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WGU D186 TASK 4: TEACHING SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL SKILLS
ACCURATE AND VERIFIED
Teaching Social and Emotional Skills
Curriculum and Instruction Program, WGU
D186: Learning as a Science (OMM1)
Teaching Social and Emotional Skills
, 2
A. Impact of Self-Awareness
It’s paramount to teach learners self-awareness skills because it has a powerful impact on
their growth and development. By guiding my learners to become self-aware, they can observe
and identify what they are feeling, find and acknowledge their strengths and weaknesses, and
recognize the effect that their behaviors have not only on their lives but on the lives of others. If
learners can’t handle managing their feelings, identifying their strengths and weaknesses, or
things they experience, then they will not become successful in handling these situations. Not
only do educators have to teach their learners content, but another part of our job is helping
learners build confidence. If learners don’t acquire self-confidence, they will experience
difficulty learning. For example, “emotions like anxiety can undermine learning by causing
worry, which depletes cognitive resources and activates the brain regions associated with fear
and escape rather than with academic thinking,” (National Academies of Sciences, Engineering,
and Medicine, 2018).
A1. Self-Awareness Skills Activities
Learners being able to label their emotions is significant because in agreement with
(Landmark Outreach, 2017) “Self-awareness is the ability to accurately recognize one’s own
emotions, thoughts, and values, and how they influence behavior.”
The Zones of Regulation is my first instructional activity to teach self-awareness. This
activity is a fantastic way for learners to reflect on how they feel while looking at different pictures
of animals on a slide when they come into the classroom. There will be six pictures of an animal and
each number represents a specific emotion. I direct my learners to close their eyes and show the
number of fingers that represent how they are feeling. I make mental notes when I notice learners
say they are mad, frustrated, sad, etc. While my learners are engaged in group work, I’ll have short
one-on-one conversations with these learners to explain what they are feeling and why. During these
conversations, we discuss what the learner needs to not feel mad, frustrated, sad, etc., and how can
they get there. In addition, we can discuss what strategies they could use the next time they feel this
way. “Effective learners successfully guide attention and intention towards the self as a doer,
thinker, and evaluator to help yield academic and social goals set by self, for self” (Kamath, 2019).
Another approach that I could employ to teach self-awareness is the use of learning journals.
By using learning journals, they help learners observe their own thinking (Price-Mitchell, 2015).
Learners will be prompted to spend about 5-8 minutes journaling at the beginning of class. For each
prompt, learners will write about what they are feeling that day and why they think they’re
experiencing this emotion. Some examples could be feeling overwhelmed due to the number of
summative assessments that they currently have, taking the SATs, being excited that their birthday is
coming up, or having exciting plans for the weekend. In addition to journaling at the beginning of
class, I’ll have my learner's journal as an exit ticket. For the exit tickets, my learners will reflect on
what concepts they learned or didn’t understand, what they thought was easy or difficult, or how
explain how they feel they met the success criteria of the lesson. Giving learners the opportunity to
journal allows them to identify their feelings, their feelings about their learning, and brainstorm
strategies on how they can become successful in my class. Also, journaling will allow my learners to
gain confidence in their abilities and develop a growth mindset.
WGU D186 TASK 4: TEACHING SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL SKILLS
ACCURATE AND VERIFIED
Teaching Social and Emotional Skills
Curriculum and Instruction Program, WGU
D186: Learning as a Science (OMM1)
Teaching Social and Emotional Skills
, 2
A. Impact of Self-Awareness
It’s paramount to teach learners self-awareness skills because it has a powerful impact on
their growth and development. By guiding my learners to become self-aware, they can observe
and identify what they are feeling, find and acknowledge their strengths and weaknesses, and
recognize the effect that their behaviors have not only on their lives but on the lives of others. If
learners can’t handle managing their feelings, identifying their strengths and weaknesses, or
things they experience, then they will not become successful in handling these situations. Not
only do educators have to teach their learners content, but another part of our job is helping
learners build confidence. If learners don’t acquire self-confidence, they will experience
difficulty learning. For example, “emotions like anxiety can undermine learning by causing
worry, which depletes cognitive resources and activates the brain regions associated with fear
and escape rather than with academic thinking,” (National Academies of Sciences, Engineering,
and Medicine, 2018).
A1. Self-Awareness Skills Activities
Learners being able to label their emotions is significant because in agreement with
(Landmark Outreach, 2017) “Self-awareness is the ability to accurately recognize one’s own
emotions, thoughts, and values, and how they influence behavior.”
The Zones of Regulation is my first instructional activity to teach self-awareness. This
activity is a fantastic way for learners to reflect on how they feel while looking at different pictures
of animals on a slide when they come into the classroom. There will be six pictures of an animal and
each number represents a specific emotion. I direct my learners to close their eyes and show the
number of fingers that represent how they are feeling. I make mental notes when I notice learners
say they are mad, frustrated, sad, etc. While my learners are engaged in group work, I’ll have short
one-on-one conversations with these learners to explain what they are feeling and why. During these
conversations, we discuss what the learner needs to not feel mad, frustrated, sad, etc., and how can
they get there. In addition, we can discuss what strategies they could use the next time they feel this
way. “Effective learners successfully guide attention and intention towards the self as a doer,
thinker, and evaluator to help yield academic and social goals set by self, for self” (Kamath, 2019).
Another approach that I could employ to teach self-awareness is the use of learning journals.
By using learning journals, they help learners observe their own thinking (Price-Mitchell, 2015).
Learners will be prompted to spend about 5-8 minutes journaling at the beginning of class. For each
prompt, learners will write about what they are feeling that day and why they think they’re
experiencing this emotion. Some examples could be feeling overwhelmed due to the number of
summative assessments that they currently have, taking the SATs, being excited that their birthday is
coming up, or having exciting plans for the weekend. In addition to journaling at the beginning of
class, I’ll have my learner's journal as an exit ticket. For the exit tickets, my learners will reflect on
what concepts they learned or didn’t understand, what they thought was easy or difficult, or how
explain how they feel they met the success criteria of the lesson. Giving learners the opportunity to
journal allows them to identify their feelings, their feelings about their learning, and brainstorm
strategies on how they can become successful in my class. Also, journaling will allow my learners to
gain confidence in their abilities and develop a growth mindset.
