Synopses & Reviews
Review
"This book represents the best current state of the field. It will help educators approach SEL in an evidence-based, holistic way. Merrell and Gueldner clearly lay out the conceptual basis of SEL, its documented benefits for students, and the most effective teaching and assessment practices. Instructive and engaging, the book explains the nuts and bolts of how to best implement SEL in the classroom. It is a wonderful contribution and essential reading for educators, mental health practitioners, and researchers. I teach a course on SEL and I plan to assign this text as required reading."--Roger P. Weissberg, PhD, Liberal Arts and Sciences Distinguished Professor, Department of Psychology, University of Illinois at Chicago "This timely book summarizes and integrates recent advances in understanding the importance of SEL and developing evidence-based curricula and intervention strategies. The book strikes a perfect balance between reviewing the theoretical and empirical bases of recommended approaches and providing concrete guidelines for practitioners. The authors make excellent use of scenarios to emphasize important points. I would select this text for masters-level courses in school-based interventions and school consultation. Students would benefit from the practice-relevant guidelines and from the books emphasis on systemic change versus single strategies."--Jan N. Hughes, PhD, Department of Educational Psychology, Texas A&M University "Finally, a comprehensive and well-written resource on social and emotional learning (SEL). This outstanding volume will be useful for school psychologists, educators, and graduate students. The book is great for those interested in implementing SEL in schools, as it contains plenty of practical advice and real-life examples. As a university trainer, I appreciate not only the academic rigor of the text, but also its accessibility and its clear connections to current issues in school psychology, especially response to intervention and mental health. This is a suitable text for graduate-level classes on mental health, behavioral interventions, prevention, and even classroom management."--Brian C. McKevitt, PhD, School Psychology Program, University of Nebraska at Omaha
"Why should social and emotional learning (SEL) be a central component of every childs education? Merrell and Gueldner offer the answers in this very readable, informative, and comprehensive guide. The book takes school-based practitioners through the entire process of choosing the best SEL approach for a particular context and implementing, assessing, and sustaining quality SEL programs for children and youth. The authors provide an integrated model that demonstrates how SEL can work effectively with positive behavioral supports within a three-tiered intervention framework. An excellent and timely guide."--Mark T. Greenberg, PhD, Bennett Chair of Prevention Research and Director, Prevention Research Center, Penn State University
Review
"The setup of the book is very user-friendly. Chapters may be used independently. Many subsections have small grey boxes that summarize the surrounding content. These are very effective and helpful for spotting important passages to review at a later date. Each chapter ends with a vignette of a real-life situation based on the chapter content....There is a chapter devoted to the most popular 'packaged' curricula for SEL. The rubric is excellent, providing the most appropriate settings for each, brief overviews of the skill foci, and a summary of the skill foci, and a summary of the evidence of its effectiveness. Included is a worksheet to evaluate SEL programs that studies the costs, evidence base, number of lessons, competency areas covered, and training required. It even provides some evidence linking SEL's influencing academic performance, which may be helpful in spearheading a program or writing grants to fund them. One might have to purchase several books and read multiple journals to get the concise end product of this book."--School Social Work Journal
Synopsis
This highly engaging, eminently practical book provides essential resources for implementing social and emotional learning (SEL) in any K-12 setting. Numerous vivid examples illustrate the nuts and bolts of this increasingly influential approach to supporting students' mental health, behavior, and academic performance. Helpful reproducibles are included. The authors offer clear-cut guidance on how to:
*Choose the right SEL program for a particular school.
*Teach SEL concepts to students, teachers, and administrators.
*Weave SEL into the classroom curriculum to boost academic success.
*Adapt interventions for culturally and linguistically diverse students and those with special needs.
*Monitor outcomes and maximize the quality of interventions.
This book is in The Guilford Practical Intervention in the Schools Series.
Synopsis
This book has been replaced by Social and Emotional Learning in the Classroom, Second Edition, ISBN 978-1-4625-4401-1.
Synopsis
This highly engaging, eminently practical book provides essential resources for implementing social and emotional learning (SEL) in any K-12 setting. Numerous vivid examples illustrate the nuts and bolts of this increasingly influential approach to supporting students' mental health, behavior, and academic performance. Helpful reproducibles are included. The authors offer clear-cut guidance on how to:
*Choose the right SEL program for a particular school.
*Teach SEL concepts to students, teachers, and administrators.
*Weave SEL into the classroom curriculum to boost academic success.
*Adapt interventions for culturally and linguistically diverse students and those with special needs.
*Monitor outcomes and maximize the quality of interventions.
This book is in The Guilford Practical Intervention in the Schools Series.
About the Author
Kenneth W. Merrell, PhD, until his death in 2011, was Professor of School Psychology and Director of the Oregon Resiliency Project at the University of Oregon. For 25 years, Dr. Merrell's influential teaching and research focused on social-emotional assessment and intervention for at-risk children and adolescents and social-emotional learning in schools. He published over 90 peer-reviewed journal articles; several books and nationally normed assessment instruments; and the Strong Kids programs, a comprehensive social and emotional learning curriculum. Dr. Merrell was a Fellow of the Division of School Psychology (Division 16) and the Society for Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology (Division 53) of the American Psychological Association. He received the Senior Scientist Award from Division 16, the Division's highest honor for excellence in science.
Barbara A. Gueldner, PhD, is a nationally certified school psychologist with over a decade of experience in the public school systems in Wisconsin and Oregon. She is a licensed psychologist in Colorado and has extensive experience working with children and families in pediatric primary care and intensive medical and psychiatric inpatient settings. Her research and clinical interests are in the areas of universal prevention and early intervention of children's mental health concerns, issues in pediatric psychology, integrated care, consultation, and training mental health professionals. She has coauthored several articles and book chapters in these areas, as well as a social and emotional learning curriculum for students.
Table of Contents
1. Social and Emotional Learning: What It Is, and What It Can Do for Your Students
2. Social and Emotional Learning Curricula: A Review of Selected Programs
3. The Essentials of Using Social and Emotional Learning in the Classroom
4. Using Social and Emotional Learning to Foster Academic Learning
5. One Size Does Not Fit All: Adapting Social and Emotional Learning for Use in Our Multicultural World, with Sara Castro-Olivo
6. When Social and Emotional Learning in the Classroom Is Not Enough: Linking Students to Mental Health Services
7. Assessment and Evaluation Strategies in Social and Emotional Learning
8. Using Social and Emotional Learning within School Systems: Organizational Dynamics and Strategic Planning