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M O D U L E

Emotional Development

Emotions and Individual Performance

Dimensions of Emotional Intelligence

Emotions in the Classroom

What Is Emotion?

Emotions and Temperament

How Parents, Gender, and Culture In

ﬂuence Emotion

Outline Learning Goals

Describe the general in

ﬂuences of temperament, parenting practices, gender, and culture on children’s emotional

expressiveness.

Identify the

ﬁve dimensions of emotional intelligence outlined in Goleman’s model, and discuss at least one way

teachers can facilitate the development of each dimension.

Describe two primary ways in which emotions can impact learning.

Summary Key Concepts Case Studies: Re

ﬂect and Evaluate

Applications: Emotionally Intelligent Teaching

What Is Social-Emotional Learning (SEL)?

Bene

ﬁts of SEL Programs

ﬁne social-emotional learning and discuss the three essential principles that underlie SEL interventions.

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WHAT IS EMOTION?

Every day of every school year, teachers witness a broad spectrum of
emotional displays by students. They may notice physiological signs
such as sweaty palms or ﬂushed cheeks, behavioral signs such as
worried facial expressions or ﬁsts clenched in anger, or conscious
expressions of feelings such as entries in students’ reﬂective journals
or persuasive arguments made during a class discussion. As you will
see throughout this module, emotions are complex constellations of
physiology, behavior, and feeling that can have a direct impact on
students’ performance in school.

Emotions and Temperament

Temperament refers to genetically based individual differences in
emotions, activity, and self-control that determine our patterns of
response to environmental stimuli and events. It encompasses our
capacity for adaptability, persistence, adventurousness, shyness,
inhibitedness, irritability, and distractibility (Keogh, 2003; Pfeifer,
Goldsmith, Davidson, & Rickman, 2002; Thomas & Chess, 1977).
Although temperament includes more than emotions, variations in
emotionality are central to modern conceptions of temperament
(Lemerise & Arsenio, 2000). Researchers have identiﬁed different
temperament styles that emerge early in life and seem to be relatively
enduring. From the ﬁrst days of life, some babies are easygoing,
cheerful, and relaxed, while others are difﬁcult, reactive, and ﬁdgety.
Inhibited and fearful 2-year-olds often are still relatively shy as
8-year-olds, and about half will continue to be introverted as
adolescents (Kagan et al., 1994; Kagan, Snidman, & Arcus, 1998).
Young children observed to be highly irritable, impulsive, and hard to
control at age 3 are more likely to have drug problems, difﬁculties at
work, and relationship conﬂicts by the time they are 21 (Caspi, 2000).
Teachers who recognize some of these persistent patterns can help
provide students with tools to understand and manage their emotions
in a way that will optimize their chances for life success.

Temperament affects how students engage in and respond to

classroom activities and also affects students’ academic achievement
(Keogh, 2003). For example, high levels of persistence and low levels
of distractibility can facilitate school success. The genetic
underpinnings of temperament establish a predisposition for certain
kinds of emotional behavior. However, culture plays an important role
in shaping how and whether those behaviors ultimately will unfold
(Keogh, 2003; Thompson, 1998). For example, European-American
families tend to encourage children to be assertive and independent,
while families in Mexico, Japan, or India are more likely to encourage
children to be reserved and obedient (Joshi & Maclean, 1994;

Rothbaum, Weisz, Pott, Miyake, & Morelli, 2000). While no one best
temperament guarantees success, teachers may need to consider
students’ temperamental characteristics in trying to create an optimal
learning environment that meets the needs of every student. For
example, students who are highly anxious may be overwhelmed in a
noisy, chaotic classroom and may need a calmer space in which to
work productively. Students who are shy and sensitive may need help
ﬁnding supportive peer connections.

How would you describe your own temperament? What examples
can you think of that indicate whether your own temperament has
been relatively stable over the years? How does your
temperament affect the way you approach school activities?

How Parents, Gender, and Culture In

ﬂuence Emotion

Children ﬁrst learn to express emotion within a family context, so the
degree to which family members express their emotions and the form
those emotions take shape the emotional patterns that children adopt
(Halberstadt & Eaton, 2002). The inﬂuence of family emotional
expressiveness declines over the ﬁrst six years of life (Halberstadt &
Eaton, 2002), which suggests that schools may be an appropriate
transition point for assisting children with managing their emotions.

Differences in emotional expressiveness by gender may also, in

part, be traced back to socialization within the family. Parents
typically attempt to encourage emotional expression in girls, with the
exception of anger. They are more likely to attempt to regulate boys’
emotional expressiveness, particularly sadness and pain. Hence, boys
may be less emotionally expressive when it comes to emotions such
as sadness or fear but may be more likely than girls to express
feelings of anger or dominance (Eisenberg, Martin, & Fabes, 1996;
Fuchs & Thelen, 1988). Achievement situations are more likely to
produce anxiety responses in boys, whereas girls are more likely to
become anxious in interpersonal situations (Steinberg & Morris,
2001).

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Emotional

Development

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Emotions in the Classroom. Every day, teachers see a broad spectrum of emotional displays by students.

Each culture has its own display rules governing the degree of

emotional expression considered appropriate in different situations,
along with the coping strategies considered acceptable (Elfenbein,
2006; Mesquita & Frijda, 1992). For example, Asians rarely display
negative or self-aggrandizing emotions that might disrupt the
communal feeling within close-knit groups, but they are more likely
than Americans to display emotions of sympathy, respect, and shame
that reﬂect their social connection and interdependence. A teacher’s
ability to recognize and respond to students’ emotional states requires
awareness of the ways emotions may be expressed by different
individuals, as well as awareness of how parenting practices, gender,
and culture inﬂuence emotional expression.

EMOTIONS AND INDIVIDUAL PERFORMANCE

Research on the connection between emotion and learning suggests
that thinking, learning, and emotions are interconnected processes
and that teachers need to address multiple goals of cognition and
emotions in every facet of classroom learning (Coles, 1998). Let’s
examine how emotional competence contributes to personal success
in both academic and broader life arenas and how emotions inﬂuence
learning.

Dimensions of Emotional Intelligence

Psychologists have begun to explore whether students who have a
better command of their own emotions and are more attuned to the
emotions of others have a social or an academic edge of some kind.
Psychologists Peter Salovey and John Mayer ﬁrst introduced the term
emotional intelligence (EI) and deﬁned it as the ability to perceive,
express, understand, and manage emotions (Mayer, DiPaolo, &
Salovey, 1990; Salovey & Mayer, 1990). With the 1995 publication
of psychologist Daniel Goleman’s best-selling trade book Emotional
Intelligence: Why It Can Matter More Than IQ, public attention
became focused on the construct of emotional intelligence.

The concept of emotional intelligence has shifted the academic

emphasis from isolated cognitive abilities as a predictor of school and
life success to the contributions of emotional and social factors. IQ
accounts for only about 20% of a person’s career success, leaving a

large portion of success determined by other factors (Goleman, 2006).
Studies have shown that:

overall emotional intelligence uniquely explains individual

cognitive performance beyond the level attributable to general
intelligence (Lam & Kirby, 2002);

emotional intelligence during preschool is related to social

competence in elementary school students (Denhem et al., 2003;
Hubbard & Coie, 1994);

children’s high emotional intelligence is associated with

bonding to teachers and peers in school, whereas low emotional
intelligence is associated with academic outcomes such as
dropping out of school (Hawkins, Catalano, Kosterman, Abbott, &
Hill, 1999).
Daniel Goleman (1995, 2006) broadened Salovey and Mayer’s

deﬁnition of emotional intelligence (EI) to include ﬁve main
dimensions:

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TA B L E 4 .1

Examples of High and Low Emotional Intelligence

Dimension of emotional intelligence High emotional intelligence Low emotional intelligence

Cannot share feelings verbally. Is oblivious to nonverbal communication.
Is not perceptive with regard to others

’ feelings.

Emotional understanding Can openly identify and express feelings.

Reads nonverbal language effectively.
Can identify the feelings of others.

Is not accepting of self or others. Uses passive or aggressive communication.
Lacks empathy.

Responding to others

’ emotions Accepts self and others.

Can communicate assertively.
Displays empathy.

Emotional regulation Promotes an optimistic point of view.

Reacts to hurt by processing feelings.
Is emotionally resilient.

Lets negative feelings dominate. Reacts to hurt with physical violence. Carries a grudge and is unforgiving.

Self-motivation Usually feels respected and competent.

Is motivated by personal meaning.

Usually feels inadequate and defensive.
Is motivated by rewards and instant grati

ﬁcation.

Emotions in relationships Says

“I feel . . .” (“I” message).

Is a good listener.
Talks out problems with others.

Says

“You always . . .” (blame statement).

Is a poor listener.
Acts out against others when there is a problem or miscommunication.

Adapted from G. Doty (2001). Fostering emotional intelligence in K

–8 students (p. 7). Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.

  1. Emotional understanding.
  2. Responding to others’ emotions.    3. Emotional regulation.
  4. Self-motivation.
  5. Emotions in relationships.
Table 4.1 contrasts the features of high versus low emotional intelligence by providing speciﬁc examples of each of
these ﬁve dimensions. Let’s consider each dimension of emotional intelligence and explore how a teacher might
facilitate the development of students’ skills.

DEFINING EMOTIONAL UNDERSTANDING

How well can students of various ages understand their own emotional reactions and those of others? Emotional
understanding, the ability to differentiate and interpret one’s own emotions and to perceive and understand the
emotions of others, becomes possible only when certain cognitive milestones have been reached. Between 18 and 24
months of age, the cognitive capacity for self-awareness emerges. This is the ability to recognize our own thoughts
and feelings and to observe them in a way that allows us to understand them and make decisions about how to act on
them (Goleman, 1995). Children who lack such self-awareness may ﬁnd it difﬁcult to control impulsive actions,
make appropriate decisions, and communicate what they mean (Elias, Tobias, & Friedlander, 1999). Children’s
understanding of other people’s emotions is closely tied to their ability to understand their own emotions
(Bretherton, Fritz, Zahn-Waxler, & Ridgeway, 1986; Shatz, 1994).

Researchers have noted several developmental trends in the various aspects of emotional understanding,

summarized in Table 4.2. As language development occurs, toddlers begin to acquire emotion words like happy and
sad to express how they feel (Bretherton & Beeghly, 1982; Bretherton et al., 1986). By their fourth year, they can
engage in simple dialogues about the causes and consequences of emotions (Dunn, Brown, & Beardsall, 1991). A
child’s ability to evaluate behavior based on external standards emerges between two and three years of age, making
emotions such as pride, shame, and

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TA B L E 4 . 2

Milestones in Emotional Development

Age Emotional regulation Emotional understanding

Birth

–6 months Signs of almost all basic emotions are present. Social smile emerges.

Laughter appears.
Expressions of happiness are greater when interacting with familiar people.

Vocabulary for talking about feelings expands.
Empathic responding appears.

Ability to detect the meaning of others

’ emotional signals emerges.

Social referencing develops.

Emotional

Development

Module 4 :

Resonance to the emotional cues of others is present.

–12 months Anger and fear increase.

Use of caregiver as a secure base emerges.
Emotional self-regulation improves as crawling and walking permit approach and retreat from
stimulation.

–2 years Self-conscious emotions appear but depend on the presence of others.

–6 years As representation and language improve, active behavioral and cognitive strategies for engaging in

emotional self-regulation develop.

Understanding of causes, consequences, and behavioral signs of emotion improves in accuracy and complexity.
As language develops, empathic responding becomes more re

ﬂective.

–11 years Self-conscious emotions become integrated with inner standards for right action. Strategies for

engaging in emotional self-regulation increase in variety, become more cognitive, and are
adjusted to situational demands.

Conformity to and conscious awareness of emotional display rules improve.

Ability to consider multiple sources of information when explaining others

’ emotions appears.

Awareness that people can experience more than one emotion at a time emerges. Empathic responding increases as
emotional understanding improves.

12 years and older At this point, adolescents are developing the ability to:

regulate intense emotions

modulate rapidly vacillating emotions

achieve awareness of and successfully attend to their own emotions without becoming

overwhelmed by them

Adolescents begin to:

understand the consequences to self and others of genuine emotional expression versus dissemblance

separate momentary emotional experience from identity and recognize that the self can remain intact and

continuous despite emotional

ﬂuctuation

use cognitive skills to gather information about the nature and sources of emotion

negotiate and maintain interpersonal relationships in the presence of strong emotion

Note: These milestones represent overall age trends, but individual differences may exist.

guilt possible (Kochanska, Gross, Lin, & Nichols, 2002; Lindner, 2006). By the middle elementary grades, most
children are also capable of feeling shame when they fail to meet standards for moral behavior set for them by adults
(Damon, 1988). Guilt comes from within the child, while shame comes from knowing that someone else might see
and criticize what the child has done (Tangney, 2001). Although guilt and shame are experienced as unpleasant
emotions, they are a good sign that children are developing a sense of right and wrong. Between ages 3 and 6,
children’s understanding of causes, consequences, and the behavioral signs of emotion improves in accuracy and
complexity. Between ages 7 and 11, individuals demonstrate the ability to consider multiple sources of information

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(e.g., situational and personality factors) in explaining the emotions of others (Gnepp &
Gould, 1985). The expectations teachers have of students in terms of emotional maturity in
different situations should reﬂect an awareness of developmental norms and changes.

Students’ ability to understand their emotions is linked to greater self-conﬁdence, because

understanding emotions allows them to feel greater control over their inner life (Goleman,
1995; Hama-check, 2000). In a longitudinal study conducted by Izard (2001), even after
controlling for verbal aptitude and temperament, 5-year-olds who could most accurately
discern others’ emotions became 9-year-olds who easily made friends, cooperated with their
teacher, and effectively managed their own emotions.

RESPONDING TO OTHERS

’ EMOTIONS

As human beings, we communicate our emotions verbally through emotional language, tone
or attitude, and pitch (high or low volume), as well as nonverbally through our facial
expressions, posture, and hand gestures. Paralinguistic cues such as changes in speaking

rate, pitch level, or vocal quality typically are used to reinforce language content. From the
ﬁrst months of life, babies can pick up on emotional cues in spoken conversation (Cooper &
Aslin, 1990; Morton & Trehub, 2001).

Facial expressions, a nonverbal indicator of emotion, seem to be culturally universal

(Ekman, 1994; Matsumoto & Ekman, 1989). For example:

Studies of adults across a wide range of cultures show high levels of agreement on the

meaning of facial displays of basic emotions such as happiness, sadness, disgust, anger,
surprise, and fear (Ekman, 1994). Try it yourself. Figure 4.1 presents six photographs of
facial expressions (Matsumoto & Ekman, 1989). See if you can match the six basic
emotions with the faces pictured.

The facial expressions children use to express various emotions, even among blind

children who have never seen another face to imitate, are universal (Eibl-Eibesfeldt,
1971; Galati, Scherer, & Ricci-Bitti, 1997).
As children and adolescents improve at reading and interpreting emotions, empathetic

responding tends to increase. Empathy is the ability to experience and understand the
feelings, situation, or

Children

’s understanding of right and wrong: See page 77.

Empathy: See page 82.

Figure 4.1: Facial Expressions. Facial expressions of basic emotions are culturally universal. See if you can identify the individuals
displaying the following emotions: happiness, sadness, disgust, anger, surprise, and fear.

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motives of someone else. Children as young as age 2 to 3 are able to
understand another’s emotional expressions of distress and to respond

with appropriate behaviors (Denham, 1986, 1998). At the early
elementary level, children show empathy more frequently toward
people they know personally. As they reach the upper elementary
grades, their feelings of empathy begin to extend to people they may
not know, such as homeless people or children orphaned by war
(Eisenberg, 1982; Hoffman, 1991).

EMOTIONAL REGULATION

Children and adolescents vary in the intensity with which they
experience and express emotions and in their skills for regulating
emotions. Emotional regulation, the ability to tolerate and manage
emotions, enables students to prevent stress from overwhelming them
and to stay on task and think and work productively (Elias et al.,
1997). Students who are poor regulators have a higher risk of
mal-adjustment (Eisenberg et al., 1996). Emotional regulation
involves, among other things, following certain rules about when and
how to display emotions. Children become more proﬁcient at this as
they get older and gain a better understanding of what emotions are
considered appropriate for display in different contexts (Barnes,
1995). Children and adolescents often use social referencing, a
strategy of using other people’s reactions to help them interpret a
situation and decide how to respond (Campos & Sternberg, 1981).
Teachers can guide students’ emotional reactions by being in tune
with their own emotions and by modeling the types of emotional
expression that are appropriate in various circumstances.

Some situations involve stimuli that trigger an almost

uncontrollable emotional response. The amygdala, a limbic structure
within the brain that controls emotions such as fear, anger, and
aggression, reacts instantly to stimuli that individuals perceive as
threatening and triggers a series of behavioral, physiological, and
endocrine responses (LeDoux, 2000; Winston, Strange, O’Doherty, &
Dolan, 2002). This quick response pattern has an adaptive function, as
in cases where students react to a ﬁre alarm with an increased heart
rate, a ﬁght-or-ﬂight reaction, and a search for an exit from the
building. The state of arousal created in such situations makes
self-regulation, planning, and thoughtful reﬂection more difﬁcult
(Metcalfe & Mischel, 1999). However, by participating in a ﬁre drill
(discussing and role playing), students can learn what behavior is
expected and practice it without the increased emotional arousal and
potential cognitive interference that may accompany an actual
emergency.

Emotional

Development

Module 4 :

Fire Drill. Teachers help students prepare for a

ﬁre emergency by discussing

what to do, and by practicing how to exit the building.

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Emotional regulation allows the individual to move from an automatic, hot emotional

response to a cooler, well-reasoned, reﬂective response that gives access to a wider range of
cognitive resources (Mischel, Shoda, & Rodriguez, 1989). Early in their development,
children have difﬁculty regulating and inhibiting hot responses (which often involve some
form of impulsiveness or aggression). A preschooler might hit another child when provoked
by teasing (hot response) rather than considering other possible options such as using words
to ask the child to stop or to ask the teacher to intervene (cool responses). Cool responses
may include dialogue and negotiation, conﬂict resolution skills, or self-calming actions such
as deep breathing. Cool system processes begin to emerge around age four and become
increasingly dominant over the lifespan (Rothbart, Ellis, & Posner, 2004).

SELF-MOTIVATION

Self-motivation refers to the ability to generate feelings of

enthusiasm, zeal, conﬁdence, and persistence, especially during challenges and setbacks
(Goleman, 1995). Students who have an optimistic attitude toward learning motivate
themselves to expect success. To be motivated, students need to set goals that they value and
to feel that, with effort, their goals are attainable. According to Nicki Crick and Kenneth
Dodge (1994), emotions can serve to facilitate the achievement of particular goals, and goal
selection or attainment can modify an individual’s emotional state. Children who have
deﬁcits in reading the emotions of others or in expressing empathy may pursue more
destructive goals because they are unable to “feel other children’s pain” (Cohen & Strayer,
1996). When children are involved in a conﬂict with a peer, friendship ties can motivate
them to work hard to pursue social-relational goals that maintain the bonds of friendship. If
the children are not friends, they may focus on very different goals (e.g., revenge or
avoidance).

EMOTIONS IN RELATIONSHIPS

In day-to-day classroom interactions, peers provide one another with various forms of
emotional support necessary to accomplish social and academic tasks (Schunk, 1987).
Positive, supportive peer relationships translate into greater social adjustment and academic
success (Zins, Bloodworth, Weiss-berg, & Walberg, 2004). Children who do not express
positive feelings, who have difﬁculty regulating their emotions, or who are unable to
understand others’ emotional states are likely to experience peer difﬁculties (Denhem et al.,
2003; Wilson, Fernandes-Richards, Aarskog, Osborn, & Capetillo, 2007). The process of
initiating, building, and maintaining social relationships involves a merging of social and
emotional competencies. Consider the following skills:

Greeting ability: Greeting a friend involves more than just saying hello. Our facial

expressions, body language, and tone of voice all communicate a certain attitude toward
the person we are greeting and send a message about whether we are happy to see that
person.

Timing and staging: When a friend tells you that her beloved pet has just died, it may not be the

appropriate time to tell a joke or ask for fashion advice.

Friends need to be able to read emotional contexts and make good judgments
about how to respond.

If you were asked in a job interview to describe

ﬁve ways you would

promote emotional intelligence within your classroom, how would
you respond?

Goal theory: See page 280.

Making Connections. Building teacher-student relationships can begin with something as simple as greeting students each day as
they arrive for class.

Emotions in the Classroom

Emotions can impact how students learn as well as what students learn. The emotions students bring to a classroom
can potentially help or hinder their performance. Students learn and perform more successfully when they feel
secure, happy, and excited about the subject matter (Boekaerts, 1995). Negative emotions, in contrast, can hamper
performance on cognitive tasks (Izard, 2001). Students whose minds are cluttered with distracting thoughts
and emotions may ﬁnd it more difﬁcult to focus their limited attentional resources on learning tasks within the
classroom (Ellis, 2001; Hertel, 1994). Some distractions, such as a ﬁght with a friend on the school

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TA B L E 4 . 3

Ways Teachers Can Help Foster Emotional Intelligence in

Students

Dimension Ways to foster emotional intelligence

Emotional understanding

Model the use of self-re

ﬂective language in the classroom (e.g., “I felt

embarrassed when . . .

”).

Create opportunities to talk about positive and negative

feelings (e.g., classroom meetings, journal exercises, creative
writing).

Emotional regulation

Responding to the emotions of others

Give students the language to express how they are feeling

(e.g., the use of

“I” statements such as “I feel frustrated when . .

” rather than blaming statements).

Show students how to maintain a sense of emotional balance so

that destructive emotions do not

ﬂare out of control in the ﬁrst

place. This approach involves teaching students to monitor and
identify their own positive and negative feelings, accept emotions
as a normal part of human experience, practice
perspective-taking skills, and develop patience. Managing
emotions requires learning to redirect disruptive impulses and to
“shake off” negative moods.

Use modeling, direct instruction, or coaching to help students

acknowledge and fully experience emotions when they do arise,
while encouraging students to refrain from acting out in a way
that adversely affects others. This step requires teaching
students strategies to stop, collect their thoughts, and consider
multiple alternative responses to the emotional situation.

Provide training in con

ﬂict resolution and problem-solving skills.

Self-motivation

Provide students with speci

ﬁc, concrete feedback so that they can learn from their

mistakes.

Identify strengths on which students can build.

Encourage students to keep trying their best.

Share your own enthusiasm for a topic with students.

Model perseverance in the face of challenges.

Develop meaningful lessons that connect with students' lives.

Provide opportunities for students to be successful.

Emotions in relationships

Guide students in learning to identify complex emotions (e.g.,

through role playing, storytelling, case studies, discussing
emotional themes in novels).

Help students recognize the emotions that others are feeling.

Develop perspective-taking skills so students can better

understand what kind of support the other person may need.

Acknowledge and positively encourage instances of empathetic responding.

Model ways to be caring and considerate of others

’ feelings.

Build effective communication skills (listening and communicating accurately

and clearly).

Help students view an emotional disruption as a learning

experience and help them identify ways to handle the situation
more effectively in the future.

Foster a set of attitudes and skills that strengthen student-student relationships,

including

(1) effective communication skills, (2) emotional self-control and appropriate
expression,

(3) empathy and perspective taking, (4) optimism and sense of humor, and (5)
nonviolent con

ﬂict resolution and problem-solving skills.

Select activities that involve cooperation and collaboration rather than

competition.

Create rituals that involve all members of the class, such as class meetings.

Provide students with the opportunity to get to know one another

better and to practice many of the skills through well-chosen
classroom experiences.

bus, may be temporary. Others, such as dealing with parents’ divorce,
may require more intensive intervention to provide students with the
necessary coping skills and enable them to keep their intellectual
resources focused on learning. In these situations, students may need
extra prompts to help them stay on-task, or one-on-one time with a
teacher or counselor to help them talk through their feelings or
resolve a problem.

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Classroom factors also affect students’ emotional well-being.

Students can become upset by an event such as a failed test or a
negative comment from a peer and may react in a way that impedes
further learning. Their reactions can unfold in different ways
depending on how the student perceives the problem (Weiner, 1994)
or whether the situation triggers emotional memories (LeDoux, 2000).
If two students watch the same movie in class about a skyscraper

collapsing, one might say that the ﬁlm is entertaining, while the other
ﬁnds it quite disturbing. Knowing that the latter student lost a close
family member in the 2001 terrorist attacks on the World Trade
Center may help the teacher understand the differences in how the
students process and react to the same movie.

Can you recall a classroom experience of your own that triggered
an emotional response? How did that response in

ﬂuence your

attentiveness to the lesson?

APPLICATIONS: EMOTIONALLY
INTELLIGENT TEACHING

Psychologist Robert Sternberg (1996) argues that traditional schooling
neglects practical skills that prepare individuals to deal with real-life
problems and challenges. Ideally, the skill sets students learn should
prepare them to face social and emotional challenges that arise over the
course of their lives. Several studies conducted by Rutgers
psychologist Maurice Elias and his colleagues have emphasized the
need for social and emotional learning in public education across the
grade levels (Elias et al., 1997; Elias & Weissberg, 2000). Paulo Lopes
and Peter Salovey (2004) suggest that the best approach may be to
focus on a broad array of skills learned through personal experience,
modeling, and observation. Some skills cannot be learned through
direct instruction alone. Children need opportunities to practice and
reﬁne these social and emotional skills in the classroom.

What Is Social-Emotional Learning (SEL)?

The concept of social and emotional learning emerged in a
systematic way with the publication of Promoting Social and
Emotional

Learn ing: Guidelines for Educators (Elias et al., 1997). The ter m
social-emotional learning (SEL)    was    developed    for    use    in
research    and practice in the area of emotional intelligence as applied
to school settings. The term reﬂects a strong recognition of the role of
both social and emotional factors in successful academic learning
(Elias, 2004). Three essential SEL principles were articulated to guide
classroom interventions (National Center for Innovation and
Education, 1999):
1.    Caring relationships are the foundation of all lasting learning.

2. Emotions affect how and what we learn.

3. Goal setting and problem solving provide focus, direction, and
energy for learning.
These principles emphasize the importance of the learning
environment and the teacher’s role in establishing caring relationships
with students and helping students develop the skills they need to
develop positive relationships with others.

The social-emotional challenges facing students vary

depending on developmental level and environmental context
(Payton et al., 2000).

Teachers may not be able to eliminate all sources of frustration,
anxiety, or conﬂict in the class-

Emotional Triggers. Incidents in the

classroom can trigger emotional memories that in

ﬂuence how students process

information. Viewing a

ﬁlm clip in history class about the collapse of the World

Trade Center twin towers on 9-11 might be especially disturbing for a student

who lost a family member in the terrorist attacks.

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emotional development

room, but they can take steps to minimize these negative emotions
and provide students with the skills necessary to manage
difﬁcult emotions when they arise. Important attitudes and skills to
foster include (Collaborative for Academic,

Social, and Emotional Learning, 2003):

effective communication skills (listening and communicating

accurately and clearly),

emotional self-control and appropriate expression,

empathy and perspective taking,

optimism and a sense of humor,

nonviolent conﬂict resolution and problem-solving skills, and

respect for others and oneself and an appreciation of differences.

In the United States, many districts and even entire states currently

make SEL a curriculum requirement. In Illinois, for instance, speciﬁc
learning standards in SEL abilities have been established for every
grade from kindergarten through the last year of high school
(Goleman, 2006). SEL initiatives in classrooms vary widely, but the
best designed programs share two important features:

1. They match social and emotional learning (SEL) skills to
particular intervention goals. For example, if violence prevention
is a top priority, a teacher might prioritize conﬂict resolution skills.
2. They focus attention on teaching skills that can be generalized
across multiple settings, for example, the ability to delay
gratiﬁcation and persist in the face of difﬁculties.
As teachers, we may be skeptical about how we can help students

develop emotional competencies. With all of the academic content we
are expected to teach, how can we take on the extra tasks required by
an SEL curriculum? The integration of SEL content into the
curriculum need not be burdensome. Table 4.4 shows how social and
emotional skills can be integrated into academic content without
compromising academic instruction. SEL skills can be taught by
taking advantage of impromptu teachable moments (reﬂecting and
coaching), modeling, and building opportunities for skill development
into the curriculum.

Bene

ﬁts of SEL Programs

The implementation of classroom, school-level, or district-level
programs targeted at developing social and emotional competence is a
relatively new undertaking. The effectiveness of SEL programs has
not been determined, because rigorous evaluations of their results
over time are relatively limited (Lopes & Salovey, 2004). However,
based on evidence from some of the best designed programs, the
outcomes are very encouraging (Hawkins et al., 1999; Kusche &

Greenberg, 2001; Weissberg & Greenberg, 1998). One study of SEL
programs for children and adolescents from preschool through grade
12 found that teaching social-emotional skills led to improvement in
both behavior and academic performance (Durlack & Weissberg,
2005). In participating schools, other beneﬁts have included
(Goleman, 2006):

up to 50% of children showing improved achievement scores;

up to 38% of students improving their grade-point average;

a drop in incidents of misbehavior by an average of 28%, in

suspensions by 44%, and in other disciplinary actions by 27%,
with 63% of students demonstrating signiﬁcantly more positive
behavior; and

a rise in attendance rates.

One-on-One Time. Sometimes students need to meet with a teacher or
counselor to talk through their feelings or resolve a problem.

Emotional

Development

Module 4 :

Teacher-student and student-student relationships:

See page 334.

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cluster one

personal development

How would you respond to a parent who claimed that teachers
who promote social-emotional skills are wasting valuable
learning time? Do you think that SEL interventions are a
worthwhile undertaking? Why or why not?

Reading Cause and effect The teacher reads various passages
from well-known stories. Students determine the cause and
effect. The class discusses how the characters could have solved
their problems more appropriately.
Writing Personal narrative During an essay-writing exercise,
students have the opportunity to share a time in their lives when
they reacted appropriately in a bad situation.
Social studies Understanding the Confederate point of view in the
Civil War
In cooperative groups, students discuss the feelings and
emotions of the Confederate soldiers.
Health Smoking cessation Students engage in a class discussion

in which they are given the chance to discuss the loss of a loved
one because of conditions resulting from tobacco use.

Reprinted from G. Doty (2001). Fostering emotional intelligence in K

–8 students (p. 14). Thousand Oaks, CA:

Corwin Press.

TA B L E 4 . 4

Planning Lessons That Integrate Emotional Intelligence

Subject Lesson objective Emotional intelligence bene

ﬁts

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key concepts

Summary

Describe the general in

ﬂuences of temperament, parenting practices, gender, and culture

on children

’s emotional development. Temperament refers to genetically based individual differences

in emotions, activity, and self-control that determine our patterns of response to environmental stimuli and
events. Socialization practices within the family shape the way patterns of emotional expressiveness
develop in children. Parents are more likely to attempt to regulate boys

’ emotions, particularly sadness

and pain, whereas girls are encouraged to express emotions, with the exception of anger. Cultural
differences are also seen in emotional expressiveness. Some cultures rarely display negative
emotions but more often display emotions of sympathy, respect, and shame that re

ﬂect their social

connection and interdependence.
Identify the

ﬁve dimensions of emotional intelligence outlined in Goleman’s model, and discuss at

least one way teachers can facilitate the development of each dimension. Emotional intelligence can
be described in terms of

ﬁve major dimensions: (1) emotional understanding, (2) responding to others'

emotions, (3) emotional regulation, (4) self-motivation, and (5) emotions in relationships. Approaches for
developing these dimensions include, but are not limited to, (1) giving students the language to express
how they are feeling,

(2) guiding students in learning to identify complex emotions, (3) teaching students how to calm
themselves down and think through nonviolent solutions to problems, (4) providing con

ﬂict resolution

training,

(5)    selecting    activities    that    involve    cooperation    and
collaboration rather than competition, and (6) creating rituals that involve all members of the class, such
as class meetings.
Describe two primary ways in which emotions can impact learning. Emotions can impact how
students learn as well as what students learn. Students perform more successfully when they feel secure,
happy, and excited about    the    subject    matter,    and    they    perform    more poorly when they are
experiencing negative emotions such as anger or depression. Students

’ perceptions of classroom events

(e.g., receiving a low grade on a test) can cause them to react in a way that impedes further learning or
that motivates them to try harder. Aspects of classrooms situations can trigger strong emotional memories
that in

ﬂuence the ways students attend to, process, and react to information.

ﬁne social-emotional learning and discuss the three essential principles that underlie SEL

interventions. The term

“social-emotional learning” (SEL) was developed to recognize the role of both

social and emotional factors in successful academic learning. Three essential SEL principles guide
interventions: (1) Caring relationships are the foundation of all lasting learning;

(2) emotions affect how and what we learn; and

(3) goal setting and problem solving provide focus, direction, and energy for learning.
Well-designed SEL programs match social-emotional-learning (SEL) skills to particular intervention goals
and focus attention on teaching skills that can be generalized across multiple settings.

Key Concepts

display rules emotional expressiveness emotional intelligence (EI) emotional regulation emotional understanding

emotions empathy paralinguistic cues self-awareness

self-motivation social-emotional learning (SEL) social referencing temperament

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case studies: re

ﬂect and evaluate

Case Studies:

Refl ect and Evaluate

Early Childhood:

“Cry Baby”

These questions refer to the case study on page 22.

1. Erica begins to cry when Tyler yells at her. What if Erica had
been a boy? Would you expect a boy in this situation to react by
crying? Why or why not?

2. Tyler and Tanner are both very quick to express their anger when the block
tower gets knocked over.

Based on what you read about cultural differences in emotional
expressiveness, how might their reactions have been different if
they had been raised in an Asian culture rather than an American
culture?

3. When Eddy talks with the boys about the falling tower incident, he asks,

“How

do you think she

[Erica] feels when you make fun of her like that?

” At what age are

children developmentally capable of understanding and interpreting
the feelings of others? What cues do they use to identify how others
are feeling?
4. At the beginning of the case study, Joe is described as a very
considerate child, always willing to help others. Is empathy a trait a
person is born with, or is it something learned? Support your answer
with evidence from the module.
5. Annie and Zada are both extroverted girls whom Eddy describes
as

“natural leaders.” According to temperament research, do these

characteristics have a genetic basis? What kind of temperaments
might you expect Annie and Zada to have ten years from now?
6. Based on what you read about emotional intelligence, how might
these teachers include social and emotional learning in their
classroom?

Elementary School:

“Team”

These questions refer to the case study on page 24.

1. Patricia's parents have encouraged her to stand up for herself in
interactions with Kashi. Is it typical for parents to encourage their
daughters to express their feelings openly?
2. Rocío tells the boys they should be ashamed of themselves for
the way they are speaking to each other. When do complex
emotions such as shame

ﬁrst develop? How do complex emotions

such as shame, guilt, and pride differ from basic emotions such as
anger and fear?
3. If Rocío wants Bill and Zach to use con

ﬂict resolution skills to

resolve their problem, what steps should she suggest they take?
How might Patricia and Kashi use con

ﬂict resolution skills to resolve

the tension between them?
4. In terms of emotional regulation, Bill and Zach are engaging in
hot responses. How would their re actions be different if they were

resorting to cool responses instead?
5. How might Rocío use the incidents in her classroom as
teachable moments to strengthen her students

’ SEL

(social-emotional-learning) skills?

Middle School:

“Basketball Star”

These questions refer to the case study on page 26.

1. Mark is emotionally reactive and has dif

ﬁculty with

self-regulation. According to the research on emotional
self-regulation, what negative outcomes are students such as Mark
likely to face?
2. Darla doesn't seem to get angry when others say bad things
about her, yet Mark gets angry quite easily. What might account for
the difference in their levels of anger management?
3. Darla and Mark are being raised by their fathers. How might
being raised by a male parent impact a child

’s emotional

development differently than being raised by a female parent?
4. Darla seems to take pride in her talent as a basketball player.
What are the developmental precursors to feelings of pride?
5. What actions has Tyrone taken to provide an emotionally
supportive coaching environment? What additional steps could he
take?

, ,

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case studies: re

ﬂect and evaluate

High School:

“Steal, Cheat, and Fight”

These questions refer to the case study on page 28.

1. Is Mr. Ruestman

’s refusal to include social skills training during

class justi

ﬁed? What arguments could be used to overcome Mr.

Ruestman

’s reluctance to provide SEL skills training during his

class time?
2. The e-mail comments submitted by Ms. Baxter and Mr.
Ruestman imply an either-or situation: that teachers must address
social/emotional issues or academics but not both. What is the
relationship between socioemotional development and academic
achievement?
3. The high school's parent-teacher association has asked the
school board to implement a school uniform policy to resolve
behavioral problems such as

ﬁghting and cheating. They argue that

a strict dress code will reduce

ﬁghting by minimizing competition

among students regarding clothes and other status symbols and
will help students focus on academic success (minimizing
cheating). Based on the research evidence in the module regarding
social-emotional learning (SEL), provide a rationale for
implementing an SEL program instead of requiring uniforms.
4. Mr. Smith complains that he wasted class time to break up a
verbal argument between two girls. How could the situation have
been different if he had modeled con

ﬂict resolution skills rather

than just breaking up the

ﬁght?

5. Ms. Baxter complains that her students don

’t apply themselves.

How does her comment relate to self-motivation as a form of
emotional intelligence? What could she do to try to increase her
students

’ self-motivation in the classroom?

6. Mr. Cargill describes a situation in which Jimmy lost his temper
and hit Bob. Based on what you read about managing destructive
emotions, how could Mr. Cargill have used this con

ﬂict as a

teachable moment?

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