December S.E.L.F. Newsletter
Your Monthly Toolbox for Social & Emotional Learning
Cooperation & Collaboration
What were once called "soft" skills in the workplace are now essential, key to the success of the business enterprise and the individual worker: working on teams, taking responsibility for one's piece of a larger project, planning for the future, and completing the plan -- these are the gears that will drive their personal and professional lives. All involve cooperative learning.
In cooperative learning, students are organized into small groups and the teacher announces a common goal.
During the course of the assignment, the children work together for a shared benefit, realizing that all members share that goal and the rewards of achieving it. Cooperative learning goes hand in hand with social and emotional learning (SEL). Briefly, the two approaches help develop a number of skills, including
- self-awareness: recognizing feelings and identifying interests, strengths, and weaknesses.
- self-management: managing feelings and behavior to control impulses and persevere in achieving important personal and academic goals.
- social awareness: understanding the needs and feelings of others, while appreciating similarities and differences among individuals and groups.
- relationship skills: maintaining positive relationships with others.
- responsible decision making: making good choices and contributing to one's school, one's community, and the world.
Studies of cooperative-learning strategies regularly report an increase in engagement and active participation in the learning process, which in turn increase student motivation, time on task, and retention times and improve cognitive reasoning and the ability to see from others' perspectives.
For more of this article, visit: https://www.edutopia.org/common-ground
"Coming together is a beginning.
Keeping together is progress.
Working together is success."
Henry Ford
Mrs. Lowe at Fairlawn Elementary Facilitating a MeetUp Focused on Celebrating Diversity
Representatives from each of our schools took time to celebrate their work in SEL at our monthly SEL Cohort Meeting
Ms. La Terra at Treasure Coast High School facilitating a School Connect Lesson where students learned about prioritizing using rocks and rice.
Mrs. Flores at Northport K-8
Mrs. Flores invites Mayor Oravec to visit her class
Lions Quest A.R.T of Listening Lesson
School-Wide Cooperation & Collaboration Ideas
- Marshmallow Challenge Activity
- Create A Creature Activity
- 6 School Assembly Games for Developing Cooperation Among Students
- Infographics are a valuable tool for educating all stakeholders (staff, parents, community members, etc.) on the role and impact of Social and Emotional Learning in our schools. Feel free to share the infographics below on your school's website, facebook, newsletter, or any other way you see fit.
Elementary Cooperation & Collaboration Resources
Important Dates This Month
December 2nd: 6th: Inclusive Schools Week
December 10th: World Human Rights Day
December 20th: Wear PURPLE for COOPERATION & COLLABORATION
Parent Connection
Cooperation is a skill your child will use his or her entire life. Here's how to encourage your child to work together with others and play cooperatively:
You want your child to succeed at school, build relationships and lead an overall happy life -- and that means learning to work well with others. But children aren't born with this ability: It's something they learn as they grow. It's not something they learn from a book or through lectures -- they learn it through play! Cooperative play develops several important skills, such as sharing, taking turns and following instructions, all of which help them get along with others in social situations.
Here are some tips and tricks for encouraging your child to play cooperatively:
- Take Turns
- Do Chores Together
- Model Empathy and Cooperation
- Encourage Free Play
- Play Cooperative Activities
For more of this article, visit: https://www.care.com/c/stories/5226/how-to-encourage-cooperative-play-in-your-chi/
Department of Social & Emotional Learning
Email: sel@stlucieschools.org
Website: https://www.stlucie.k12.fl.us/departments/student-services/social-emotional-learning/
Location: 9461 Brandywine Lane Port St. Lucie, FL 34986
Phone: 7724685804
Facebook: facebook.com/stluciesel