You will continually grow your skill and impact as a facilitator of the SEL 3 Signature Practices as you use them and learn from experience. Part of learning from experience is gathering relevant data, both qualitative and quantitative, to see whether the signature practices are having the intended impact and then making adjustments for continuous improvement.
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As an individual using the signature practices, reflect and observe for impact using questions like these during and after your meeting, learning session, or class period:
- Are all members of the group actively sharing or participating in some way? Is there anything I can do differently to support those who may not feel ready to participate fully yet?
- Do all members of the group appear to be sharing in a reflective and authentic way? Is there anything I can do differently to work around barriers to reflection and authenticity?
- Do group members seem to be listening to, interested in, and impacted by what others share? What adjustments can I make to support focus and empathetic listening?
- Do group members appear to be building positive relationships? Do those relationships extend outside of our formal time together?
- Do members of this group seem to be gaining confidence in designing and leading signature practices? How can I scaffold this process so that group members take on ownership?
- Which SEL competency and/or focal construct did I target when I selected the practices I used today? What did I observe that tells me whether the group made progress or not?
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As a leader supporting an organization, school district, or school staff to use the signature practices as part of a systemic approach to SEL implementation, use relevant data paired with a continuous improvement cycle to ensure you’re achieving your goals. Consider both outcome data and implementation data:
- Outcome data show changes in experience, knowledge, skills, and behavior for youth and adults. For example: A school climate survey shows an increase in student-teacher trust after teachers begin to implement the signature practices in their classrooms.
- Implementation data document the practices, processes, and structures that are implemented to achieve outcome goals. For example: After a professional learning session, participant feedback shows that most were satisfied with the experience and feel prepared to begin implementing signature practices.
The data you look at to measure impact should be a match for your purpose for using the signature practices. For example:
| Purpose | Possible data source to measure impact |
|---|---|
| You are using the signature practices in staff meetings to improve staff relationships and workplace climate. | · Staff responses on a school climate survey (outcome data) · Meeting agendas that show whether the signature practices are being used regularly (implementation data) |
| You are using the signature practices to improve staff-student and student-student relationships and sense of belonging. | · School climate survey results, other student surveys or interviews about their experiences, reductions in office referrals or reports of bullying (outcome data) · Observations or staff surveys to learn whether and how signature practices are being implemented with students, student feedback about whether and how adults are using practices (implementation data) |
| You are using the signature practices to integrate SEL into academics and improve student engagement. | · Attendance and tardies, grades, on-task time, observed change in teachers’ use of signature practices during instruction (outcome data) · Lesson plans that include the signature practices, completion of training, notes taken during teachers’ collaborative planning time (implementation data) |