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Abstract

This action research study examined social-emotional learning (SEL) strategies taught during a year-long elementary teaching credential field course to examine (a) what SEL strategies look like in practice, and (b) what training effects might be seen among twelve preservice student teacher (PST) participants. Part of a two-course clinical practice study, this paper focused solely on the research done in the field course during the 2013-2014 academic year. Drawing from program-based and integrated SEL literature, the strategies studied supported (a) active engagement in learning, (b) equitable access to instruction, including diversity and differentiated strategies, and (c) learner-centered classroom discipline. Frequency analysis of lesson plan data suggested that PSTs implemented positive disciplinary SEL strategies most frequently, followed by active engagement, diversity scaffolds, and differentiated accommodations. Coding and analysis of the PSTs’ year-end written self-assessments also shed light on ways in which SEL instruction might have positively affected participants’ developing SEL skills and professional habits of mind.

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