Social Emotional Learning: How Students Grow & Develop Through Service

x2VOL has received the CODiE Award for Best Social Emotional Learning Platform two years in a row. But what is Social Emotional Learning (SEL)?
Social Emotional Learning is the process by which individuals learn to understand and manage emotions in order to learn empathy, how to achieve goals, and how to relate to others among many other things.  

According to The Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL), social emotional learning in schools can lead to improved academic performance, improved emotional-well being, and improved classroom behavior. This kind of development and growth can be a huge factor in preparing students for future success in college and beyond. 

Educators have come to realize that social emotional development can be integrated into education through service and service learning programs. 

Over 80% of schools nationwide recognize or require community service or service learning because of the profound impact it has on them in school and beyond the classroom. 

More and more schools are requiring their students to participate in school as a graduation requirement or are encouraging their students to serve and rewarding them with graduation chords or certificates because of the profound impact it has on them in school and beyond.

Learn More: What is Social-Emotional Learning?

How is SEL Accomplished through Service?
While participating in community service may seem like a basic lesson in understanding the world around you, it goes much deeper than that. Participating in community service does widen a student's world view and give them context for how the world around them functions. However, true social emotional growth happens through reflection. When students have the opportunity to reflect on their service experience they are able to think about how it impacted them and how it impacted the world around them. 

By thinking deeper into the experience as a whole students understand the deeper impact and grow and develop skills such as:

• Decision making 
• Empathy 
• Leadership 
• Critical thinking 

When logging service hours in x2VOL, students are able to think about that experience in the reflection section. Admins can customize the reflection and prompt and require students to fill out the reflection before submitting the hours to be verified and approved. This ensures students are not only serving, but processing the impact of that experience. 

By establishing a process by which students can serve and reflect on that experience, students gain the opportunity to grow outside of the classroom and be prepared even more so for college and beyond. 

Looking for a digital way to track and manage student service and reflections? Check out our demo on how x2VOL can support your students in social emotional development.