Teaching Social and Emotional Skills
MSCIN Program, Western Governors University
D186: Learning as a Science (OMM1)
, Impact of Self-Awareness
Teaching self-awareness skills has an immense impact on students’ growth and
development. As educators, we must incorporate instruction that teaches our students self-
awareness skills because it provides students with techniques, they may exercise to support them
in identifying their strengths and limitations. Being able to be self-aware of their capabilities
allows students to cultivate a growth mindset and achieve the academic goals they have created.
Morin from Understood (n.d.) states that having strong self-awareness skills is, “important for
people who learn and think differently and struggle with certain skills and tasks.” For example, if
a student builds strong self-awareness skills they identify and understand their limitations, but
they can also identify and understand what they are successful at.
Self-Awareness Skills Activities
One instructional activity I can use to teach my students effective self-awareness skills
throughout the academic year is written journaling. This activity supports students in learning to
appreciate objectivity and develop a third-person point of view (Kamath, 2019). I can
incorporate this activity into my reading instruction to support my students by asking them to
analyze a character’s motivations in literature and asking them to self-reflect on their motivations
for their behaviors in their journals. Asking my students to consider the character’s point of view
in a literature text allows them to understand how certain events and situations can influence a
person and their behaviors.
Another instructional activity I can use to teach my students effective self-awareness
skills throughout the academic year is Learning Profiles. This activity would require my students
to create a personal learning profile in which they will self-reflect on their strengths and
MSCIN Program, Western Governors University
D186: Learning as a Science (OMM1)
, Impact of Self-Awareness
Teaching self-awareness skills has an immense impact on students’ growth and
development. As educators, we must incorporate instruction that teaches our students self-
awareness skills because it provides students with techniques, they may exercise to support them
in identifying their strengths and limitations. Being able to be self-aware of their capabilities
allows students to cultivate a growth mindset and achieve the academic goals they have created.
Morin from Understood (n.d.) states that having strong self-awareness skills is, “important for
people who learn and think differently and struggle with certain skills and tasks.” For example, if
a student builds strong self-awareness skills they identify and understand their limitations, but
they can also identify and understand what they are successful at.
Self-Awareness Skills Activities
One instructional activity I can use to teach my students effective self-awareness skills
throughout the academic year is written journaling. This activity supports students in learning to
appreciate objectivity and develop a third-person point of view (Kamath, 2019). I can
incorporate this activity into my reading instruction to support my students by asking them to
analyze a character’s motivations in literature and asking them to self-reflect on their motivations
for their behaviors in their journals. Asking my students to consider the character’s point of view
in a literature text allows them to understand how certain events and situations can influence a
person and their behaviors.
Another instructional activity I can use to teach my students effective self-awareness
skills throughout the academic year is Learning Profiles. This activity would require my students
to create a personal learning profile in which they will self-reflect on their strengths and
