SEL & Teacher Education

SEL & Teacher Education (panel 3)

In this panel we talk with experts from the higher education field about why social emotional learning skills are so important not only for students but for educators, how can they leverage them and what should be the strategy to scale the development of these skills across educators in the world.

Key questions

• What would you recommend to teacher educators who want to know HOW to bring SEL into their programs?
• What are some of the levers of change to include SEL in teacher preparation?
• What are the essential skills aspiring educators must develop in order to be effective at the “people side” of education?
• What benefits are you seeing by introducing SEL in teacher preparation?
• By what means can SEL outcomes of teacher training programs be assessed, tracked, and promoted?
• How might teachers evaluate to what extent they have nurtured effective classroom and school environments for social, emotional, and academic development?
• What major steps would you like to see university education departments across the world take in the next five years? What about in the next year?

Panelists

Lorea Martinez, Ph.D.,  Founder of HEART in Mind Consulting & Adjunct at Columbia Teachers College; SEL Consultant at Six Seconds; author of The EQ Educator. Lorea supports schools and teachers as they integrate SEL in their programs and teaching practices and works with New Schools Venture Fund, Learning Policy Institute, Nearpod, and public, private, and charter schools. Her research is focused on school climate, SEL implementation, and principals’ emotional intelligence. Lorea is working on her second book for teachers, Teaching with the Heart in Mind. Previously, she was a special education teacher and administrator. Martinez holds a PhD from the Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona.

Sheldon L. Eakins, Ph.D. is an accomplished K-12 educator and administrator. He has taught at the elementary, middle, and high school levels during his career in the states of Florida, Louisiana and in St. Croix, US Virgin Islands. Dr. Eakins also served several years as a school principal in the states of Louisiana and Oregon. Currently, Dr. Eakins serves as the Director of Special Education at the Shoshone-Bannock School District in Fort Hall, ID. Dr. Eakins has a B.S. degree in Social Science Education, a M.S. degree in Higher Education Leadership, and a Ph.D. in K-12 Education. He maintains professional certifications in Grades 6-12 in the State of Idaho. Dr. Eakins is a prolific conference presenter at the regional, national, and international levels, and he has been successful in recently obtaining grants and foundation awards for debt reduction, technology, scholarships, and capital improvements.

Cherilyn Leet, M.Ed., Associate Director of Education, Six Seconds. With over a decade of classroom experience, Cherilyn’s goal is to integrate social emotional learning into all levels of education. Cherilyn develops curriculum, assessments, and workshops about emotional intelligence competencies in her role at Six Seconds. An active member of the EQ community in North America, Cherilyn is the recipient of a Fulbright grant, during which she taught students at the university level and developed training programs for faculty in Colombia. Cherilyn holds a Master’s degree in Curriculum and Instruction (Gifted and Talented) from Arizona State University.

Moderator: Sue McNamara, Ph.D. is the Regional Network Director, Asia-Pacific, Six Seconds. She has over 25 years of experience in the field of leadership and training and over 15 years in the field of education. Sue’s work in education focuses on site-wide implementation of emotional intelligence – from measuring and developing student EQ, to supporting leaders, educators, counsellors and caregivers to create a positive climate for learning. Projects range from introductory programs to raise awareness through to multi-year implementations to create an optimal climate for learning. Likewise, in business and government, Sue supports change makers to go from introducing EQ as a performance driver, to integrating emotional intelligence into organizational systems and structures. Projects include assessment and coaching, strategic planning, customized program development, and train-the-trainer processes to build capacity. Sue is an Adjunct Associate Professor with the Faculty of Engineering at the National University of Singapore.