Formative Assessment of Social and Emotional Skills
By Tom Vander Ark and Mary Ryerse One of the unique things about social and emotional learning (SEL) is that skills are acquired through discrete instruction and integrated application. They are discrete in that they can be specifically described, practiced, developed and assessed. At the same time, those skills are best integrated and applied into everything we do and ought to be part of an ongoing development process. Formative feedback specific to SEL skills is critical for development of these competencies in both direct instruction and integrated application. Interestingly, SEL skills are (likewise) critical for formative assessment processes across all content areas. When students are involved in giving and receiving feedback (integral to formative assessment) — whether specific to […]