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Social, Emotional, & Academic Development (SEAD)

Themes that Support Equity

Agency	Discourse	Belonging	Identity
A student’s drive, persistence, confidence and engagement in academic work.	The way ideas are exchanged, as well as what those ideas are.	A student’s sense of fitting in or feeling like they are an important member of a group.	A student’s belief about their academic ability and capacity to learn and understand, grounded in personal and socio-cultural identity.

Adapted from: Stride 3/NCTM

Recently, we have been using the lens of Social, Emotional, Academic Development (as it’s related to equity) to help us identify the intersection between science inquiry and equity. We’ll be referring to these themes throughout the workshop. Since this is fairly new work for us, we’d really appreciate your feedback so we can make improvements.
The SEAD themes from the Aspen Institute further articulate what SEL looks like by differentiating between four themes. The definitions come from National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, with equity additions from CASEL. CASEL is the SEL framework that most districts use
Agency refers to a students’ drive, persistence, confidence and engagement in academic work. In the science classroom, this might look like pursuing one’s own questions or collecting data that students find relevant to their own lives.
Discourse refers to the way ideas are exchanged as well as what those ideas are. In the science classroom, this might include science talks.
Belonging refers to a students’ sense of fitting in or feeling like they are an important member of a group. In the classroom, this involves creating spaces for discourse where all ideas are considered and respected.
Identity refers to a student’s belief about their academic ability and capacity to learn and understand, grounded in one’s personal and socio-cultural identity (ethnicity, cultural and family values, race, socio-economic status, gender). This means cultivating a growth mindset will be important, as well as the belief that ALL students can learn math and science at high levels.

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CASEL is the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning,

Growth mindset: The belief that one’s abilities can grow with effort.
Self-efficacy: The belief in one’s own ability to succeed in achieving an outcome or reaching a goal.
Self-management: The ability to regulate one’s emotions, thoughts, and behaviors effectively in different situations.
Social awareness: The ability to take the perspective of and empathize with others from diverse backgrounds and cultures, to understand social and ethical norms for behavior, and to recognize family, school, and community resources and supports.

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Belonging

Create a safe environment for learning.
Honor diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds and experiences.
Provide varied structures for students to collaborate and learn from each other.
Respect individual ideas to create a sense of contributing to the science classroom community.
Maximize inclusion by allowing for multiple modes of expression.

Discourse

Decentralize power in conversation and encourage students to learn from one anothers’ perspectives.
Allow expression of ideas with imperfect thoughts and language.
Use different participant structures to develop and express ideas.
Ask questions that elicit thinking and encourage student discussion.
Create opportunities for students to reflect on their discussion.

Agency

Take into account the power dynamic between teacher & student.
Acknowledge the power of different ways of knowing and expressing ideas.
Create relevant experiences and opportunities for choice.
Honor and make space for student voice.
Empower students to take action and responsibility for their learning.

Identity

Support the development of student confidence & recognize all students as competent science learners.
Promote student ownership of and independence in their learning.
Provide multiple pathways for developing and showcasing understanding.
Value students’ individual strengths and perspectives.
Honor contributions from students’ community and cultural contexts.

Creating Equitable Environments for Learning

(SEAD: Social Emotional Academic Development)

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Lead Learner Moves 2.0		Learner Profile
Agency Elicits students’ wonderings Acknowledges different ways of knowing Empowers students to take action and responsibility for their learning Provides relevant hands-on exploration Launches lessons with enthusiasm Clearly communicates the purpose of the work allowing for student voice and choice Co-creates an authentic audience for student work	Belonging Honors diverse cultural/linguistic backgrounds and experiences Maximizes inclusion through multiple modes of creative expression Celebrates taking risks Creates a culture of improvement via drafting and revision	Curious Open-minded Empathetic Agentic Confident Adaptive Creative Problem-solver Enthusiastic Risk-taker Collaborative Engaged Persistent Purpose-driven Reflective Socially and Environmentally Aware Critical Thinker
Identity Develops student confidence & recognizes all students as competent science learners. Provide multiple pathways for developing and showcasing understanding Honors contributions from students’ community and cultural contexts	Discourse Encourages all thoughts and voices for equitable sensemaking Decentralizes power in conversation and encourages students to learn from one anothers’ perspectives Provides time and structures for reflection on learning

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Lead Learner Moves	Learner Attributes
1. Elicits students’ wonderings 2. Encourages all thoughts and voices 3. Gives opportunities to explore other’s point of view 4. Provides experiences for creative expression 5. Provides hands-on exploration 6. Launches lessons with enthusiasm 7. Celebrates taking risks 8. Provides opportunities for discourse and collaboration 9. Creates a culture of improvement via drafting and revision 10. Clearly communicates the purpose of the work 11. Creates an authentic audience for student work 12. Provides time and structures for reflection on learning	Curious Open-minded Empathetic Creative Problem-solver Enthusiastic Risk-taker Collaborative Engaged Persistent Purpose-driven Reflective

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Lead Learner Moves	Learner Attributes
Elicits students’ wonderings Encourages all thoughts and voices Gives opportunities to explore other’s point of view Provides experiences for creative expression Provides hands-on exploration Launches lessons with enthusiasm Celebrates taking risks Provides opportunities for discourse and collaboration Creates a culture of improvement via drafting and revision Clearly communicates the purpose of the work Creates an authentic audience for student work Provides time and structures for reflection on learning	Curious Open-minded Empathetic Creative Problem-solver Enthusiastic Risk-taker Collaborative Engaged Persistent Purpose-driven Reflective