Coastal Education

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How are students and teachers using AI to support SEL?

This week I wanted to look specifically into how students are using AI as a tool for support. Now I need to be upfront, my thoughts about AI are not great. I see benefits, but when it comes to SEL, I don’t feel AI by itself is a good tool. It can supplement learning but I don’t feel it should be relied on solely and in a setting without additional tools and strategies in a social context. The reason I want to be upfront about my bias is because it may show in this post, but I’m going to try my best to take an open and curious approach.

To begin, kids are using AI. It came fast and there is no rule book. AI is being developed faster than the legislation and regulations needed to keep on top of it. And younger generations are becoming more efficient at using and naviagting technology than the adults which can lead to potential gaps in understanding how to move forward in a healthy way.

In saying this, there are benefits to AI and people are embracing what it has to offer. There is a lot of information on the internet. And it’s all a double edge sword. There are benefits and there are drawbacks to using AI as a SEL tool. And we can’t ignorer the mental health crisis that seems to be surrounding our communities that has also been linked to the development and increased use of technology including social media.

I found this really interesting book on supporting SEL through AI. It made some interesting points. Below is a link and a download if you wish to read more in depth. Here was their conclusive findings:

“AI-based systems such as therapeutic chatbots, virtual assistants, and SARs have a strong potential to positively impact mental health by helping people deal with depression and anxiety, as well as offer a sense of companionship, evoke emotional attachment, and even assist with social and emotional development. While some concerns regarding the effectiveness, dependability, and cost of this technology still exist, we hope that as technology progresses and becomes more affordable, people will increasingly benefit from AI-based tools to improve their social and emotional well-being.”

What I find so interesting about all of this is SEL is deeply connected in human interaction. There are some aspects of SEL such as self regulation that are more independently learnt but still relies on co-regulation and your environment. It’s not something that an be learnt or taught by being in a room with yourself and a computer or technology device. Although AI is getting more advanced every day, it lacks this human touch. You can not replace human beings and human learning with AI. Humans posses qualities such as critical thinking, empathy and creativity that can not be replicated in AI. Students need to be able to connect and develop relationships in order for SEL to be successful but AI has a place in this learning as a supportive tool.

Another article I found that was a really informative read is linked below. It. highlights many of the questions that we ask ourselves as students, educators, parents and humans.

https://edtechbooks.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/pdfs/713/13346.pdf

I believe that it does a great job at looking at AI as a tool. I feel they summed it up quite well here:

“AI-driven tools demonstrate the ability to improve and enhance SEL programs. Although AI tools cannot entirely substitute for the unique abilities that define human teachers, like critical thinking, emotional connection with students, immediate understanding, human interaction, and the ability to comprehend complex issues, AI tools are useful and valuable in the education sector because they facilitate self-reflection, stimulate creative thinking, and improve overall learning productivity.”

Lastly, I also took a look into ChatGPT. I think this is one of the biggest AI tools that some children and youth are using for advice and a sense of companionship. It’s very accessible and comes at no cost to the user. The concerns about ChatCPT with children and youth are the same as the AI concerns listed above. For SEL, some children are having intense conversations with ChatGPT and seeking advice that may not be appropriate and can possibly be unsafe or harmful. Here are some key points to consider:

• Misinformation and inaccuracy:ChatGPT can generate responses based on vast datasets, which may contain outdated or incorrect information, potentially misleading children who lack the critical thinking skills to verify facts. 
• Reduced critical thinking:Constantly relying on ChatGPT for answers can discourage children from actively researching and evaluating information, hindering their ability to think critically and solve problems independently. 
• Over-reliance on AI:Children may become overly dependent on ChatGPT, leading to a lack of personal responsibility and initiative in decision-making. 
• Bias in responses:As AI learns from large datasets, it can reflect biases present in that data, potentially providing biased or harmful information to children. 
• Inappropriate content:Depending on the questions asked, ChatGPT may generate responses that are sexually suggestive, violent, or otherwise inappropriate for children. 
• Privacy concerns:Children may unknowingly share personal information with ChatGPT, raising concerns about data collection and privacy. 

What parents and educators can do:

• Monitor usage:Actively supervise children’s interactions with ChatGPT and discuss the responses they receive. 
• Teach critical thinking:Encourage children to verify information provided by ChatGPT with other reliable sources and to evaluate the credibility of the answers. 
• Open communication:Have open conversations with children about the limitations of AI and the importance of independent thinking. 
• Age-appropriate use:Consider age restrictions and only allow children to use ChatGPT with appropriate supervision. 
• Use educational tools:Explore child-friendly AI platforms designed specifically for learning and development. 

*These key points were produced by a Google search and were AI generated (kinda ironic, hey?!) https://www.google.com/search?client=safari&rls=en&q=concerns+with+children+using+chatgpt+for+advice&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8

So in closing, I see AI as a benefit to SEL but it needs to be used intentionally and appropriately. All the research and information agrees it can be a great too to supplement learning but should not be relied upon solely.

*Picture generated using ChatGPT (“please generate a picture of social emotional learning”)

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What does the BC Curriculum Say?

So far I’ve defined SEL, looked at a great website that offered tons of education and resources, looked into CBT, took a deeper dive into what social emotional apps were available for both students, teachers and individuals and now I want to look at what does the BC Curriculum say about social emotional learning?

As a teacher candidate, if I’m passionate about SEL it’s important that I have support through the curriculum. Looking at teaching the whole learner is a concept that is fairly new. It’s only been in the last 10 years that SEL has been on the curriculum agenda. In 2015, the BC government developed a new education curriculum that included the development of the Core Competencies. The Core Competencies are sets of intellectual, personal, and social and emotional proficiencies that all students need in order to engage in deep, lifelong learning. They are cross curricular and develop when students are engaged in areas of learning. The three major headings are communication, thinking, personal & social.

https://curriculum.gov.bc.ca/competencies

To unpack these three headings of the Core Competencies, the BC Curriculum website (listed above) does a good job of providing a definition and expectation about how it fits and is to be incorporated into the curriculum. There are also Sub-Competencies that fit within each Core Competency. I found these Sub- Competencies super interesting. The Core Competencies are interrelated and interdependent and each Sub-competency is naturally intertwined with all the other Sub-Competencies. As students move through the profiles in one Sub-Competency, their growth will influence development in other Sub-Competencies. These Sub-Competencies are called Facets, Profiles and Connections. There is also a tab of Illustrations that provides very detailed examples of what that learning may look like. The Illustrations give the teacher examples on what they may see but also guides the teacher in examples they can use in class or actives they can set up to create a classroom culture of SEL.

Needless to say, I’m quite impressed with this area of the BC Curriculum website but unless a teacher or teacher candidate has experience with SEL, I can see how it still may be questionable about how to support or teach SEL in the classroom. The good news is most schools have a team to help support, guide and provide resources. Your inclusion support team at your school may have access to activities or be able to help guide you through assessing this learning in your classroom. Part of inclusion support is also school based teams and if a student is having a particularly hard time or may need additional support and communication outside of the class, school based teams can help provide resource. In SD62, they also have student engagement facilitators. Student engagement facilitators have more specialized training in social emotional support and may be able to offer your student additional learning individually or in groups. Another great resource is your school counsellor! A lot of the time, the school counsellor will have activities, resources or ideas to help support the classroom. So remember, you’re not alone! It takes a village!

As a teacher, it doesn’t need to be hard or big detailed lessons. It can be small, everyday tasks that you start with your classroom. A simple SEL Google search, Pinterest search or image search will also provide you with thousand of resources at your fingertips. Here are a few examples of everyday smaller examples of SEL that can add up:

• journalling
• mindlfulness
• check-ins
• positive affirmations
• self awareness
• active listening
• celebrations of diversity or successes
• classroom contracts

So I encourage you to check out the BC Curriculum website and get to know the people in your schools who specialize more in SEL and may be a great resource for you as a teacher and an amazing support for your learners!

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Apps, Apps and More Apps!

Over the last couple weeks I’ve defined social emotional learning, took a look at a great resource, CASEL, and explained how Cognitive Behavioural Therapy is being used to help manage all emotions including anxiety. This week I wanted to use the theme of our technology class to specifically look into what apps are available for SEL and mental health.

I often see a lot of advertisements for different apps targeting social emotional learning and anxiety. I did a web search and asked for ‘social emotional apps to use on my iphone’. This is the list that was generated from that search:

Apps seem to be a popular tool for a lot of individuals. There is such a wide range for all types of support and all types of ages. The apps available for younger children look at identifying emotions, self control, understanding mindfulness, stress management, how to stay calm (calm bodies), focus, problem solving and how to communicate. Some apps target the individual, some engage parent participation, and others are tools for teachers to use with their classrooms. The apps that target youth and more middle school aged learners begin to speak more about the social emotional learning connection, mood, behaviour, tools and strategies, zones of regulation and a deeper understanding of all the same topics that were listed with the younger apps. The apps that are for adults tend to focus more on breathing, meditation, stress management and again, all the same topics as above but more age appropriate.

What I really like about all the different apps is their ability to link the content and the language to the target audience. I was also really surprised to see how many apps are available for classroom use.

When asked for ‘apps that teachers can use to teach social emotional learning in the classroom’, I got this list:

The biggest difference with the second list is some of these apps are classified as educational technology and offer more suggestions such as virtual reality. There is also a bigger focus on social stories, cooperation, communication and geared towards helping teachers target the social emotional learning curriculum.

Needless to say, there is no shortage of options and I have no doubt there is something out there for everyone.

After this search and looking at all these different apps, I wanted to find one for myself to use as a tool for managing anxiety. What I found really frustrating about many of these apps is that they are not free. Some offer a free trial but most come with a monthly, annual or lifetime subscription. Although I appreciate the free trial to see if I’d like the app, I still find I’m pretty turned off by the cost. This is something to keep in mind if I planned on using an app as a tool for either myself or my future classroom. Because of the cost, at this time I will take some of the suggestions I found in the apps such as using music, meditation and breathing strategies to help manage my anxiety but I won’t be downloading any apps for myself at this time. It’s possible that as a teacher candidate I may be a part of a school that funds and supports similar apps to use within the classroom and I look forward to learning and discovering more as technology continues to grow and develop.

And I feel the need to point out that although use technology and tools such as apps is a great addition to social emotional learning, I believe it should remain just that…..a tool! I believe humans still learn these skills best through human interactions within their environments. Technology should not be the only form of education that we engage with. Social emotional learning depends on human interaction within a supportive, kind and nurturing environment. It will be a form of trail and error and can be situationally dependant. Our children need to engage, collaborate, play, learn and live in order to develop these skills that are very dependent on connection.

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Introduction and First Steps

For this project I’m choosing to take a deeper look into social emotional learning (SEL). This has always been an area of interest to me and I have had experience supporting and educating students/learners about social emotional learning within the school districts. This inquiry project for me is going to be two fold. I want to educate myself about SEL as an educator but I also want to focus on the area of emotional regulation for myself. I personally struggle with some overwhelming anxiety and I was to see what’s out there in hopes of learning how I can manage my symptoms. I’m excited for this learning journey and I know that this will make me a better educator and will give me the ability to make suggestion or even empathize with my future learners.

The first step is to look into what social emotional learning (SEL) is and how anxiety may fit into that puzzle.

Starting with online research, I came across CASEL. CASEL is a multidisciplinary network that includes researchers, educators, practitioners, and child advocates. They believe that through a commitment to SEL, learners and adults can achieve their goals and work towards a more inclusive environment. CASEL is does a great job at explaining the fundamentals of SEL.

What I enjoy most about this website, is it’s super user friendly, it targets all populations and it provides additional resources including professional resources, a blog, implementation strategies, webinars and more. Although it’s more targeted towards educators, with the vast majority of information on the site, it’s a great starting point for any individual looking to educate themselves about their own social/emotional learning.

What I like most about CASEL is the how they back up a lot of their website with research. I feel there are a lot of opinions out there in today’s world and it’s easy to feel overwhelmed, confused and be misguided. As stated on CASEL’s website, SEL has a positive impact on a wide range of outcomes, including academic performance, healthy relationships, mental wellness, and more.

In collaboration and discussions with other educators, and within my community, CASEL has provided a great framework to get me started. What I love best about this framework is that I can also break it down and use it just for myself. Looking at the core competencies, I can begin to bring awareness and self management into my own SEL. This framework allows me to begin reflection how I can begin the process and gets me started on my journey of creating strategies and tools.

https://casel.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/CASEL-Wheel-SEL-Reflection.pdf

My goal for the next week it to continue to look into what the research is saying about SEL and to take a closer look into thoughts, behaviours and emotions. I’ve heard a lot around Cognitive Behavioural Theories (CBT) and I hope to bring the discussion around this area into my second post.

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