WELCOME
Welcome to "The Emotionally Intelligent School". Emotional intelligence isn't something that can develop within a school community without the commitment of those working there. This course will draw together the ideas that schools need as a whole to work in an emotionally intelligent way.
This course consists of four modules:
- Module 1: Introduction to emotional intelligence in the curriculum
- Module 2: Emotional intelligence and standards
- Module 3: Emotional intelligence and students
- Module 4: Towards an emotionally intelligent school
As you work through the modules, you will:
- explore what emotional intelligence encompasses
- develop a policy statement on emotional intelligence
- understand how emotional intelligence can impact on standards
- explore what staff can do as individuals to promote emotional intelligence
- understand what tools schools can use to nurture emotional intelligence in students
- understand the characteristics of an emotionally intelligent classroom
PREPARATION
This course extends some of the themes covered in one of our more classroom-based courses, Emotions and learning. If you’re planning to take both courses, we’d recommend that you take Emotions and learning first, as it gives an introduction to the subject of emotions generally.
However, taking Emotions and learning is not a prerequisite. The present course covers issues affecting the whole school, and will be helpful even if you are new to the subject of emotions and emotional intelligence.
COURSE STRUCTURE
This is an independent study program which means your individual starting date and due date are based on your date of registration. Your instructor will advise you of this due date.
This is an interactive online course. Although you will be able to complete some of it just by sitting in front of your screen working through the online material, we will regularly ask you to reflect on what you have learned, and put ideas into practice.
- Activities - exercises or reflections for you to carry out in front of your computer screen. Unlike a Task, there is no specific end product, and you'll always be able to complete them on your own.
- Tasks - similar to Activities, but requiring you to put your learning into practice in a specific situation in school.
- Forms - use to collect the information learned.
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Resources -
a) RESOURCE FORMS: Has PDF forms to help you answer questions in the Student Books
b) RESOURCE FURTHER READING: Includes clarifications about the module.
c) REFERENCE LINKS: Has links to websites referred to in the module.
d) DEFINITIONS: Has definitions of terms used in the module.
e) BIBLIOGRAPHY: The bibliography is located at the bottom of this page that includes books you may check out at your local library.
- Student Book- for you to record your reflections and send to your instructor.
At any time you may email your instructor with questions or problems you may be having with the material or the web site.
How do I get the Student Book to my instructor?
You will need to email it to your instructor. Download and save the document as described below and then you can enter your own text into the Student Book word document. Your instructor will expect a version of your Student Book as you complete each module. These can be saved by you in your files as well as being sent to your course instructor via email as an email attachment.
How do I save and name the Student Book?
You cannot type your answers on this web site. You must download your Student Book template which is a word document, by clicking on the download link below.
For your Student Book, please use a text document or a Microsoft Word document and type your text there. Title the document like this:
- NAME OF CLASS
- NAME OF TEACHER
- YOUR NAME
- DATE
- MODULE1
[NAMEOFCLASS_TEACHERSNAME_YOURNAME_MODULENUMBER.doc ]
like this
6208_DRCLARK_JOHNDOE_MODULE1.docSave the Student Book on your computer and complete the assignments on the document and then email it to your teacher.
STUDENTBOOKS
Click here to download all student books
RESOURCES
BIBLIOGRAPHY
REFERENCE LINKS
DEFINITIONS
Module 1: Introduction to emotional intelligence
MODULE 1A Intended learning outcomes for Module 1
MODULE 1B What emotional intelligence encompasses
MODULE 1C Activity 1: Thinking about intelligence
MODULE 1D The theory of emotional intelligence/literacy
MODULE 1E Activity 2: The theory of emotional intelligence
MODULE 1F Activity 3: Towards emotional intelligence
MODULE 1G Emotional intelligence and the curriculum
MODULE 1H The taught curriculum
MODULE 1I The emotional intelligence curriculum
MODULE 1J Activity 4: Development areas for emotional intelligence in schools
MODULE 1K Activity 5: Teaching with emotional intelligence in mind
MODULE 1L Task 1: Incorporating emotional intelligence in your lessons
MODULE 1M A case study
MODULE 1N Task 2: Incorporating emotional intelligence in your school
MODULE 1O Activity 6: Questions even very good schools can ask themselves (optional)
MODULE 1P A policy statement on emotional intelligence
MODULE 1Q Task 3: Developing a draft policy statement on emotional intelligence
MODULE 1R What have you learned? Evaluation of your learning from Module 1
MODULE 1S Congratulations
Module 2: Emotional intelligence and standards
MODULE 2A Intended learning outcomes for Module 2
MODULE 2B Emotional intelligence and school standards
MODULE 2C Activity 7: Emotional intelligence and school standards
MODULE 2D The potential of emotional intelligence
MODULE 2E Activity 8: The potential of emotional intelligence
MODULE 2F Activity 9: Extending the use of emotional intelligence (optional)
MODULE 2G Activity 10: Emotional intelligence and school standards
MODULE 2H The emotional intelligence of staff
MODULE 2I Task 4: Your own emotional intelligence (1)
MODULE 2J Activity 11: Your own emotional intelligence (2)
MODULE 2K Emotionally intelligent listening
MODULE 2L Activity 12: Emotionally intelligent listening (1)
MODULE 2M Activity 13: Emotionally intelligent listening (2)
MODULE 2N A word about self-esteem
MODULE 2O What have you learned? Evaluation of your learning from Module 2
MODULE 2P Congratulations
Module 3: Emotional intelligence and students
MODULE 3A Intended learning outcomes for Module 3
MODULE 3B Emotional intelligence and students
MODULE 3C Activity 14: Developing the emotional intelligence of students
MODULE 3D Bolting on or bolting in?
MODULE 3E How schools can promote emotional intelligence
MODULE 3F Activity 15: Emotional intelligence in your school
MODULE 3G What have you learned? Evaluation of your learning from Module 3
MODULE 3H Congratulations
Module 4: Towards an emotionally intelligent school
MODULE 4A Intended learning outcomes for Module 4
MODULE 4B A school’s emotional landscape
MODULE 4C Task 5: Your school’s emotional landscape
MODULE 4D Activity 16: Emotionally intelligent change
MODULE 4E Emotional blocks to learning
MODULE 4F Activity 17: Emotional blocks to learning
MODULE 4G Activity 18: Recognizing emotional intelligence – a summary
MODULE 4H What have you learned? Evaluation of your learning from Module 4
MODULE 4I Congratulations
Module 1: Introduction to emotional intelligence
By the end of this module you should:
- understand what emotional intelligence encompasses
- have explored opportunities for curriculum initiatives directly linked
- to emotional intelligence
- have developed a policy statement on emotional intelligence
Module 1b- What emotional intelligence encompasses
The concept of emotional intelligence is referred to with increasing frequency, yet for the purposes of teachers in schools, it can seem to be a vague notion, not easily translated into classroom practice.
To begin, we'll look at what you understand by the word "intelligence".
Module 1c- Activity 1: Thinking about intelligence
Consider the word "intelligence" and reflect on what you understand by it.
In your opinion, what is the correlation between intelligence and success in life (given your definition of success)? Does intelligence always lead to success in life? Is it possible to be highly intelligent and yet emotionally dysfunctional?.
Do you believe that there can be such a concept as "emotional intelligence"? What are your reasons for this belief?
Write your initial thoughts in your Student book (1).
Module 1d- The theory of emotional intelligence/literacy
In Promoting Emotional Literacy: Guidelines for Schools, Local Authorities and Health Services, the Southampton Emotional Literacy Interest Group (SELIG) defines emotional literacy as: "The ability to recognize, understand, handle, and appropriately express emotions."
They go on to explain that emotional literacy encompasses:
- learning and achievement
- health promotion
- personal, social and health education
- spiritual, moral, social and cultural development
- equal opportunities
- citizenship
- behavior and discipline
- social inclusion
- crime and disorder
- music, art, dance and drama
Module 1e- Activity 2: The theory of emotional intelligence
One of the most well-known authors writing in the field of emotional intelligence is Daniel Goleman. In his book, Working with Emotional Intelligence, he defines emotional intelligence. Read Resource 1 to see what he says. (Remember, you can print out Resources and read the paper copy if you prefer.)
When you’ve read the Resource, think about the extent to which you agree with Goleman. Do his views match your own opinions? Make notes in your Student book (2).
Module 1f- Activity 3: Towards emotional intelligence
The link below leads to an interview with Marc Brackett. Read the interview, then record any statements of interest in your Student book (3).
Click here: http://www.spinninglobe.net/spinninglobe_html/emotlited.htm
Module 1g- Emotional intelligence and the curriculum
Most schools successfully run two curricula. There is the taught curriculum, with its statutory requirements, but there is also an often unwritten curriculum relating to a school’s whole ethos and climate, its atmosphere and agenda.
Emotional intelligence can have a central place in both the taught curriculum and the so-called unwritten curriculum. In fact, an "emotional intelligence" curriculum can overlay all the activities of a school.
Module 1h- The taught curriculum
The SELIG Guide (the UK publication whose definition of emotional literacy we looked at earlier) states that:
"The taught curriculum links closely to PSHE (Personal - Social - Health - Education), citizenship, provision for spiritual, moral, social and cultural education, and to the social inclusion agenda. Emotional literacy is best promoted through all teaching and learning. At first it may seem counter-intuitive but math and science should be as important in the promotion of emotional literacy as the more obvious "home" of emotional literacy in English and drama.
There should be an incremental approach to the taught curriculum, which is age, stage and ability specific. So, this will generally begin with the teaching and exploration of a feelings vocabulary, then move on to developing understanding of feelings, and then later to the management and appropriate expression of feelings. This may be mediated through work and play, but should lead to a stronger sense of identity for children, for their feeling of belonging, and ultimately to the development of meaningful and enduring relationships."
Module 1i- The emotional intelligence curriculum
SELIG Guide goes on to say that in the context of schools, the emotional literacy curriculum:
"…needs to be fostered directly through using a range of knowledge, skills, experience, and feeling. This will encompass the following development areas:
- Conscious awareness, particularly in extending the vocabulary of feelings
- Understanding thoughts, feelings, and actions as they relate to learning and achievement, decision-making and relationships
- Managing feelings so that we can be more effective in meeting our needs without violating the interests of others
- Promoting self-esteem so that people feel good about themselves and about each other
- Managing conflict to achieve win-win outcomes through effective anger management and better interpersonal skills
- Understanding groups to contribute more effectively in group settings
- Communication skills to promote appropriate expression of feelings and thoughts
The emotional literacy curriculum while existing in itself, must be treated as a curriculum in action. So there is a place for a taught emotional literacy curriculum with schemes of work, lesson plans and using a range of teaching methods, just as there is a need to "live" the emotional literacy curriculum."
Module 1j- Activity 4: Development areas for emotional intelligence in schools
From the list on the previous page of areas that schools can usefully focus on when promoting emotional intelligence amongst staff and pupils, how many are you able to influence through your own day-to-day work?
Go to your Student book (4), where you'll find the areas listed. Think of at least one example of the practical contribution you could make to each development area.
Module 1k- Activity 5: Teaching with emotional intelligence in mind
Resource 2 is an extract from an article (which appeared in Primary File), which explores how schools and teachers can ‘teach’ emotional intelligence. Read the extract, and then think about how far you are encouraging these qualities in your current work with your classes. Do you think it is important to do so? Can you see any advantages in doing so?
Note your conclusions in your Student book (5),
Module 1l-Task 1: Incorporating emotional intelligence in your lessons
Using your reading, reflections and thoughts on emotional intelligence, and ideas obtained from websites, plan and deliver a series of lessons where you encourage and try to develop emotional intelligence in your students. The plans should obviously stay within the framework of your schemes of work and syllabus/subject specification requirements.
As usual, evaluate your lessons as you teach them and adjust your planning in the light of this experience.
You can continue with the rest of the course while you are completing this Task.
The SELIG Guide includes the following case study of Mason Moor Primary School:
"All staff and stakeholders in the school participate in training and development concerning emotional literacy. The school now has an extensive program of activities which includes benchmarking the students’ emotional literacy skills using a checklist, establishing a baseline for current levels of behavior and misbehavior, then implementing a scheme of work for every child and member of staff to be involved in, and as part of the revised school development plan.
The Mason Moor Primary School scheme of work includes a two-year cycle that incorporates a rigorous evaluation and monitoring system.
- Adopt key feeling(s) each half-term (i.e., 12 feelings per year)
- Contrast any negative feeling with a positive
- First session to benchmark existing "feelings" vocabulary
- Further sessions using drama, role play etc.
- Explore body language
- Use "circletime"
- Assembly themes
- Fiction/library links
- Central theme displays
- Music/color imagery
- All adults to model, extend, rehearse new "feelings" vocabulary
- Evaluations at the end of each year
At Mason Moor there is now a clear link to raising achievement for all students along with promoting emotional literacy."
Module 1n- Task 2: Incorporating emotional intelligence in your school
Regardless of the age of students you teach or are responsible for, there is always benefit to be had from developing their "feelings" vocabulary. Resource 3 contains a list of "feelings" vocabulary for just this purpose.
Use this list as inspiration to select up to four emotions each half-term on which to focus with your students, either specifically, or through your curriculum area.
Some of the words listed are not appropriate for younger children, so it’s best to use the Resource as inspiration for your teaching, rather than giving the whole list to your class
Module 1o- Activity 6: Questions even very good schools can ask themselves (optional)
Perhaps you think your school is already quite an emotionally intelligent place. Kevin McCarthy of Re:membering Education devised the following list of questions that he believes even very good schools can ask themselves. Your school may be achieving each point very well, but it is still worth focusing on these questions every now and then.
How would your school answer them? How would you answer them with your school in mind? Record your thoughts in your Student book (6) in as much detail as possible. If you think your school doesn't address the issue, make suggestions about how they could improve in that area.
- How active is the listening in the school? What conscious systems are in place?
- Who feels heard? Who feels unheard? How do we know?
- What opportunity is there for discussion and debate so that all can safely speak and be heard on topics that matter?
- Do students invite into school local community representatives or local businesses or religious representatives? Do we do enough of this?
- Is emotional intelligence given a high priority in planning?
- What are the predominant teaching and learning styles? How are they monitored and developed?
- Are kinaesthetic learners encouraged through tasks at which they can succeed?
- Do children get a chance to go out and visit community projects and get actively involved in practical service learning?
- How far are students given responsibility in the running of the school?
- What is actively done to empower the children to form good relationships?
- Are students engaged as peer mediators, bully busters, playground friends, on reception, in maintaining and caring for the environment?
- How real is the work of the school council? How many students are actively engaged in its work? Are its recommendations taken seriously?
- How much creative use is made of the environment of the school and its surroundings?
What chances are there to voice the deepest feelings of awe, wonder and mystery
Module 1p- A policy statement on emotional intelligence
Actively promoting emotional intelligence in your school will be potentially problematic without anchoring in policy what it is you are trying to achieve.
Module 1q- Task 3: Developing a draft policy statement on emotional intelligence
Even though this is initially for your own personal use, a draft policy statement on emotional intelligence is an important step in committing to embrace this aspect of learning. While working on this task, you might want to continue with the course in the meantime.
Resource 4 explores some of the issues around developing a policy on emotional intelligence. Read this Resource and pull out the most important themes for you. Note these in your Student book (7).
Then use these notes (referring back to Resource 4 if necessary), to draw up your own draft policy on emotional intelligence. Your Student book (8) offers a framework for completing this task. Do not be bound by this, though, and feel free to create your own framework if you prefer. Relate the policy specifically to your own teaching and your own classes initially, with a view to expanding it to include your whole school if appropriate.
What do you aim to achieve with emotional intelligence? What is the scope of your policy? Be sure to work in your success criteria. How will you know that you have been successful?
Keep your draft policy simple. For example, select two goals and two success criteria. You can always expand these at a later stage. You are aiming to formalize what you have learned so far on emotions in the classroom into a document that will assist you in implementing this knowledge.
Module 1r- What have you learned? Evaluation of your learning from Module 1
Now that you've worked through the Activities and Tasks in this module, please look again at the intended learning outcomes for Module 1.
By the end of this module you should:
- understand what emotional intelligence encompasses
- have explored opportunities for curriculum initiatives directly linked to emotional intelligence
- have developed a policy statement on emotional intelligence.
In your Student book (9) make a note of the extent to which you have achieved the intended learning outcomes for Module 1. Then, e-mail your comments to your instructor.
Module 2: Emotional intelligence and standardsModule 2a - Intended learning outcomes for Module 2
By the end of this module you should:
- understand how emotional intelligence can impact on standards
- have explored how the emotional intelligence of staff can help to
- create an emotionally intelligent school
have explored the impact of self-esteem
Module 2b- Emotional intelligence and school standards
There is little evidence available at the moment to show, beyond doubt, that the active pursuit of emotional intelligence in our schools is having a direct and recordable effect on the standards that our students are achieving. But to leave it there would be to deny the beliefs of the many teachers and other educationalists working to raise the profile of emotional intelligence in schools.
Module 2c- Activity 7: Emotional intelligence and school standards
Consider your school's past or current students who have had issues; think of two of these as short education case studies.
What role, in your opinion, did emotional intelligence play in the case studies in ensuring success rather than ultimate failure for the pupils concerned?
What approaches strike you as being particularly effective? Is there anything you would want to try with your own classes? Is there anything you disagree with?
Make a note of the techniques used in these case studies and record your thoughts in your Student book (10) in as much detail as possible.
Module 2d- The potential of emotional intelligence
The Antidote is an English educational group which states:
"By attending to the development of our emotional and social skills, we ensure an improvement in the nation's emotional wealth and social capital. The possible consequences of doing this are:
- Decreased costs for the justice system, the care system, the social security system, the health service
- Young people able to find a satisfactory balance between the pursuit of academic performance and personal relationships
- More interest in participating in the structures of civil society
- An increase in confidence, contentment, security
- Less addiction to drugs, alcohol or self-harm
- Increased contribution to the social sphere
- A decrease in anxiety, insecurity and guilt
- Less bullying, truancy and vandalism
- More spontaneity in relationships
- Fewer exclusions from schools
- Increased commitment to work
- More capacity for connection
- More satisfying relationships
- More secure relationships
- More community activity
- An increase in initiative
- Less acquisitiveness
- More collaboration
- More volunteering
- More cooperation
- Less discontent
- Less alienation
- Less conflict"
Module 2e- Activity 8: The potential of emotional intelligence
What do you think about Antidote's claims for the potential of emotional intelligence? From what you know about it so far, would you agree with the extent of this potential? Are there any features listed that you would personally exclude if you were considering the potential of emotional intelligence? Is there anything you would add?
Record your thoughts in your Student book (11) in as much detail as possible.
Module 2f- Activity 9: Extending the use of emotional intelligence (optional)
There are many steps you could take from this point to develop further the use of emotional intelligence in your teaching and in the wider context of your whole-school community. Here are some suggestions:
- Discuss your emotional intelligence policy document with your head with a view to creating a whole-school policy (see also our course on Developing Policies).
- Establish an emotional intelligence interest group in your school.
- Create a database of assembly themes based around emotional intelligence.
- Develop a database of games (regardless of the age range you teach – children of all ages can play games!) that focus on emotional intelligence.
- Do a presentation on what you have learned to other staff members on an in-service training day.
- Suggest, or organize, an emotional intelligence awareness raising day.
- Use the Internet or book resources to create an library of emotional literacy. Gather together any such titles that your school already has in a display.
- Design posters and desk labels for your classroom reminding students to think about feelings before taking action.
Record in your Student book (12) any ideas that you want to use for raising the profile of emotional intelligence in your school.
Module 2g- Activity 10: Emotional intelligence and school standards
Read Resource 5, which contains two opinions on the importance of taking an holistic approach to educating children.
Do these opinions differ from your own perceptions? Summarize your thoughts in Student book (13).
Module 2h- The emotional intelligence of staff
As the educational psychologist Peter Sharp explains in his book, Nurturing Emotional Literacy, it's not possible to look at the development of emotional literacy in others without first looking to the role and influence that your own emotions have on your relations with others and on your work in the classroom.
On page 13 of the above mentioned book, he states:
"Nurturing emotional literacy begins with you. When we have considered and worked on our own emotional literacy then we will be better able to nurture the emotional literacy of others."
Module 2i- Task 4: Your own emotional intelligence (1)
Peter Sharp’s book also explores the importance of paying attention to your own abilities to understand and appreciate the role that emotions play in your work and in life generally. He explains that Abraham Maslow’s hierarchy of human needs can be directly compared with the development of emotional intelligence. In this comparison, physiological needs equate to a base level of emotional intelligence, centered on the fight or flight response, while self-actualization equates to extremely high emotional intelligence which is recognized by others.
In chapter two of Sharp’s book, he offers methods for focusing on life and "taking stock" as a way of checking out your own emotional intelligence. If you have access to the book, read this chapter and do the exercises suggested. As well as the written records that Sharp asks you to keep, make a note in your Student book (14) of this process.
If you don’t have access to the book, don’t worry. Just continue with the rest of the course.
Module 2j- Activity 11: Your own emotional intelligence (2)
Read Resource 6 which contains extracts from three different texts on the subject of emotional intelligence. Each extract deals with the importance of knowing yourself first before attempting to attend to the emotional intelligence, or needs of others within your organization.
What are your first impressions on reading these extracts?
Is there anything within the extracts that you strongly agree or disagree with?
What key ideas/thoughts can you take from the extracts?
Write your reflections in your Student book (15) in as much detail as possible.
Module 2k- Emotionally intelligent listening
Being able to listen effectively has to be at the heart of successful communication. And successful communication is central to the emotionally intelligent organization.
In his book, Working with Emotional Intelligence, Daniel Goleman ventures that people who cannot or choose not to listen can come over as "indifferent" or "uncaring". Within an institution such as a school there need to be clear signals to each member of the community that listening and being listened to are given the highest priority.
Module 2l- Activity 12: Emotionally intelligent listening (1)
Schools can show that they give listening a high priority in a number of ways, including:
- operating "open door" policies for staff members and students
- developing rules and routines within classrooms on how teachers and students listen and are listened to
- implementing change, however small, as a result of opinions expressed
In what ways does your school show that it prioritizes listening?
Can you add anything to the list above?
Record your thoughts in your Student book (16).
Module 2m- Activity 13: Emotionally intelligent listening (2)
Read Resource 7: Listening, which explains how listening is an often-neglected art. When you have read this Resource, think about the following questions:
- What could your school do better to nurture listening skills?
- What could you do personally to improve your listening skills?
Record your thoughts in your Student book (17).
Module 2n- A word about self-esteem
It can be easier to understand what self-esteem is not than to reduce the concept to a bite-sized phrase. Self-esteem is not arrogance. Even very high self-esteem differs from arrogance. True self-esteem is not conditional upon certain events, possessions, relationships and outcomes.
Read Resource 8: Self-esteem, and then write your reflections in Student book (18).
Module 2o-What have you learned? Evaluation of your learning from Module 2
Look again at the intended learning outcomes for Module 2.
By the end of this module you should:
- understand how emotional intelligence can impact on standards
- have explored how the emotional intelligence of staff can help to create an emotionally intelligent school
- have explored the impact of self-esteem
In your Student book (19) make a note of the extent to which you have achieved the learning intentions for Module 2. Then, e-mail your comments to your instructor.
Module 3: Emotional intelligence and students
Module 3a- Intended learning outcomes for Module 3
By the end of this module you should:
- have explored some of the tools that schools can use to nurture emotional intelligence in students
- understand that the pursuit of emotional intelligence in schools is a "bolt-in" and not a "bolt-on"
Module 3b- Emotional intelligence and students
"In schools, if we think about it, there are many unstated rules about what we can speak about in classrooms and what would be "inappropriate" to discuss. Foucault (1980) has discussed how certain "discursive practices" define what can be said and how it can be said in particular social institutions and settings. For instance, in classrooms, we avoid potentially emotional or explosive subjects. Silences in the curriculum often include racism, poverty, sexuality, and human emotions."
(From Empowering Ourselves and Transforming Schools p107.)
Knowing that there are "silences" in the curriculum is one thing. Facing them as an individual and as an organization is another!
BACK TO INDEX
Module 3c- Activity 14: Developing the emotional intelligence of students
Print out and read Resource 9, which examines some of the approaches taken by one particular organization when working with young people to improve their emotional intelligence. Some of these approaches were clearly successful and some were not so.
With the students that you teach or are responsible for firmly in mind, what lessons can you learn from the experiences described?
Is there anything from Resource 9 that you would seek to try in your own working environment?
Record your responses in as much detail as possible in your Student book (20).
BACK TO INDEX
Module 3d - Bolting on or bolting in?
Those who have experience of introducing emotional intelligence in schools and other organizations usually say that the concept cannot simply be added on to the work of a school in an isolated fashion. For the greatest chance of success, it should be "bolted in" to the work of the school, at every level and through every dimension of the school’s curriculum.
Academic achievement and learning cannot be seen as something distinct from emotional and social development. In a world in which pupils must be adept at concepts of complex communication, life-long learning and increasing levels of job changing, emotional intelligence cannot be simply an additional subject on the curriculum to be squeezed between personal, social and health education and citizenship.
Module 3e - How schools can promote emotional intelligence
As you will have gleaned from the course so far, schools can promote and nurture emotional intelligence in a number of ways and through many routes. Consider these ideas, by way of a summary:
- Pay close attention to how teachers and other adults working in schools can develop their own emotional intelligence so that they might be in a position to nurture potential in their students
- Offer pupils the opportunity to learn through and with each other
- Give students the chance to develop skills of reflection in connection with both their inner lives and their outer lives at school
- Strike a balance between collaboration and competition – too far in either direction will lead to an imbalance
- Offer children many opportunities for their voices to be heard in connection with as many dimensions of school life as possible, thus facilitating a sense of commitment to and belief in their schools
- Prioritize the giving of positive strokes
- Develop strong links with the local community that can be used to strengthen emotional intelligence in pupils and staff. Involve parents and the wider community in general as home is an important source of emotional training for students
- Give staff the chance to meet their own emotional needs in connection with their working environment, for example, by establishing opportunities discuss experiences with colleagues.
Module 3f - Activity 15: Emotional intelligence in your school
Having read the list of ways in which a school can promote emotional intelligence, think of examples that haven’t been included. These might come from what your school already does or perhaps what you think your school could usefully achieve in the near future.
Write your additional examples in your Student book (21) in as much detail as possible.
Module 3g - What have you learned? Evaluation of your learning from Module 3
Look again at the intended learning outcomes for Module 3.
By the end of the module you should:
- have explored some of the tools that schools can use to nurture emotional intelligence in students
- understand that the pursuit of emotional intelligence in schools must be a "bolt-in" and not a "bolt-on"
In your Student book (22) make a note of the extent to which you have achieved the intended learning outcomes for Module 3. Then, e-mail your comments to your instructor.
Module 4: Towards an emotionally intelligent school
MODULE 4A Intended learning outcomes for Module 4
By the end of this module you should:
- understand the characteristics of an emotionally intelligent organization
- understand how individuals need to interact within an emotionally intelligent organization
MODULE 4B A school’s emotional landscape
Just as individuals experience a range of emotions throughout the day, so an organization such as a school will experience a collective "mood". This can be almost palpable, both when life in the school is running smoothly and energy is high, and when things seem to be limping from one "disaster" or "explosion" to another. Bad atmospheres can be quick to develop and can linger long.
In order to capitalize on the "up" times when emotions seem balanced and the work of the school unimpeded, it’s essential first to have an appreciation of what factors affect the emotional landscape of your school.
MODULE 4C Task 5: Your school’s emotional landscape
This task is best done over the course of a term so do carry on with the rest of the course in the meantime. You might also like to continue this task over the course of a whole academic year or equivalent so don’t feel bound by the instructions given here.
On a week-by-week basis think about the overall atmosphere within your school. How has the week progressed? Were there any major incidents that had an impact on the way in which teachers taught and pupils learned? Were there any other events such as school trips or visitors, concerts/plays or other changes to the usual curriculum that had an impact on the emotional landscape? What factors contribute most to times when the school feels emotionally balanced? How can these be harnessed with more consistency in the future?
You might like to use or adapt Resource 10 to note your thoughts. We suggest you print out one table for each week.
Also consider how events in your own life might have impacted on your personal emotional landscape. Did your personal life have an impact on the way in which you responded to others during the week? Did this impact on the way in which you perceived the emotional landscape around you at school?
If you record your findings briefly on Resource 10, over a period of time you will see that each term has distinct rhythms which can be upset or altered by one-off events such as serious incidents of pupil misbehavior or an accreditation visit, or report writing time. It will be easy to plot the emotional landscape and you will also be able to see how you personally are affected as well as how events in your life affect your view of life at school.
MODULE 4D Activity 16: Emotionally intelligent change
Print out and read Resource 11, which discusses ways in which schools and other organizations might approach change in an emotionally intelligent way. What can you take from it for use in your own working environment?
Record your thoughts in your Student book (23) in as much detail as possible.
MODULE 4E Emotional blocks to learning
The emotionally intelligent school will place high value on removing specific blocks to learning. Such blocks might include laboring under an over-riding personal anxiety, being fearful of failure, holding anger about events of the day, and so on. These blocks are not necessarily within the control of a school, so its essential role is to equip students, teachers and other staff members to deal appropriately with such emotions so that they enable rather than paralyze.
So, for example, fear of failure can be marginalized by creating an atmosphere in which failure is valued as an opportunity to learn. Or, the problem of holding anger from the day’s events can be challenged by encouraging staff and students to deal with the cause of their anger to the best of their ability as and when it occurs.
MODULE 4F Activity 17: Emotional blocks to learning
What emotional blocks to learning and teaching do you observe in your students and colleagues?
How might these be tackled in an emotionally intelligent way within the context of the environment in which you work?
How valuable do you consider caring relationships to be within the school environment generally and within your working environment specifically?
Record your thoughts in your Student book (24) in as much detail as possible.
MODULE 4G Activity 18: Recognizing emotional intelligence – a summary
Read Resource 12.
The checklist provided by Peter Sharp offers one way of assessing how far you and your school have come in nurturing emotional intelligence. To what extent do you and your school meet his idea of an emotionally intelligent school?
Consider each point in turn and record your thoughts in your Student book (25).
MODULE 4H What have you learned? Evaluation of your learning from Module 4
When you have worked through the Activities and Task in this module, please look again at the intended learning outcomes for Module 4.
By the end of the module you should:
- understand the characteristics of an emotionally intelligent organization
- understand how individuals need to interact within an emotionally intelligent organization
In your Student book (26) make a note of the extent to which you have achieved the intended learning outcomes for Module 4. Then, e-mail your comments to your instructor.
BACK TO INDEX
MODULE 4I Congratulations
RESOURCES
Resource 1: CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD
Resource 2: Teaching with emotional intelligence in mind
(From Primary File 36)
"Many schools and teachers have already begun to teach emotional intelligence, often under the banner of behavior management programs. The introduction of "circletime" is just one example of a mechanism through which children can be helped to become more emotionally intelligent.
It would be doing a disservice to children, however, if the idea of emotional intelligence became too closely linked with behavior. We need to see emotional intelligence linked explicitly to effective learning.
Developing self-esteem helps children to become emotionally more intelligent but we can do much more. Daniel Goleman identifies seven attributes of the emotionally intelligent child.
They are:
confidence – which means we need to help children succeed
curiosity – which means we need to stimulate children rather than process them to value their curiosity about areas not directly linked to school work
intentionality – which means we must encourage children to have goals (two days before writing this I spent time with a seven-year-old girl who wanted to be an airline pilot – her family, in a good-humored way, accepted this with a seriousness rather than a put-down); developing intentionality also supports the idea of target-setting with children
Self-control – which means helping children find strategies to think using the neo-cortex to avoid emotional flooding
Relatedness – which means helping children understand what happens to them
Communication – which means teaching children strategies to talk about their ideas and feelings as well as about information and facts
Cooperation – which means helping children understand the balance between themselves and others, the idea as well as independence."
Resource 3: CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD
Resource 4: CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD
Resource 5: Emotional intelligence and school standards
The Five Winds website states that:
"To be a whole, healthy, and excellent human being means developing technical skills along with human skills. There is no meaningful academic development isolated from social emotional development – and emotional intelligence is only useful in a context of cognitive skills. Human achievement grows from the confluence of heart and mind."
Estelle Morris, the former Secretary of State for Education in the UK, said in Target magazine:
"We do children and young people no good if their education disenfranchises them because they can't read, write or handle figures well enough. But I think we also need a fourth R – relationships … another kind of literacy, if you like – emotional literacy."
Resource 6: CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD
Resource 7: CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD
Resource 8: CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD
Resource 9: CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD
Resource 10: CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD
Resource 11: CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD
Resource 12: Recognizing emotional intelligence - a summary
In his book, Nurturing Emotional Literacy (see Bibliography), page 57, Peter Sharp explains what we can expect to see in our schools if teachers are successful at nurturing emotional intelligence. He says:
"Teachers have a key role to play in nurturing emotional literacy; their own and that of the children and young people who are the basis of all our futures. The alternative is a perpetuation of cycles of despair, and feelings of failure, impotence, and frustration that we cannot overcome the difficulties facing educators across the world.
If teachers are successful at nurturing emotional literacy then we will see:
- children who recognize and understand their feelings and so become more adept at handling and expressing them appropriately
- children and teachers who will be less unduly stressed, and able to manage competing demands more effectively
- children who will become better listeners, and more likely to see the other person’s point of view
- children who will improve their concentration and attention span and reduce their impulsivity
- children who will have greater prowess at forming and maintaining relationships, and who will learn problem-solving skills that lead to enhanced interpersonal skills as adults
- children who learn to manage conflicts and are therefore less likely to be involved in crime and particularly those crimes involving violence
- children who will learn skills that enhance their future parenting skills
This will only be possible if we adapt the environment to the child and stop pretending that all children can fit the environment, especially when that environment is a narrowly constrained "one size fits all" curriculum. The successful school of the future is one where flexibility, high expectations, sophisticated pluralism, and tolerance are all in evidence in abundance."
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Author: Argyris, C
Title: Flawed Advice and the Management Trap (1999)
Publisher: Oxford University Press Inc
ISBN: 0195132866
Author: Caldwell, B and Spinks, J
Title: Beyond the Self-managing School (1998)
Publisher: RoutledgeFalmer
ISBN: 0750704489
Author: Farrell, M and Richards, C
Title: Key Issues for Primary Schools (1999)
Publisher: RoutledgeFalmer
ISBN: 041518262X
Author: Patti, J and Tobin, J
Title: Smart School Leaders: Leading with Emotional Intelligence Ed 2 (2006)
Publisher: Kendall Hunt
ISBN: 0757531342
Author: Salovey, P and Sluyter, D
Title: Emotional Development and Emotional Intelligence: Educational Implications (1997)
Publisher: Basic Books
ISBN: 0465095879
REFERENCES
Name: Advisory Centre for Education
Description:This UK organization presses for a fairer and more responsive education system.
URL: http://www.ace-ed.org.uk
Name: Mind Tools
Description: This site addresses a number of topics including emotional literacy.
URL: https://www.mindtools.com/
DEFINITIONS
Emotional intelligence
The ability to recognize, understand, handle and appropriately express emotions. This is also referred to as "emotional literacy" but for the purpose of this course, the term emotional intelligence will be used unless emotional literacy is used in a direct quote.
Kinaesthetic Learners
Those who learn most readily through physical movement.
Maslow’s hierarchy of human needs
A hierarchy in which progression from one level can only be achieved when one's needs at a lower level have been met. The hierarchy is as follows:
- psychological needs
- safety needs
- social
- affiliation and belongingness needs
- self-esteem needs
- self-actualization needs
Fight or Flight response
The instinctive psychological response to a threatening situation that allows one either to resist through force or run away.
Self-Actualization
The realization and fulfillment of one's talents and potentialities.
Neo-Cortex
A part of the brain concerned with sight and hearing.
Circletime
A time within the school curriculum into which each person comes with total acceptance. Time to talk, but not to problem solve