CS471: Computer Science Pedagogy - Social Emotional Learning
Activity Goals
The goals of this activity are:- To engage learners to promote, develop, and assess Social Emotional Learning
The Activity
Directions
Consider the activity models and answer the questions provided. First reflect on these questions on your own briefly, before discussing and comparing your thoughts with your group. Appoint one member of your group to discuss your findings with the class, and the rest of the group should help that member prepare their response. Answer each question individually from the activity, and compare with your group to prepare for our whole-class discussion. After class, think about the questions in the reflective prompt and respond to those individually in your notebook. Report out on areas of disagreement or items for which you and your group identified alternative approaches. Write down and report out questions you encountered along the way for group discussion.Model 1: Applying Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) to Computing Activities
Questions
- What are the main challenges and opportunities presented in the scenario? How do you see collaboration, empathy, ethics, or resilience playing a role in this scenario?
- How can the principles of SEL be applied to the scenario from Phase 1? What strategies can be used to foster collaboration and empathy within the team?
- How can ethical considerations be integrated into the decision-making process? What practices can be implemented to promote resilience and reflection?
- How will you apply the SEL strategies to this new computing activity? What specific actions will you take to foster collaboration, empathy, ethics, and resilience within your team?
- How will you reflect on and evaluate the effectiveness of the SEL integration in this activity? What is the benefit of using a blend of SEL principles rather than a single approach?
Social Emotional Learning (SEL)
Social Emotional Learning (SEL) refers to the process through which individuals acquire and apply knowledge, skills, and attitudes to develop healthy identities, manage emotions, achieve personal and collective goals, feel and show empathy for others, establish and maintain supportive relationships, and make responsible and caring decisions. SEL has become an increasingly important part of education, as schools seek to support the whole child and promote both academic and life success. This report provides an overview of SEL and discusses ways to integrate SEL into computer science education. SEL is a crucial aspect of personal and academic development. It focuses on teaching individuals to understand and manage their emotions, develop healthy relationships, and make responsible decisions.
Fundamentals of SEL
The Fundamentals of SEL provided by the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL) is a comprehensive resource that presents the core competencies of SEL. These competencies include:
- Self-awareness: Recognizing and understanding one’s emotions, values, strengths, and weaknesses.
- Self-management: Regulating one’s emotions, controlling impulses, and setting and achieving goals.
- Social awareness: Developing empathy, understanding others’ perspectives, and appreciating diversity.
- Relationship skills: Establishing and maintaining positive relationships, communicating effectively, and resolving conflicts.
- Responsible decision-making: Making choices based on ethical considerations, evaluating consequences, and taking responsibility for actions.
CASEL’s Fundamentals of SEL serves as an excellent starting point for understanding the key principles of SEL.
Research shows SEL can have significant benefits for students, including improved academic performance, attitudes, behaviors and relationships. It provides students with tools to navigate emotions, set goals, build relationships, and make responsible decisions. Social Emotional Learning (SEL) plays a vital role in the holistic development of individuals. The core competencies of SEL, as outlined by CASEL’s Fundamentals of SEL, provide a strong foundation for understanding SEL principles. By implementing SEL practices, educators can foster emotional intelligence, interpersonal skills, and responsible decision-making among students. SEL skills are essential for living ethically, working effectively with others, and positively impacting fields like computer science. Integrating SEL into computer science classrooms can not only support students’ technical abilities, but also their development as healthy, caring, responsible members of society.
SEL in Computer Science Education
Computer science courses provide many opportunities to foster social emotional competencies alongside technical skills. A few examples include:
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Promoting a growth mindset when learning new concepts and languages. Computer science often requires perseverance through confusion and debugging. Helping students cultivate self-awareness around their learning process can support grit and resilience.
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Incorporating team-based projects. Group work not only builds technical collaboration skills, but also relationship and communication skills students will need in future careers. Reflection activities can help reinforce lessons around team dynamics, conflict resolution and interpersonal awareness.
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Discussing ethics and social impact. Computing innovations have many ethical implications for society. Classroom discussions, case studies and ethical coding challenges can build students’ sense of social responsibility and skills in ethical analysis and decision-making.
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Critiquing biases. Dataset bias, algorithmic bias and human biases all affect computer science. Making space for students to critically examine their own biases and those embedded in technological systems can promote social awareness, perspective-taking and responsible innovation.
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Promoting wellbeing and work-life balance. Computer science education often has intense workloads. Educators can model and explicitly teach strategies for managing stress, maintaining self-care, and achieving balance and fulfillment in academics and life.
Social emotional learning focuses on building self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills and responsible decision-making. Integrating SEL into computer science education can help students build technical abilities while also fostering skills critical for collaborative, ethical work and lifelong success. SEL represents a valuable framework for supporting the whole student within computer science.
Example Integrations
Playing a Tin Foil Piano Using a Micro:bit
Lesson Objective: Students will create a tin foil piano using a micro:bit and write code to play different notes.
SEL Integration:
- Collaboration: Students can work in pairs or small groups to design and build the piano. They can discuss their ideas, listen to each other, and make decisions together.
- Creativity and Expression: Encourage students to personalize their pianos and compose their own melodies. This fosters creativity and allows students to express themselves through music.
- Reflection: After the activity, facilitate a discussion about the challenges faced and how they were overcome. This encourages self-awareness and resilience.
Converting Binary Numbers to Decimal
Lesson Objective: Students will learn to convert binary numbers to decimal numbers.
SEL Integration:
- Critical Thinking: Present real-world scenarios where binary-to-decimal conversion is used, such as in computer networking. Encourage students to analyze and discuss the importance of this skill.
- Peer Teaching: Pair students and have them teach each other the conversion process. This fosters empathy and communication skills.
- Mindfulness: Incorporate mindfulness practices to help students focus and approach the task with calmness, especially if they find it challenging.
Writing and Calling Functions in Java
Lesson Objective: Students will learn to write and call functions in Java, focusing on modularity and reusability.
SEL Integration:
- Problem-Solving: Present complex problems that require breaking down into smaller tasks. Encourage students to work together to identify functions needed, promoting teamwork and problem-solving skills.
- Ethical Consideration: Discuss the importance of writing clean and efficient code, linking it to professional ethics in software development.
- Growth Mindset: Encourage a growth mindset by praising effort and persistence, especially when students face difficulties in understanding concepts.
A Larger Hackathon Project in Groups of 4
Lesson Objective: Students will work in groups of 4 to develop a software project during a hackathon.
SEL Integration:
- Team Building: Begin with team-building exercises to foster trust and collaboration within the groups.
- Project Management: Teach students project management skills, such as setting goals, dividing tasks, and time management. Encourage regular check-ins and reflections.
- Ethical Computing: Incorporate discussions on ethical considerations related to the project, such as data privacy, accessibility, and social impact.
- Emotional Support: Provide emotional support and stress management techniques, recognizing that hackathons can be intense experiences.
Machine Learning Involving Facial Recognition
Lesson Objective: Students will develop a facial recognition system using machine learning algorithms and evaluate its applications and ethical implications.
SEL Integration:
- Ethical Consideration: Engage students in a deep discussion about the ethical implications of facial recognition, including privacy concerns, bias, and potential misuse. This fosters ethical awareness and critical thinking.
- Collaboration and Communication: Divide students into groups to work on different aspects of the project, such as data collection, model training, and evaluation. Encourage open communication and collaboration within the groups.
- Empathy and Inclusivity: Discuss the potential biases in facial recognition systems, such as racial and gender biases. Encourage empathy by exploring how these biases can affect different communities.
- Reflection and Responsibility: After completing the project, facilitate a reflection on the responsibilities of technologists in developing and deploying facial recognition systems. This fosters a sense of social responsibility.
Evaluating the Feasibility of Applying AI to Global Healthcare
Lesson Objective: Students will evaluate the feasibility and implications of applying artificial intelligence to global healthcare, considering technological, ethical, and socio-economic factors.
SEL Integration:
- Global Awareness: Begin with an exploration of global healthcare disparities and challenges. Encourage students to consider how AI can be both a solution and a potential source of further inequality.
- Critical Thinking and Problem-Solving: Divide students into groups to analyze different aspects of applying AI to healthcare, such as technological feasibility, ethical considerations, economic factors, and cultural acceptance. Encourage critical thinking and creative problem-solving.
- Empathy and Ethics: Facilitate discussions on the ethical considerations of AI in healthcare, such as data privacy, accessibility, and potential biases. Encourage students to approach the topic with empathy and a human-centric perspective.
- Collaborative Decision Making: Have students collaborate to develop a comprehensive feasibility report, synthesizing their findings and making informed recommendations. This fosters teamwork and decision-making skills.
- Reflection on Social Impact: Conclude with a reflection on the potential social impact of AI in healthcare, both positive and negative. Encourage students to consider their roles as future technologists in shaping a more equitable and compassionate world.