This past week, I’ve had the experience of helping to take care of my nine month old niece. I’ve been reminded all over again of the natural tendency for young people to want to bond with others. Even without language skills, my niece shows her needs through sounds, body language, and gestures. When she doesn’t get her way, you know it through waving of hands, raised voice, and the distant disgruntled look on her face. As she grows, she will learn how to advocate herself through appropriate social skills. Every time I enter an early years classroom, I feel the same energy. The room is full of young people trying to figure out the correct social cues and behaviors to properly participate in the classroom and school. They make mistakes, they make others cry, they cry, and the cycle repeats itself until self-awareness sets in. This is the magical part of being an early years teacher. You get to watch all of this self-awareness take place and you get to see these young people take more ownership through social skill development. It’s part of creating good humans. “Social development also takes shape in these early years as children are naturally inclined to explore, to discover, to play and to make connections between self, others and their entire surroundings. Through these interactions, children form their perception of themselves and others in the world (Rushton, Juola-Rushton 2010).” PYP Principles into Practice: The Learner (2018). In this episode, we are trying to examine the social skills that early learners need in order to operate within the world. But first, let's look at some of the skills we as educators need to model, so our learners are able to apply it to their own practice.
The social sub-skills help learners to know how to appropriately interact with each other. The social skills are divided into two criteria:
The sub-skill that pops out to me the most is social and emotional intelligence. This is one of the growing areas for most early learners, since they are just beginning to interact with others outside of their family and home community. This time, I am matching the learner's social skills with what educators can do to support their learners. We are always trying to find ways to innovate and take learning further! Social and emotional intelligenceAs we enter school, we have to learn how to engage with others respectfully, while advocating for our own needs. This process takes a lot of time, reflective practice, and communication. Let's explore some ways that the IB focuses on social and emotional intelligence. Be aware of own and others’ feelingsThis is a challenge for young learners, since they often don’t understand their own feelings and how to express them to others. What teachers can do: Provide opportunities for students to reflect on their social skills.
Manage anger and resolve conflictFor many learners, they come to school with limited exposure to other children their own age. They have difficulties expressing their feelings, managing their anger, and resolving conflict. What teachers can do: Provide explicit opportunities for students to practice and develop these skills, including (dramatic) play and games.
Be self and socially awareAs an educator, this was always a struggle to get older students to be self and socially aware of their actions. As a coordinator, I noticed that my early years team navigated this with ease. They were able to teach their learners through routines, songs, chants, and within their units, how to be self and socially aware. What teachers can do: Reflect and provide feedback on different interactions and other moments they observe.
What teachers can do: Offer students opportunities for taking perspective.
Be aware of own and others’ impact as a member of a group Ooh...I think this is the hardest one. Our little people don’t understand fully the impact actions have on a learning community. They are still so me-centric that their point of view is skewed.
What teachers can do: Use the language of the learner profile in conversations and discussions, and in the development of essential agreements.
What teachers can do: Model the social skills and language needed to greet, solve problems, share resources, and so on.
That’s it for now my friends as I try to apply these ideas to grades 1-6.
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