Today’s schools are increasingly multicultural and multilingual and attended by students from a range of backgrounds and cultures. Teachers are regularly looking for ways to connect with their students and also develop students’ love of learning, emotional intelligence, and self-motivation. A growing body of research demonstrates that social-emotional learning (SEL) resources provide teachers with the tools to meet and exceed these goals. SEL provides a framework for a safe and positive learning environment for both students and teachers and improves student outcomes in school, their careers, and their relationships with others.

While remote learning has certainly made prioritizing SEL difficult, the need for social-emotional learning has only grown due to the challenges of COVID-19 and online learning. For many teachers, SEL is the heartbeat of their classroom, even when learning online—developing positive relationships with students and fostering a culture of empathy and respect in their classrooms. Now more than ever, it is critical that relevant and engaging SEL resources are readily available online for both teachers and parents. Parents also play an important role in nurturing social-emotional learning in their children. Parents can model emotionally healthy behaviors and relationships at home, and work with their child’s school community to create a climate that supports social-emotional learning for learners both in and out of the classroom.

Teachers and parents can utilize social-emotional learning resources that emphasize the five components of SEL: self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills, and responsible decision-making. eMediaVA staff has created a number of social-emotional learning collections to support teachers and parents in this work, organized by the five core concepts of SEL.

eMediaVA SEL collections contain age-appropriate, engaging resources that can be utilized at home and in the classroom to facilitate discussion, model behavior, and nurture empathy and respect for diverse viewpoints. The SEL collections contain videos, interactives, and worksheets that can be easily integrated into any curriculum. The collections also highlight classic PBS KIDS shows that integrate SEL concepts into every episode, like Daniel Tiger, Sesame Street, and Arthur. To view the collections and use them with your learners today, visit the eMediaVA Social-Emotional Learning Collection.