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CALL TO ACTION

Integrating social and emotional learning should be standard practice

By Stephanie Hirsh
August 2018
Vol. 39 No. 4
As more practitioners and researchers recognize the importance of addressing students’ social and emotional learning (SEL) in schools, we can’t leave to chance the professional learning needed to make these efforts effective. Far too often, the professional learning linked to essential emerging topics is a distant afterthought in many educators’ contexts. We should also recognize that social and emotional competencies are embedded in the principles of high-quality professional learning. Let’s first examine Learning Forward’s Standards for Professional Learning to uncover how SEL aligns with what we know about effective professional learning. The introduction to the standards describes four prerequisites for professional learning, the first of which is educators’ commitment to all students: “Committed educators understand that they must engage in continuous improvement to know enough

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Authors

Stephanie Hirsh

Stephanie Hirsh (stephanie.hirsh@learningforward.org) is executive director of Learning Forward.

References

Learning Forward. (2011). Standards for Professional Learning. Oxford, OH: Author.


Image for aesthetic effect only - Hirsh Stephanie 2017 Web-for-homepage

Stephanie Hirsh retired in June 2019 after 31 years with Learning Forward, an international association of more than 13,000 educators committed to increasing student achievement through effective professional learning. Hirsh led the organization as its executive director for the last 13 years where she presented, published, and consulted on Learning Forward’s behalf across North America. Her books include Becoming a Learning Team, co-authored with Tracy Crow (Learning Forward, 2018), Becoming a Learning System, co-authored with Kay Psencik and Frederick Brown (Learning Forward, 2018); A Playbook for Professional Learning: Putting the Standards Into Action, co-authored with Shirley Hord (Learning Forward, 2012); and The Learning Educator: A New Era for Professional Learning, co-authored with Joellen Killion (NSDC, 2007). Hirsh wrote a column for The Learning Professional, Learning Forward’s bimonthly magazine, Educational Leadership, Phi Delta Kappan, The Record, The School Administrator, American School Board Journal, The High School Magazine, and Education Week. Hirsh has served on a number of advisory boards including Learning First Alliance, 2-Rev, Digital Promise, the University of Texas College of Education, and The Teaching Channel. She served three terms as a school board trustee in the Richardson (TX) Independent School District. She received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Texas Staff Development Council, Master Trustee from the Texas School Board Association, and was named a Distinguished Alumna by the University of North Texas.


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