We believe SEL and executive function are inextricably linked. What does it take to build CASEL's five competencies of SEL: self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationships, and responsible decision making?
We believe that the competencies of social and emotional learning (SEL) and the path to academic achievement begin with executive function, managed primarily by the prefrontal cortex of the brain. In her book Building Executive Function: The Missing Link to Student Achievement, IDE Corp. President Dr. Nancy Sulla makes the case for deliberately working to build executive function. She groups executive function skills according to the life skills they support (download chart):
Conscious control
Engagement
Collaboration
Empowerment
Efficacy
Leadership
Executive function skills can be fostered through activities, structures, and teacher facilitation!
IDE Corp. consultants work with schools to design Learner-Active, Technology-Infused Classrooms that put students in charge of their own learning. All of the structures that support students taking greater responsibility for their own learning build executive function. See the blog post "SEL in the Student-Driven Classroom."
Blog post — The PBL-SEL Connection
Blog post — Game Plan: Executive Function in Sports
MyQPortal resource — SEL and the Executive Function that Supports it (table)
MyQPortal resource — Student Focus Cards (also, Spanish version)
MyQPortal resource — Student Persistence Cards (also, Spanish version)
MyQPortal resource — Discussion Protocols
Graphic organizer — Multiple Perspectives graphic organizer (from our free site 4thekids.idecorp.com) and a directions video for how to use it
Remote workshops on all aspects of building SEL and executive function
Virtual Support Center (VSC) providing synchronous and asynchronous support to teachers across the school year as they work to design learning environments that build SEL and executive function; see demo site at vsc.idecorp.com
Virtual Learning Community (VLC) on topics related to SEL and executive function — an online course in which teachers have flexibility over when they engage while still having access to consultants to help them in designing materials for their classrooms; VLCs for SEL and executive function include:
"Social and Emotional Learning in a Hybrid Learning Environment"
"Building Executive Function in Remote Learners"