How To Use An Advisory Period To Cultivate High School Students’ Social And Emotional Growth

This capstone paper and project addressed the research question: How can high school teachers cultivate students’ social and emotional growth during an advisory period in order to promote positive behavior and increase overall student achievement? Social and emotional learning is established as a critical component of overall positive youth development. The author’s literature review examined the impact strong social and emotional skills can have on individual behavior, classroom community, school climate, and academic achievement. Her research also focused on the unique opportunity an advisory period provides as a time and place through which every student may receive instruction and additional practice and support for social and emotional skill development. The resulting curriculum project included is a ready-to-use, introductory advisory unit to help teachers tackle the task of explicitly teaching necessary (and most often lacking) social and emotional skills in a way that is both engaging and developmentally appropriate for high school students. The following skill areas are introduced, explored, and assessed during the unit: self-awareness, self-management and emotional regulation, social awareness, relationships and social skills, and responsible decision making