Graduation Term
Summer 2025
Degree Name
Doctor of Education (EdD)
Department
Department of Educational Administration and Foundations: Educational Administration
Committee Chair
Dianne Renn
Committee Member
Lisa Hood
Committee Member
Perry Schoon
Abstract
The kindergarten teachers at Catalina Elementary School have identified a crucial issue: their students' inability to self-regulate is impeding their learning and classroom engagement. The kindergarten team engages in ongoing professional learning with a focus on transformative social emotional learning. The teacher team explores whether on-going professional learning based in transformative social emotional core competencies impacts their direct instruction of transformative social emotional standards. Teachers further support implementation of the transformative social emotional core competencies using structured play-based activities. Following the on-going professional learning sessions, the teacher team would craft a whole group lesson and select an activity to embed into the structured play centers in the classroom. Teachers grappled with selecting appropriate lessons and activities because of their students’ independent learning levels. For most writing and reflection activities selected, multiple versions using various modalities were created to support student independence. Through their participation in ongoing professional learning, the teacher team sought to develop an understanding of transformative social emotional thinking and shift their instructional practices in the classroom.
Access Type
Dissertation-Open Access
Recommended Citation
Skelly, Lisa, "Transformative Social Emotional Learning Practices and Instructional Engagement in the Kindergarten Classroom" (2025). Theses and Dissertations. 2199.
https://ir.library.illinoisstate.edu/etd/2199
DOI
https://doi.org/10.30707/ETD.1763755358.500648