The Teachers’ Style Module
Expanding teachers’ competencies in integrating social-emotional learning into their practices requires a holistic observation of their teaching strategies and their impact on students.
Authoritative Teaching Strategies
In the present day, teachers are defined as children’s primary caregivers (Kalembo et al., 2018). Therefore, they are expected to take personal responsibility for students’ overall well-being.
The Teacher’s Style Model (Figure 4), based on Baumrind’s (1991) authoritative parenting style, represents authoritative teaching, emphasizing teacher-student relationship quality, classroom climate, students’ scholastic performance and student well-being. The five dimensions of adult-child educational relationships: demandingness, responsiveness, control, warmth and supportiveness, were proven to improve students’ academic achievements and self-regulation and enhance their social functioning.
The Shift to Online Study
Group-Facilitator Training Program
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, one-third of the group-facilitator training program took place virtually. Fortunately, one month before the Israeli lockdown, the group conducted an asynchronous meeting online. This set the groundwork for shifting to distance learning, including dynamic participation in virtual group meetings. The course kept its original structure, with some modifications for teachers to study in remote environments and learn more independently while contending with a more extensive array of online resources.
It was challenging for the teachers to study while remaining in lockdown because some of the trainees were parents to young children who needed to be supervised. To accommodate this situation, each class day began with an invitation for the children to participate in videoconference-based play on their parent’s screen. The group got to know the children by singing together and practicing breathing and other calming strategies for kids. After that morning kick-off, most of the children were ready to play independently of their parents, and the group meeting began.
