Learner Variability: Th e Cr it ica l Role of SEL Dr. Susanne Nobles
Partnerships Director, Learner Variability Project
Vic Vuchic
Chief Innovation Officer, Digital Promise Executive Director, Learner Variability Project
Our mission is to spur innovation in education and improve the opportunity to learn for ALL through technology and research. We work at the intersections of educators, researchers, and developers.
Objectives ● Part 1: The theory of learner variability ● Part 2: The critical connection between SEL and learner variability ● Part 3: Supporting learner variability in SEL: ○ Emotion ○ Motivation ○ Social Awareness & Relationship Skills ○ Stereotype Threat
Part 1:
The Theory of Learner Variability
Learner Diversity in the U.S. Past
Present
Low SES
14.4% of people under 18 in poverty
21.1% of people under 18 in poverty
Diagnosed Disability
8.3% of people age 3-21
14.0% of K-12 students
Learning Differences
<No comparable data available>
20.0%+ (est.) of K-12 students
ELL
4.0% of people age 5-18
9.2% of K-12 students
Gifted / Talented
4.06% pre-K - 12 students
6.7% of K-12 Students
Trauma
<No comparable data available>
37.3% of children and youth experience physical assault
Learner Variability is about the whole child.
When we understand learner variability in this way, classroom challenges become a design problem, not a student problem.
Part 2:
The Critical Connection between SEL and Learner Variability
How could the most intelligent and flexible creatures on the planet have so few uniquely human genes with which to specify abilities?
Image courtesy of TED Ed
We are each our own garden with SEL as our climate and how we are tended. “Just as a garden grows differently in different climates and with different plants, styles of gardening, and use, a person’s brain develops differently depending on age, predispositions, priorities, experiences, and environment.” The Brain Basis for Integrated Social, Emotional, and Academic Development: How Emotions and Social Development Drive Learning from the Aspen Institute
Part 3:
Supporting Learner Variability in SEL
How do the SEL factors of emotion, motivation, relationships, & stereotype threat impact student learning? What are the research-based strategies teachers can use to design for SEL & student learning? Our Tool: The Learner Variability Navigator lvp.digitalpromiseglobal.org
Questions, Comments, Fina l Thoughts? Please reach out with any further questions: susanne@digitalpromise.org vic@digitalpromise.org