Moving Forward: November at the SECD Lab

School Psychology Week

Rebecca Wu (MAP) used Instagram to celebrate the second week of November (Nov. 8 - Nov. 12) being designated as National School Psychology Week by the Governor of New Jersey, Phil Murphy. School psychologists are an integral part of society and should be celebrated as such. Click the photo above to see the complete post and ways to celebrate.

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SEL Day 2022

Cassidy West (RU ‘23) shared a New Jersey Education Association article written by the Lab’s Dr. Maurice Elias and Jenny Ly of SEL4NJ. SEL Day is celebrated every March, and SEL Day 2022 is not too far away to start making plans on how you plan on celebrating! Click on the post above for more information regarding SEL Day.

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SEL Skill of the Week

In the latest installment of the Lab’s “SEL Skill of the Week”, Charles Gravina (RU ‘22) created a video to discuss ways to promote SEL and Self-Love for students. View the video above!

Thanksgiving with the SECD Lab

Alexa Ruperti (RU ‘22) brought SEL to Thanksgiving with a Pinterest post featuring lessons that teachers can use to bring SEL skills to the classroom. Click on the photo above for the full post.

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SECD On Demand

Malika Verghese (RU ‘22) has been busy producing and promoting our series of podcasts on Spotify titled ‘SECD On Demand”. Speakers Dr. Samuel Nayman and Zaire Ali are our latest guests that joined us in discussing all things SEL. Click the pictures above to bring you to our Spotify page to access the podcasts!

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National Education Support Professionals Day

November 17 is designated as Support Professionals Day by the National Education Association. Cassidy West (RU ‘23) took to Twitter to share an Edutopia article about strategies to support the emotional well-being of staff. Click the image above to access the article.

October 2021 at the SECD Lab

The Latest and Greatest from the SECD Lab

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SEL and Anti-Bullying

Rebecca Wu, a first-year graduate student at the Rutgers Masters of Applied Psychology (MAP), of the SECD Lab created a visual on Instagram to discuss how social and emotional learning competencies can be related to anti-bullying efforts!

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Spooky SEL: SEL Skills for Halloween!

To celebrate Halloween with the SECD Lab, Charles Gravina (RU’22) created a Tik Tok with fun Halloween activities teachers can use in their classroom to build skills of SEL while celebrating the holiday. The activities highlighted the use of collaboration and cooperation to bridge SEL and halloween fun. Click the image above to be directed to the video!

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Hispanic Heritage Month and Implicit Bias

In celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month, the SECD Lab devoted time to discuss positive ways to embrace other cultures. One source of discussion came from Dr. Lorea Martinez - founder of Heart in Mind Consulting- who shares “A Different Way to Celebrate Spanish History Month” using her personal experiences as an immigrant facing challenges of navigating new social and cultural contexts. She encourages schools to intentionally build connections with Hispanic/LatinX groups and the perceptions that others hold around them by conducting interviews and writing short stories about these communities. “When we take the time to know more about Hispanics or any other racial and ethnic group in our community, we are increasing our racial awareness, modeling for children how to nurture bonds with others and planting the seeds to reduce discrimination" (Lorea Martinez).

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SECD Labs Latest Spotify Podcast

Laura Bond and Lauren Fullmer join co-hosts Mallika Verghese (Ru ‘22) and Rebecca Wu (MAP) in a Podcast to discuss the many projects they collaborate on as senior research associates and consulting field experts in the SECD Lab, especially regarding STAT teaching strategies for SEL.

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Introducing “SEL Skill of the Week” on Tik Tok

Charles Gravina (RU ‘22) of the SECD Lab initiated a series on Tik Tok titled “SEL Skill of the Week” in which the lab tackles a new topic of SEL every week and discusses the implications of that skill both in and out of the classroom! Highlighted here are the lessons on implicit bias and building a positive school climate. Promoting these behaviors in the classroom is sure to strengthen classroom relationships and promote academic learning. Click on either of the two images above to bring you to the SECD Lab’s Tik Tok to view the series!

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Tune into the Upcoming Harvard Conference featuring SECD Lab’s Dr. Elias!

“The presence of social-emotional and character development (SEL) in our schools is a matter of “how,” not “if.””

— SMARTS

Dr. Elias is set to present at the upcoming annual executive functioning conference where he will present a review of the connection between SEL and executive function, and their connection to resilience and equity.

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Down Syndrome Awareness Month

In recognition of Down Syndrome Awareness month, Alexa Ruperti (RU ‘22) informs our labs Pinterest audience on how to guide children with DS to strengthen their emotional intelligence skills.

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LGBTQ History Month

Rebecca Wu (MAP) used Instagram to write about a few ways educators can create an inclusive classroom for LGBT+ students:

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Keeping Everyone Up to Date with the Latest SEL Skills and Competencies are of our Utmost Importance at the SECD Lab.

Special Shoutout: Polina Poliakova

The SECD Lab is pleased to dedicate this post to highlight Polina Poliakova, our Multi-Project Research Coordinator, who is ending her time at the lab and moving on to a new chapter to pursue her master’s degree. Polina graduated from Rutgers University in 2020 with a degree in psychology, and has played a major role in her leadership position within the lab. She was in charge of multiple projects and ran many different aspects of the lab during her position as Multi-Project Research Coordinator. Her leadership and passion for SEL and the SECD Lab is always celebrated by SECD Lab members and her work will continue to support our purpose to guide social-emotional learning and character development in students. 

Polina’s passion for social emotional learning in youth has led her on this path in raising awareness on mental health issues and promoting effective communication and coping skills. Some of her research interests have been around creating positive psycho-social development in students with a bigger goal to improve educational experience for the younger generation.

Some words from Polina:

“I am extremely grateful to have had the opportunity to work with the SECD lab as an undergraduate and post-graduate. Not only have I been a part of many ongoing projects, papers and evaluations, but I also feel like I have been a part of a really amazing community of individuals, who have helped me grow in many ways beyond academics. I am so lucky to have been involved in such a caring, supportive and positive team and I am excited to see what the lab will continue to achieve!

I am especially thankful to the leadership team and Dr Elias who took me into the lab and have really supported and shaped me into becoming the researcher that I am today. As sad as it is to be leaving my position, I know that my work in SEL is not yet done and I will treasure not only the relationships that I have formed, but also the importance that SEL holds in everyday life and hope to spread that knowledge wherever I go.” 

Thank you, Polina! We look forward to hearing about your amazing accomplishments and next steps!