This chapter used Mishra and Koehler's technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK) framework as a lens for understanding how teachers integrate transformative social and emotional learning in all learning environments (i.e., online and hybrid). The authors implemented a reflexive thematic analysis approach with interviews of 15 participants consisting of students, parents, and teachers. Findings illustrate that teachers were infusing social and emotional learning (SEL) into technological pedagogical content knowledge, and that interaction among all three bodies of knowledge supported students' social-emotional wellness during the COVID-19 pandemic. Integration of SEL allowed for rich authentic learning experiences across content areas as well connections to the class community in online or hybrid learning environments.
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In response to the COVID-19 global pandemic, the United States, along with other countries, shut down schools to control the virus (Li & Lalani, 2020). The immediate disruption in schools challenged educators to figure out how to keep pre-kindergarten through college-aged students safe while also allowing them to continue their education. Many schools were unprepared to handle this sudden change and experimented with multiple online and hybrid learning variations. The digital divide, magnified by the lack of access to tools and reliable internet, became a glaring issue as families and communities, especially low-income, struggled to keep their children connected with learning (Ellerbeck, 2021).
Simultaneously, teachers were given little to no notice in changing or adapting their instruction to accommodate the shift to online platforms. During this time, students were also facing mounting isolation due to quarantines, a mental health crisis (Center for Disease Control & Prevention, 2021; Hotz, 2021), a frequent lack of emphasis on social-emotional wellness (Grubic et al., 2020; Hoffman & Miller, 2020), and deepening social unrest in the wake of police violence and sociopolitical movements (Saget & Singhvi, 2020). Meanwhile, teachers grappled with how to support not only students’ academic needs but their social-emotional health as well.
As the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic continues to impact the education system, our research seeks to understand how teachers can support childrens’ social and emotional learning (SEL) in a remote learning context, and perhaps even more importantly, how educators can do this amidst the ongoing socio-political movements that have been amplified during this time. Through a qualitative study of the perspectives of teachers, parents, and children, we highlight the ways in which teachers infused transformative social-emotional learning, a form of SEL focused specifically on equity and social justice (Jagers et al., 2019), into all aspects of their remote teaching as they worked tirelessly to meet their students’ needs. More specifically, we illustrate how teachers leveraged aspects of the TPACK framework – an online teaching framework that emphasizes the intersection of technological, pedagogical, and content area knowledge (Mishra & Koehler, 2006) – to support their students’ social-emotional and academic development.
Looking ahead, it is expected that teaching and learning will continue to occur online or in hybrid environments (e.g., RAND, 2021; Singer, 2021). This is an opportune time to center and advance equity and social justice into social and emotional wellness work with young children, teachers, and families; our research adds to the ongoing conversation and work around equity, social justice, and social and emotional learning in schools, homes, and online communities.