SEL Corner
Social-Emotional Learning in the Dance Classroom by Rachel Swenson Editor’s note: With this issue we inaugurate a column on SocialEmotional Learning (SEL). daCi member Rachel Swenson has been researching SEL as a doctoral student at Teachers College and using it as a pedagogical framework in her work as a dance educator in Idaho. Each column will focus on one of the five domains in SEL and will offer an example of a dance activity to put it into practice. Dance is an ensemble art form and uses social processes, yet social and emotional learning in the dance classroom is under-recognized and under-utilized. What better place to teach social-emotional learning than by moving and creating together in the place we call the dance studio? After two years of reviewing the current literature on SEL in dance education, I see a need for dance educators, with the help of dance students, to bring light to the connections between dance and SEL awareness and skills. Many dance educators do deliver different aspects of SEL in their everyday teaching practice. My hope with these columns is to uncover and center even more opportunities for SEL in dance pedagogy.
The Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL) has been a leader in SEL for over two decades. CASEL defines SEL as “recognizing and managing one’s emotions, developing caring and concern for others, establishing positive relationships, making responsible decisions, and handling challenging situations constructively and ethically.” The five social and emotional competency domains identified by CASEL are self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills, and responsible decision-making. Just as dance skills are dynamic, developmental, and reflective, so are SEL skills. SEL can occur in a number of learning activities in the dance studio,
7
