual learning. Social emotional learning curriculum was implemented in the virtual learning environment for students in a seventh grade English class. Theories of mindfulness and social emotional learning are addressed to show the academic and mental health benefits for implementing social emotional learning in the classroom for adolescents learning in the virtual environment.
TopSel Theoretical Framework
While there is no consensus on the definition of SEL (DeArmond et al. 2021; Gueldner et al., 2020), Weissburg et al. (2015) concluded its framework involves the “personalization of the education process and engaging pedagogies and relevant curricula that offer opportunities for deeper learning and connection to the world beyond school” (p. 11). Brackett et al. (2015) claimed that more than one theory frames SEL because on one hand it involves content related to the connections between emotional skills and students’ development and on the other, it addresses instructional strategies that engage students. Consequently, SEL theoretical framework might include systems theories that explain the dynamics between students and their environment, learning theories that inform the design of instruction, theories of child development that guide age-appropriate design, information processing theories that address processing and retainment of information in memory, and theories of behavior change that focus on motivation and sustainment of behavior (Brackett et al., 2015). Similarly, Gueldner et al. (2020) asserted that many frameworks are used to design SEL activities such as developmental psychology, public health, neuroscience, and teaching and learning.
One approach that has been successfully combined with SEL programs is mindfulness (Coholic et al., 2020; Lemberger‐Truelove et al., 2018; Sapthiang et al., 2019). Mindfulness has shown positive effects in SEL like reducing aggressive behavior and promoting emotional regulation, self-compassion, and social connectedness (Gómez-Olmedo et al., 2020). Positive results have also emerged from integrating mindfulness in comprehensive health education interventions (Klainin-Yobasa et al., 2019; Salmoirago-Blotchera et al., 2018).
Key Terms in this Chapter
High Achievers: Students that are identified as Gifted and Talented and are placed in accelerated classes.
Mindfulness: To engage in sensory and physical experiences that build upon releasing stress and tension and help build a mindset for growth to promote educational and social development.
Virtual Learning: And online learning environment with an instructor and a group of students.
Social Emotional Learning: The interrelated concepts of social theory and experiential theory to help address the emotions and stress students experience in their homes and school environments.
Online Curriculum: Curriculum and lessons that are instructor created or provided through a curriculum program.
Stress or Tension: The emotional or physical pressures of a person’s environment that negatively impact their ability to function in their world. It typically is held in the body, impacting large muscle groups, causing headaches, and affecting emotional and behavior responses to outside stimuli.
Lower Achievement: Low grades that suggest a student is at risk of failing.