The Master Teacher Blog

How we think about the work we do matters. Our beliefs, attitudes, and thinking frames have an impact on the goals we set, the instructional approaches we choose, and the learning our students experience. We can plan based on what we want and intend to do, or we can begin with where our students are and what they need. We can demand compliance or invite commitment. We can manage behavior or nurture responsibility.

This is a good time to reflect on how we engage our students, what outcomes our approaches are most likely to generate, and how we might adjust our strategies and techniques to stimulate imaginations, stir passion, and maximize learning. Here are five questions we can use to guide our reflection and determine if and where we need to adjust.

First, do I seek to delight or inspire? At first, these two goals may seem to be one and the same. However, on closer examination, we see that when we seek to delight students, while they may have a positive experience, little emotion remains beyond the moment. When we seek to inspire, on the other hand, students are more likely to experience a connection with the content, concept, or opportunity to which we introduce them. We open the door for students to own the experience and choose to learn more, experience passion, and act. When we seek to delight, the experience is contained in the moment. When we seek to inspire, we invite connection, reflection, and commitment that may last a week—or a lifetime.

Second, do my expectations irritate or agitate? Again, we may initially see these two terms as very similar. However, irritation typically results from pressing our interests and commitment upon students and their actions. People naturally resist when they feel pressure from someone else about something that holds little interest to them. Agitation, on the other hand, is nudging others to engage and act on something that is of interest to them or in their best interest. When we agitate—the definition in this context meaning to stir and cause to move—we nudge students to be all that they can be. We ask them to be true to themselves. Whereas irritation is a reaction to our agenda, agitation comes from our challenging students to be, do, and accomplish what is of interest and importance to them. 

Third, do I give advice or offer feedback? When we offer feedback, we provide clear, timely, actionable, non-judgmental, specific information to students relative to a learning attempt, creative effort, or work product. Our goal is to help students grasp how their actions relate to goals or outcomes and support them to see the next step to move their learning forward. When we give advice, we are more likely to speak within our frame of reference and draw on our experiences. While what we have to offer may have significant merit, students are more likely to resist and ignore our words, believing that what worked for us may not be as useful to them. Typically, sharing advice rather than offering feedback is only effective for the most highly confident, competent, and committed learners.

Fourth, do I seek compliance or commitment? Most of us experienced school as a highly structured, compliance-based institution. Most important decisions were made by adults and shared with students as expectations for their behavior. Most sanctions and rewards were based on whether students complied with adult rules, expectations, and structures. However, we know that the most powerful learning is driven by commitment and purpose. Learning driven by compliance is typically only as deep as required and retained only until it is assessed. Tapping purpose, nurturing commitment, and supporting students in order to extend their learning beyond the required curriculum can be an experience that is as transformative as it is rewarding.

Fifth, do I rely on punishment or discipline? Again, we may confuse these two concepts in pursuit of acceptable behavior. Punishment is assigning consequences intended to be unpleasant enough that students will not repeat the unacceptable behavior. The hope is that students will be reluctant to engage in future behaviors that will lead to the pain, embarrassment, or shame designed by punishment. While this approach works best with students who already want to please adults and typically do not engage in unacceptable behavior, it is largely ineffective with students who do not have strong relationships, who may seek attention, or who otherwise are not afraid of consequences. Conversely, discipline focuses on helping students to see how and why their behavior is unacceptable, develop strategies and options to achieve what they seek through acceptable means, and build self-regulating skills to manage their behavior. Punishment is about consequences while discipline is about learning.  

Convincing students to commit to their learning, become the best they can be, and take responsibility for their behavior is not an easy challenge. Students come to us with a variety of experiences in life and learning. Some students respond enthusiastically to opportunities to co-lead their learning, while others require time and patience. Regardless, when we give students the gifts of owning their learning, committing to their success, and developing their full capacity to engage the world, we give them gifts for life.

Teachers have been urged for years to make student data the focus of most professional learning communities, team activities, and similar efforts. After all, experts have routinely advised that the only way to have an impact on student learning outcomes is to understand current performance. However, researchers now have added an important component to this advice. After conducting and reviewing a variety of studies over several years, they found that the focus on analyzing student data has generally not led to improvements in learning outcomes.   

Knowing where students struggle, need to improve, and are doing well is important, but that is only the first step. Too often, collecting and analyzing student data has been the sole focus; however, unless the information gained leads to insightful, impactful changes in learning support and engagement, changes in learning outcomes rarely happen.  

The researchers noted that educators are investing significant time and effort into data analysis, but the process falters when it comes to whether and how the data is used. The reasons for the lack of effective follow-through appear to be varied.  

According to the researchers, responses to the discovery that a student is struggling have disproportionately focused on non-instruction-related reasons as being the problem, such as struggles at home, failure to study, or poor test-taking skills. As a result, no specific instructional or learning experience changes are suggested or implemented. In short, the problem is defined, but the cause is seen as largely beyond the reach of the teacher, so changes are not made. 

Another frequent response is to place students on “watch lists” or give them similar designations, but no specific actions are taken to change current performance or address existing learning barriers. Of course, merely watching a student offers little promise for change in performance. Meanwhile, time is lost, presentation of the curriculum continues, and interventions often come too late to change learning outcomes. 

Knowing that a student is not performing as expected offers little benefit unless the causes for under-performance are also understood. For example, reteaching a concept or skill without changing our approach offers limited benefits to learners who were unable to learn what was taught the first time. In fact, if the initial introduction resulted in confusion or misconceptions, repeating the process, even at a slower pace, risks reinforcing confusion and confounding misconceptions. The bottom line is that unless our analysis of student data results in thoughtful, informed changes in instructional practice and adjustments in the learning experience of students, we will not see improvements in learning outcomes.  

Further, we need to understand the “real story” behind the data. Often, the only way to discover the cause of student struggles is to include students in the process. We can speculate about the causes behind the struggle, but students can give us firsthand insights and context, if we invite and support them to participate. Of course, some students may be too discouraged to invest at first and may need coaching. Other students may be reluctant to admit and discuss areas in which they struggle, and we may need to lower their perceived risks. Still, others may have the skills and possess a level of insight that enables them to reflect on their learning experiences, and they can become partners in constructing a path to improvement. 

The benefits of including students in the process of analyzing data, understanding root causes of struggles, and designing learning paths often extend beyond just understanding that there is a problem. When students become partners in their learning, they are more likely to commit to that learning and persist when they struggle. Furthermore, they become better prepared to deal with future learning challenges when we are not present to guide and support their efforts.    

Reference: 

Hill, H. C. (February 7, 2020). Does studying student data really raise test scores? Education Week. 

Goals can be powerful tools to help us achieve success. They assist us to focus on what is important. Goals inform the actions we take to move us forward, and they also guide us as we monitor and measure our progress.  

Goals also play key roles in the classrooms that reach the highest levels of learning. A major international study lists instructional goals as one of ten defining actions of effective teachers. John Hattie’s meta-analysis of what works in learning ranks student goal setting as a potent strategy that learners can employ to boost their learning. Meanwhile, shared classroom goals can create a common focus and sense of purpose for students.

Each of these three types of goals add value to our efforts to have our students succeed. However, when the three types of goals are present and supporting each other, their impact can be ever greater. Let’s examine the synergy we can generate when our instructional goals, student learning goals, and shared class goals are aligned and working together to support student success.  

First, instructional goals help us focus and plan our instruction to move student learning forward in alignment with the intended curriculum. They help us to organize the content and skills we want students to learn, and they assist us in choosing resources and selecting strategies that will best serve our students. Instructional goals can be as narrow as a focus on a single unit or lesson and what we want students to experience and learn, or they can be as broad as a semester-long effort to build academic skills and learning persistence. However, instructional goals are most powerful when they are reflective of what students are ready to learn and when they are calibrated to move students forward based on where their learning is, not where we would like them to be—or where the curriculum imagines them to be. Instructional goals articulate what we want our students to learn and be able to do. They can support actions and strategies that are tailored to our students in ways that make their success most likely. Meanwhile, we can use instructional goals to monitor and adjust our actions to ensure students constantly move ever closer to the learning outcomes we seek for them. 

Second, the goals students set help them to see purpose in their learning. They can help students develop confidence that their efforts are leading to learning progress. Typically, students are more open to feedback regarding their efforts and progress when feedback is aligned with the goals to which they are committed. Goals can help students gain confidence regarding their capacity to learn and succeed. When students participate in creating action plans in support of their goals and then work through those plans, they gain important experience regarding what makes a difference in their learning, and they also have opportunities to practice progress monitoring and to make adjustments that move them toward achievement of their goals. Of course, when we develop instructional goals and action plans that are aligned with and leverage student learning goals, progress accelerates and success comes even sooner.  

Third, when we engage students in making decisions and setting goals regarding the learning environment, we are building a sense of community. Well-chosen class goals can build team spirit, mutual support, and confidence among classmates. Shared class goals can also make classroom management easier. However, these goals must involve actions, activities, and outcomes in which every student can participate and find success. Shared class goals also need to be within the control of the students. For example, attendance may not be best for younger children but could be workable for older students. Class goals might connect to schoolwide themes or improvement goals. Creating and maintaining an environment of caring and respect, being resilient and bouncing back from setbacks, and striving for excellence in learning and behavior are examples of class goals in which all students can support and share. Academic progress goals are not always the best choice because students learn at different rates and in different ways. Students also don’t all start at the same place; consequently, without care and thoughtfulness behind them, shared academic goals can lead to tension and conflict. Regardless, class goals need to be important and worthwhile from the perspective of students in order to make a difference. 

The synergy generated by aligned instructional goals and student learning goals grows when those goals exist within a classroom environment of shared norms and purpose. Instructional goals have a greater impact, student learning goals experience greater leverage, and students experience greater support and sense of belonging. The combination can create an unstoppable force for learning.  

We know the importance of having goals for our instruction. After all, instructional goals provide direction, suggest strategies we can employ, and help us to evaluate our impact. However, we may be less familiar with the value of setting learning goals with students. The truth is that student goal setting can pack substantial power to lift learning and help personalize student learning experiences. Setting learning goals with students also can build important life skills. Consider these five ways that student goal setting improves learning and prepares students for life.  

First, goal setting builds confidence. Setting learning goals helps students to see that they can achieve important outcomes. The pursuit of those goals helps students connect their persistence and focus, effective strategies, and the use of available resources to their progress and success. 

Second, goal setting improves academic performance. A meta-analysis of research studies conducted by John Hattie found that when students set and pursue learning-related goals, their learning accelerates, leading to more progress than would otherwise be expected in an academic year. 

Third, goal setting supports students to overcome learning challenges. By focusing on achieving a challenging outcome or overcoming a difficult task, students begin to see that they do not have to live with the limits they may have placed on themselves and their potential. They become more open to taking risks and aiming high when it comes to their learning. 

Fourth, goal setting helps students to develop long-term thinking. Goal setting helps students to shift their attention to the long-term while generating short-term motivation. Of course, we want students to think long-term; however, we also need them to be motivated to engage in today’s work. Goal setting can help them to accomplish both. 

Fifth, goal setting supports students to develop life skills. When students set goals and then develop and utilize action plans to achieve them, they gain important skills that prepare them for life. Goal setting builds commitment and focus and encourages measurement of progress, all key skills for life success. 

Of course, setting goals with students requires more than telling students to develop goals or developing goals on their behalf and presenting them to students. Our involvement, support, and coaching will play a key role in the goal-setting success that students experience. Here are six steps we can take.  

Involve students in setting goals for their learning. We may think we know what the goals should be, and we may feel the urge to play a dominant role in the process. Yet, unless we give students an authentic voice and help them to commit to their goals in writing, we can expect minimal commitment and less-than-full effort.  

Frame goals positively and keep them within reach of the student. For example, focus on improving accuracy rather than making fewer mistakes. Effective goals build strengths rather than lessen deficits. 

Focus student attention on factors over which they have control. Students need to see what they can do to achieve their goals and be confident that their efforts will make the difference, not rely on outside influences or factors over which they have no control. 

Partner with students in the construction of action plans. Help students break the process into manageable steps and sequence them to build a path to success. At first, students may need considerable support with this process, but be sure to listen and include their ideas as well as yours. Eventually, students will be able to build effective action plans without assistance.  

Be sure that goals are stated in a manner that is specific enough to support measurement of progress. When students can see and measure their progress, motivation grows. When the desired outcome is defined in a specific, measurable form, success becomes clearer, and the goal is more likely to be achieved. 

Involve students in measuring progress and deciding when adjustments to the goal or action plan are needed. Monitoring progress can be a good source of ongoing motivation for students. Further, when students are monitoring their progress, they are more likely to see when they may need to abandon some steps and strategies in favor of others. Our co-monitoring of their progress also positions us to be ready with support, suggestions, and coaching when goals need to be adjusted or action plans need revision. 

The process of setting learning goals with students is a key strategy for building ownership for learning, instilling confidence, and developing skills that will serve students well for a lifetime. When students are active partners in building effective action plans, monitoring progress, and measuring success, we create with them a clear sight line to success. 

Adapted from Six Reasons You Should Start Setting Learning Goals with Your Students and Ready to Set Goals with Your Students? Six Tips to Get Started. The Institute for Personalized Learning.  

Educators know all too well that there are times when we can feel as though we are talking to the wall or speaking into an empty echo chamber. We think that we are being clear, and we know what we want our students to know and do. Yet we may discover that they didn’t hear what we intended, are confused by what we said, or did not hear us at all.  

We may be tempted to blame our students when we discover they have not received the messages we sent. Of course, it may be that they have indeed not been giving us the level of attention that we expect. However, before looking elsewhere to assign responsibility or blame, we need to consider whether our communication has been clear, timely, and complete enough to capture the attention of our students and if it was presented in a way that made it memorable. 

Typically, the problem is not that we do not know how to communicate effectively, but that we can become preoccupied with or distracted by other issues and tasks. We may be in a hurry to cover instructional material, or we may not be clear about what we want to communicate. Often, just taking some time to review what we know about effective communication can be enough to remind us to practice the techniques and strategies we already know. Here are six reminders that may be helpful.  

We need to be sure the message is timely. We must consider what students need to know and when they need to know it. Just because something is on our mind does not mean that now is the time to share it. Communication that sticks is both relevant and well-timed. Of course, there also are times when we may preview or prepare students for future work, so hearing a preview now can help them to be ready. Think of it like this: just in time and just enough. 

Then, we must keep it simple. We need to avoid vocabulary and concepts to which students have yet to be exposed. Simple words and short sentences are most likely to be absorbed. The best communication is confined to the smallest number of points, expectations, and tasks students need to hear and absorb; the more complex our communication, the more likely it is that students will become confused, seek interpretation from other students, or ignore what we have to say entirely.  

Next, we can structure the message so that students get both our point and the key supporting information. Start with the “headline.” What is the core message on which we want students to focus? Follow with crucial supporting details; what else do students need to know? Limit the information to avoid overloading and creating confusion. Finally, we can complete the message with an example or two to clarify implications and ground our key points.  

We increase the probability that our message is received when we employ multiple modes to convey it. Say it, send it, and show it. We may even sing it, sign it, or signal it when we really want to be sure. The more ways students receive information, the more likely they will hear and remember it.  

Closely related to communicating via multiple modes is to repeat what is most important. We may think that students should always be paying attention, ready to hear what we have to say, but that is not reality. The more times our messages are repeated, the more likely they are to be absorbed. Repeating important messages as many as seven times is a good goal. 

Despite our best efforts to communicate, we still need to check for understanding. We may think that we have been clear, but what matters is whether students hear and understand what they need to be successful. Regardless of how well we may have instructed, students may still have misheard something, or they may still be confused or uncertain. Only when we check in with students can we be certain that what we thought we said is indeed what students heard.  

Taking some time to review our practices and make key adjustments can make a big difference in how well our students pay attention and understand what we need them to know. Of course, these same reminders will help us to be more effective communicators with colleagues, parents, and even our partners and our own children.

As teachers, we can become frustrated with students who seem interested only in the grades they receive rather than valuing the learning they gain. We can also struggle to motivate students who seem to not buy into traditional motivators to complete their work and meet expectations. Further, we can find ourselves feeling disappointed in students who appear to have great potential but only do the bare minimum of what is required.  

What if we could create a learning environment in which students placed a high value on learning—for the sake of learning? What if students persisted in learning efforts even when they make mistakes and struggle? And what if students wanted to learn more about a concept or skill than we have planned to teach? Sound impossible? Here are six strategies we can employ to move students from a passive culture of compliance to a powerful culture of learning.  

First, make learning the focus. To do this, we can value ideas, notice progress, and encourage insight over the assignment of grades. We need to position grades as a reflection of learning—not the reason for it. For example, we might delay the assignment of grades for as long as possible, and we need to be clear about the learning-based criteria that lead to grades. We can frequently and meaningfully remind students that learning is what matters most. In fact, while what one knows may have been their most valuable asset in the past, the skill and drive to learn are what will be valued most in the future.  

Second, honor mistakes. Mistakes are a natural part of the learning process. Specifically, mistakes in learning help us to understand what is yet to be learned. Mistakes happen most often at the leading edge of learning. When we create classroom and learning conditions where mistakes are mined for learning and are used to guide inquiry, embarrassment retreats and learning grows. In other areas of life, students grasp that mistakes are natural and valuable to learning (think video games, sports, and learning to play a musical instrument). We can draw on the role—and value—mistakes play in other areas of life to reassure students and encourage them to leverage and learn from mistakes in academic learning, too.  

Third, value struggle. It’s a fact that when learning is not accompanied by a challenge, it’s likely that very little learning is actually happening. Struggle is most likely to be present when new learning is growing and beginning to take hold. We might discuss with students that amid struggle is where important learning happens. Struggle is not a sign of weakness. New ideas, breakthrough inventions, and important discoveries almost always involve struggle. The fact that we may struggle to learn a skill or concept is less important than what we do with said struggle. That feeling of being stuck in struggle is often a sign that learning is just ahead.  

Fourth, celebrate curiosity. Curiosity is a key driving force of learning. Some of life’s most interesting and rewarding experiences start with being curious. Curiosity is naturally occurring in humans. It can give students a purpose for learning, and it can be the key to unlocking new experiences, generating new ideas, and gaining new insights. However, formal classroom learning too often values compliance over curiosity. Students’ curiosity can feel like a distraction from our structured plans. Yet, it can be a powerful tool for learning. We can stimulate curiosity by asking open-ended questions without a clear or single answer. We can pay attention to the interests of students and build on the curiosity behind them. We might present compelling challenges and dilemmas and then allow students to investigate, engage, and propose solutions before introducing formal instruction.  

Fifth, encourage learning from multiple sources. While our instruction is typically the “backbone” of what stimulates learning, we can nudge, delight in, and respect student learning gained from other sources and through other experiences. Students have a myriad of sources from which they can learn. The more they recognize and draw on other sources, the more independent their learning becomes. As examples, conversations with classmates can lead to new insights, observations from parents can add to understanding, and technology and print media can give access to virtually unlimited information. The key is for us to create reasons for students to seek information, insights, and knowledge beyond our instruction. We might even ask students at the end of a teaching and learning cycle, “What did you learn that I did not teach you?” 

Sixth, honor learning variance. Rather than beginning by focusing on whether students have arrived at a correct answer, we can start by discussing the paths they look to reach their conclusions. Often, we can learn more by understanding what led students to an answer than by the answer itself. Further, by engaging students in the examination of their learning process, we can then better understand and encourage students to respect and hone different ways of learning that work for them. Rarely in life is there only one way to do something. In fact, when we rely on only one way, there is often a better way waiting to be discovered. Providing encouragement for and respecting different ways of learning can honor students who learn differently and provide important examples and alternatives for students who may learn in more traditional ways.   

We must remember that our students may have many years of experience in formal learning environments that have emphasized grades over learning. They may have come to see mistakes and struggles as experiences to be avoided. Curiosity may be something they have reserved for life outside of school; learning in a variety of ways and from varied sources may have even been actively discouraged. Consequently, nurturing a powerful culture of learning may take some time, and we must remember that not everything we try will work immediately. Yet, the opportunity to transform the learning experiences of our students—and prepare them to live in a world where learning is the key to success—is too great to be ignored. 

The memory of having listened to someone read to us can conjure feelings of warmth, comfort, and happiness. Listening to someone read to us may have freed us from struggles with unfamiliar words, difficult pronunciations, and complex sentence structures. We were able to listen, imagine, and feel as we became absorbed in story characters, exciting plots, vivid settings, and amazing adventures. The shared experience may have stimulated interesting discussions and ignited vigorous arguments about meaning, motivations, and minute details contained within the stories we heard.  

Reading aloud has long been a tradition in elementary schools. It deserves to remain so. The practice features many important benefits to young readers, including: 

• hearing accomplished reading being modeled 
• practicing listening skills 

• hearing advanced vocabulary and proper pronunciation 
• stimulating imagination and curiosity 
• introducing story structure and components 
• building background knowledge 

Unfortunately, pressure to cover content, competition with technology, and limited time have led some teachers to reduce or even eliminate the practice of reading aloud to their students. Yet, the practice of reading aloud is no less important than it was generations ago.  

Meanwhile, we may think that reading aloud is only important for young learners. This assumption is incorrect. Abandoning the practice of reading aloud for older students is a mistake; in fact, reading aloud offers at least as many benefits to the learning of older students as it does for younger students. Consider that reading aloud to older students can:  

• Expose students to new genres with which students may not engage on their own. Assigning students to read content from a variety of genres can be a start, but for many students, the act of simply reading the words risks them missing the magic that can be conveyed as they listen and imagine the conflicts, emotions, and implications of what they are hearing.  
• Give students without strong reading skills access to more complex and challenging content. Complicated content can present vocabulary struggles and concept challenges that leave students frustrated and disengaged. However, when read aloud, some difficult-to-read vocabulary can be easier to understand. Further, the reader can pause and explain content that is difficult to grasp. Conflicts can be explained, connections can be illustrated, and complex ideas can be simplified to ensure understanding.  
• Create a shared experience for thinking, discussion, and analysis. Rich content can be the starting point used to coach students on critical thinking and reflecting deeply about a topic. It can also stimulate an interest in further exploration and research.  
• Support emphasis on crucial information that might be lost if students are reading independently. Intonation, expression, and pace can add dimension to the text and carry meaning beyond the obvious.  

• Expose students to complete ideas rather than the sound bites and truncated media messages they often encounter in electronic formats. Careful word choice, complex sentence structure, and sophisticated style can nudge students to appreciate language as an art, as well as a function.  
• Build empathy and compassion. Listeners can identify with actors or characters in the text. Listening to text offers opportunities to explore perspectives, enhance understanding of motivation, and build meaningful connections.  

In an age of electronic messaging, digital distractions, and out-of-context information, taking time to read aloud to students can offer an important counterbalance. Meanwhile, the opportunity to share the experience of reading, listening, and discussing can create bonds and build bridges of understanding that are difficult to achieve in almost any other venue.  

Taking breaks to support learning may seem counterintuitive. We might assume that learning results from students listening intently, practicing a new skill, or concentrating on a new concept. Certainly, absorbing information and practicing the application of a new skill are important, but it turns out that brief breaks from focusing and working also play a key role in the process of learning.

In fact, several recent studies have documented that when students are engaged in learning a new concept or skill, a brief time away from intense thinking can increase their rate and depth of learning. A study that utilized highly sensitive brain scans found that when students took a break from learning, their brains remained on the task, flipping between processing the information and storing it in the memory at amazing speeds, repeating the transfer dozens of times in as little as 10 seconds!

Periodic breaks during learning have also been shown to enhance learning focus, increase engagement, improve cognitive functioning, and support other learning-related factors. Failing to give students’ brains opportunities to process new learning risks compromising the work we do to introduce and reinforce said new learning.

The frequency of “brain breaks” matters. Researchers suggest that young learners can benefit from breaks as frequently as every five to fifteen minutes during intense focus and practice. For older students, breaks every twenty to thirty minutes appear optimal. Brain breaks do not have to be long; as little as three to five minutes can be enough for students to be able to refocus and continue learning. Although, when what students have been learning is particularly challenging and exhausting, we may need to extend the break with a walk outside or trip to the gym to run around.  

Furthermore, what students do during brain breaks matters. Physical activities, from standing and stretching to running outside, and from mingle minutes (walking about and conversing with classmates) to dancing beside their desks accompanied by energetic music all are possibilities. We need to consider the age of students, their current levels of energy, and the time and space available to us. The goal is to have students shift their conscious attention away from what they have been learning to allow their brains to process, organize, and refocus. Consequently, whatever we have students do needs to feel like a break, not an extension of what they have already been doing.

The bottom line: Breaks during learning play an important role in allowing the brain to continue its work of moving new information and skills to parts of the brain where they can be integrated and retained. They should not be inserted “if there is time.” Brain breaks need to be part of the design and scheduling of our instruction.

We also need to recognize that we can benefit from brain breaks in our own learning and during our instruction. Our brains have the same needs and can benefit in the same ways from breaks as our students’. Additionally, during our instruction, having a few minutes to reflect and assess how the lesson is going, what adjustments might be made, and where our instruction needs to go next can enhance our effectiveness and renew our energy. So, as it turns out, brain breaks are necessary for us, too!

We know that students’ sense of well-being, ability to remain focused, persistence, and other non-cognitive factors have a significant impact on their learning. The more confident, engaged, and persistent students are, the more they are likely to learn.  

While not measured on most formal and standardized assessments, these are important learning-related elements. In fact, these social-emotional factors, in addition to others, can influence whether learning occurs just as much as academic background and learning skills do.  

Educators have always paid attention to student attitudes, emotional states, and related factors to understand why students may or may not be learning. When students fail to learn, we typically include social-emotional elements in our search for the cause.  

Social-emotional learning (SEL) has gained even greater attention recently. In fact, several surveys of educators have placed SEL among the areas needing highest priority attention in the aftermath of the pandemic. Most schools have introduced some type of SEL program or SEL activities over the past few years.  

However, evaluating whether SEL is making a difference in learning outcomes remains a challenge. We can attempt to understand the status of social-emotional skills and their influence on the learning of students by surveying to learn their experience and perceptions. We may observe students about whom we have concerns, or we may even engage students in conversation to learn how they are feeling and how their social-emotional state and related skills are influencing their ability to learn.  

We know this information is important, but we do not always have current, accurate information upon which to rely to make decisions. Furthermore, the absence of what might be considered “objective data” is often criticized when people challenge the effectiveness of SEL efforts. So, what if we had access to this information in near real time for all our students? Increasingly, we do.  

Researchers and developers have been working for years to create and refine tools to harvest this information using technology. By monitoring keystrokes, eye movements, and even facial expressions, technology can capture information about an individual’s focus, engagement, and understanding. Indicators such as the content students choose to view, how long they view that content, and if they struggle and become stuck can provide information about persistence, problem solving, decision making, and other skills and behaviors.  

Obviously, this information holds the potential to inform educators, guide instructional strategies, and track trends and progress. It also raises significant questions about the extent to which collecting information in this manner invades the privacy of students, especially if they are not fully aware that the information is being collected, analyzed, and reported. However, as the focus on social-emotional skills and learning receives increasing attention, popularity, and focus, openness to collecting and using this type of information has also grown.  

Once again, technology is challenging us to consider what information can be collected and used versus what information should be collected and how it should be used. Obviously, such information could be abused and cause harm to students, but it also holds the potential to provide feedback to learners, position educators to intervene early when students struggle, and build students’ social-emotional skills where needed.  

The questions are hard, and the answers are not easy. Like technology development in other areas, ethical dilemmas accompany opportunities. We need to ask: 

• Are the rewards significant enough to outweigh potential dangers? 
• Is informing students and families enough to satisfy ethical considerations?  
• Should students and families be able to opt out of social-emotional data collection?  
• Who will retain this information, and how can we avoid having the information used to judge, assign potential, and classify students without their knowledge and control?  

Every week, it seems that technology opens new doors, poses new questions, and presents new challenges for us to consider. Now more than ever, we must be clear and critical in our thinking, guided by our values, and centered on the best interests of our students.