Many facilitators of Project-Based Learning workshops begin by having participants envision the characteristics of their ideal graduate from their school or grade level (sometimes called their portrait of a graduate).

Educators individually answer the prompt, “What do you want your students to know and be able to do after their year with you?” Then the responses are collected and documented as a whole group.

I myself have done this protocol with thousands of educators across the country from pre-K to college. The results are always the same. Almost the entire list is outside of the curriculum at first glance. Once in a while, something like reading fluently makes the list, but content is mostly missing. Instead, what teachers suggest are skills.

Continue reading the rest of my post over at TeachThought.com to learn how I teach SEL skills to develop Ideal Graduates….

Learn with me!

Would you like to explore more deeply how to integrate SEL into daily classroom activities? Check out my book below for tons of practical ways that can be immediately implemented in any classroom.

The ideal way to improve SEL skills for students is to start with the adults. Districts should provide PD where teachers explore their own SEL strengths and weaknesses, modeling strategies that can be used in the core classroom.

Are you interested in professional development for your school on how to integrate SEL? Of course, I highly recommend PBL as the ideal framework to use. I would love to have a conversation on how I can help. I am now scheduling workshops and book studies for spring and summer. Check out my workshop page or drop me an email at mikejkaechele@gmail.com. I would love to chat and co-plan meaningful PD for the educators at your school.

Pulse of PBL