LEARNING OUTCOMES
- Name and explain the five components of emotion.
- Explain the influence of emotions on behaviours and relationships.
- Explain ‘emotional intelligence’ with the RULER approach.
- Demonstrate practical strategies to build children’s emotional intelligence skills.
Module introductiON
Children develop basic emotional intelligence skills in early childhood. By age five, they can already read others’ facial expressions, describe their feelings, and control their emotions to a degree [1]. These skills continue to develop throughout the course of middle childhood and adolescence to help them navigate and manage increasingly complex life experiences [2].
In other words, children are still learning to build on early emotional skills when they reach school age and their teenage years. With this in mind, it is important to note that the skills, attitudes, and beliefs that children acquire about emotions are largely influenced by features in their home and social environments. This includes schools [3, 4].
The presence of relationships with parents and teachers who make children feel safe, understood, and valued majorly and positively supports their emotional skills development [5, 6]]. Where these relationships are weak or absent, experiencing significant adversity or setbacks can instead lead to ongoing behavioural issues, poorer social integration, and academic difficulties [7]. In part, these are signs of weaker emotional understanding and self-regulation skills.
Educators are therefore positioned to actively support children in building on their early emotional skills and in turn their emotional wellness. Cultivating secure teacher-student relationships is only one important part of the equation. More than that, helping teachers improve their emotional knowledge and equipping them with concrete skills can lead them to have a greater positive impact on students’ emotional skills development. Particularly, through the way they engage with their students, as evidenced by emerging research [8 - 11].
In this module, we will therefore be focusing on the five components of emotion and emotional intelligence to expand teachers’ understanding of key emotions concepts and how they work. We will conclude with practical strategies that will enable teachers to apply their learnings and a group activity to practise demonstration.
References
1. Lewis M. The rise of consciousness and the development of emotional life. New York: The Guilford Press; 2014. 352 p.
2. National Scientific Council on the Developing Child. Children’s emotional development is built into the architecture of their brains. Massachusetts (MA): Harvard University, Center on the Developing Child; 2004. 10 p. Working Paper No.: 2. Available from: https://developingchild.harvard.edu/
3. Herd T, King-Casas B, Kim-Spoon J. Developmental changes in emotion regulation during adolescence: Associations with socioeconomic risk and family emotional context. J Youth Adolesc [Internet]. 2020 Jan [cited 2023 Feb 6];49(7):1545-57. Available from:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7302991/
DOI: 10.1007/s10964-020-01193-2
4. Mcdonald S, Kehler HL, Tough, SC. Risk factors for delayed social-emotional development and behaviour problems at age two: Results from the all our babies/families (AOB/F) cohort. Health Sci Rep [Internet]. 2018 Jul [cited 2023 Feb 5 MM DD];1(10):1-12. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6266514/
DOI: 10.1002/hsr2.82
5. Walker SA, Double KS, Kunst H, Zhang M, MacCann C. Emotional intelligence and attachment in adulthood: A meta-analysis. Pers Individ Dif [Internet]. 2022 Jan [cited 2023 Feb 6];184:1-13. Available from:
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0191886921005535
DOI: 10.1016/j.paid.2021.111174
6. Pastore G, Luder R. Teacher-student-relationship quality in inclusive secondary schools: Theory and measurement of emotional aspects of teaching. Front Educ [Internet]. 2021 Apr [cited 2023 Feb 7];6:1-7. Available from: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/feduc.2021.643617/full
DOI: 10.3389/feduc.2021.643617
7. Bailey J, Weiner R. Interpreting social-emotional learning: How school leaders make sense of SEL skills for themselves and others. Sch Leadersh Rev [Internet]. 2022 May [cited 2023 Feb 6];16(2):1-33. Available from: https://scholarworks.sfasu.edu/slr/vol16/iss2/4
8. Hen M, Sharabi-Nov A. Teaching the teachers: Emotional intelligence training for teachers. Teach Educ [Internet]. 2014 May [cited 2023 Feb 6];25(4):374-90. Available from:
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/10476210.2014.908838?journalCode=cted20 DOI: 10.1080/10476210.2014.908838
9. Gilar-Corbi R, Pozo-Rico T, Pertegal-Felices ML, Sanchez B. Emotional intelligence training intervention among trainee teachers: A quasi-experimental study. Psicol Reflex Crit [Internet]. 2018 Dec [cited 2023 Feb 6];31 (33):1-13. Available from:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6967020/
DOI: 10.1186/s41155-018-0112-1
10. Tuyakova U, Baizhumanova B. Mustapaeva T, Alekeshova, L, Otarbaeva Z. Developing emotional intelligence in student teachers in universities. Humanit Soc Sci Commun [Internet]. 2022 May [cited 2023 Feb 5];9:1-6. Available from: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41599-022-01173-w DOI: 10.1057/s41599-022-01173-w
11. Pozo-Rico T, Poveda R, Gutiérrez-Fresneda R, Castejón JL, Gilar-Corbi R. Revamping teacher training for challenging times: Teachers’ wellbeing, resilience, emotional intelligence, and innovative methodologies as key teaching competencies. Psychol Res Behav Manag [Internet]. 2023 Jan [2023 Feb 7];16:1-18. Available from: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36636290/ DOI: 10.2147/PRBM.S382572
KEY CONCEPTs
7.1 Emotions in Everyday Life
This first video will introduce basic ideas related to how our emotions work and influence our life experiences. Our main focus will be on the five components of emotion known as the affective, expressive, physiological, cognitive, and motivational components. We hope you will gain a new perspective on emotions, and that you will find these ideas interesting!
Emotions can definitely be confusing, but we hope that the previous video helped clarify how our emotions work and the
different ways they can manifest! As we now know, emotions comprise five components – but what do they look like in real life?
Before we continue to the next section, let’s take a few moments to think about how the five components of emotion might
present themselves in real-life situations. Then, click on the ‘information’ icon to reveal an explanation of how the five
components of emotion are present in each situation! Can you relate to any of them?
7.2 Understanding Emotional Intelligence with RULER
Having clarified the five ways that emotions can manifest, in this next section we turn to the concept of emotional intelligence through the RULER approach. The RULER approach was developed by the Yale Centre for Emotional Intelligence
to enable schools to embed its principles into their school culture and practices. We will also highlight how emotional intelligence and SEL are related and the advantages that practising these skills can bring.
Emotional Intelligence Skills in Action
Emotional intelligence is a range of skills that are important to develop. Nurturing the development of each of these skills will not only benefit students now, but they will remain useful during their adult years as employees, leaders, parents, and partners. As these skills are continuously being developed, however, what will they look like in action? Below are examples of emotional intelligence skills being practiced - flip the card to learn more about it!
Each of these responses may seem like nothing out of the ordinary. However, such responses are signs of the important set of skills that comprise emotional intelligence. In other words, the abilities to recognise, understand, label, express, and regulate emotions are necessary for acting on our own emotions and that of others’ wisely. The alternative is that where someone might have weaker emotional intelligence skills, they are more likely to:
● Express their emotions in inappropriate ways. For example, through emotional outbursts.
● Show low empathy and understanding for others’ feelings and experiences.
● Experience misunderstandings and conflict in their relationships.
● Cope with challenges in ineffective ways.
7.3 Practical Strategies for Building Emotional Intelligence Competence in the Classroom
In this section, we will be focusing on a practical tool for the communication of emotions. We have already learned about
the five components of emotion and emotional intelligence with RULER. However, it can be challenging to express our
emotions clearly and effectively - especially for children and young people. This is where ‘I’ statements come in.
Created by a psychologist named Thomas Gordon in the 1960s, ‘I’ statements are a useful tool that enables children and
adults to articulate their feelings in an appropriate and structured way. It has since been widely used and adapted for
various contexts from classroom management to parenting and couple’s therapy. Let’s watch the next video to learn more
about them!
Recall and Review: Quiz time!
Now that you have learned about 'I' statements and how they can help you communicate your emotions clearly and respectfully, it's time for a short quiz. The quiz will test your understanding of the differences between 'I' and 'you' statements, and how to construct effective 'I' statements. Good luck!
Great job on completing the quiz on 'I' statements! Remember that using 'I' statements can be a powerful tool in effective communication, allowing you to express your thoughts and feelings in a non-confrontational manner. By using 'I' statements, you can help avoid misunderstandings, defensiveness, and conflicts, and create a more positive and productive environment. Keep practicing and using 'I' statements in your daily conversations!
7.4 Learning Together: Say it With ‘I’
Now that we have discussed the importance of 'I' statements, it is time to reinforce the key message and put this communication skill into practice. In the following section, you will facilitate an activity where participants will have the opportunity to work in pairs or small groups and practice using 'I' statements in response to scenarios that they are likely to encounter in their classrooms. Through this activity, they will be required to identify situations where 'I' statements are appropriate, develop and practice using 'I' statements. The aim of this activity is to help participants develop their communication skills and become more effective in expressing themselves assertively and respectfully.
SAY IT WITH ‘I’
As a facilitator, your role is to guide the participants through the roleplay activity and help them apply the basic steps covered in the previous section, answering questions, and ensuring that the activity stays on track. It's important to create a safe and supportive environment where participants feel comfortable to share and try out different approaches to addressing bullying. Encourage active participation from everyone and ensure that all voices are heard. After the activity, facilitate a debriefing session where participants can reflect on their experiences, share insights, and discuss any challenges they faced. Finally, remind participants of the importance of implementing these steps consistently in their classrooms to create a safe and respectful learning environment for all students.
1. Divide your participants into groups of up to five
participants each. We recommend grouping your
participants based on the year groups that they
teach.
2. Instruct your participants to choose one of the
scenarios from the image slider below to roleplay
and give them time to choose the roles they would
like to play. One participant must roleplay as the
teacher in the scenario and at least one other
participant as the student involved.
3. Facilitate a brainstorming session and encourage
your participants to come up with how they can model ‘I’ statements in order to teach their students
how to express their thoughts and feelings clearly
and appropriately. The facilitator or notetaker in the
group should document the participants’ ideas in
order to help them consolidate their plan.
4. Before returning to the plenary, invite your
participants to rehearse their roleplay scene with the
ideas that they have generated.
1. Welcome all participants back to the plenary and
reinforce the aim of this activity which is to practice
modelling ‘I’ statements to their students as a way
of helping them learn to express their thoughts and
feelings clearly and appropriately.
2. Invite one group to perform their roleplay scenario.
After the roleplay, facilitate a feedback session from
the other participants, ensuring that the focus is on
gathering constructive feedback. You may ask:
● What did the group do well to teach and
model ‘I’ statements?
● What can you suggest to the group to
improve in their approach?
3. Repeat the first two steps until all groups have performed their roleplay scene and gained
feedback.
Facilitate a debriefing session where participants
can reflect on their experiences, share insights, and
discuss any challenges they faced. You may ask:
● What did you learn from this activity?
● What was easy or difficult about applying
these steps?
● Do you think this strategy will be easy or
difficult to apply in real situations?
Choose from one of the roleplay scenarios below to roleplay in small groups!
At the end of the training session...
Demonstrate care for your participants’ views
Your participants’ views about the topic and training are valuable and can inform how future training modules are delivered. Conclude the training session by gathering verbal feedback – don’t forget to record these in writing!
● What new information did they learn during the training that they did not know before?
● In what ways do they think this topic will be useful for them in their work with students?
● What is their most valuable takeaway from the training?
Be sure to also collect your participants’ responses to the post-test and training evaluation form for more structured monitoring and evaluation!