{"id":81371,"date":"2025-08-07T10:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-08-07T15:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/casel.org\/?post_type=blogposts&#038;p=81371"},"modified":"2025-08-06T16:09:02","modified_gmt":"2025-08-06T21:09:02","slug":"how-to-improve-instruction-adult-sel-and-equity-build-a-culture-of-public-learning","status":"publish","type":"blogposts","link":"https:\/\/casel.org\/blog\/how-to-improve-instruction-adult-sel-and-equity-build-a-culture-of-public-learning\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Improve Instruction, Adult SEL, and Equity? Build a Culture of Public Learning"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"key-points\"><strong>Key Points<\/strong><\/h2><a class=top href=\"#top\">Back to top<\/a>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Public Learning offers the opportunity to transform staff meetings from \u201csomething to sit through\u201d to a transformational experience that supports staff agency and collaboration.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Curiosity, collaborative problem-solving, agency, identity, and belonging flourish during Public Learning\u2014SEL competencies that enable educators to make informed, equitable decisions.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Public Learning is one piece of a multifaceted puzzle to not only keep teachers in the profession but enable them to continuously grow, with transformative SEL competencies as the drivers of equitable change.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p>For many educators, staff meetings are something to sit through. Grade-level and department meetings are for receiving information. PLC meetings are for deciding what to teach next.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But what if just some of those meetings centered around <em>your <\/em>learning? What if they honored your need to develop as a social and emotional being with the agency to make decisions that transform outcomes for students? What if they created the conditions for you to study the effectiveness of your instruction while connecting you more deeply with your colleagues?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>There is a way for all of this to happen. It is called <strong>Public Learning<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"what-is-public-learning\"><strong>What Is Public Learning?<\/strong><\/h2><a class=top href=\"#top\">Back to top<\/a>\n\n\n\n<p>On the surface, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sciencedirect.com\/science\/article\/pii\/S2773233925000075?via%3Dihub\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Public Learning<\/a> is a conversation between two or more colleagues. The \u201cPublic Learner\u201d shares a curiosity related to student learning and some student work or a video clip of students engaged in a learning task. The \u201cListeners\u201d offer observations about the data and questions that support the Public Learner to deepen their awareness and identify next steps. A <a href=\"https:\/\/info.weleadbylearning.org\/publiclearning\/tooldownload\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">simple protocol<\/a> guides the flow of the conversation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>On a deeper level, Public Learning is a stance that centers professional collaboration. Public Learning assumes that educators have the agency to create effective change in collaboration with other educators, rather than assuming that to improve instructional practice educators need \u201csit and get\u201d training, prescriptive data dives, or increased planning time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The ability to make daily decisions grounded in deeper awareness is where transformational power lies. When meetings afford regular opportunities to reflect on educators\u2019 impact on students\u2019 learning, those educators become better able to question implicit biases and ingrained habits that no longer serve all students. The key to measurable instructional impact is collaboration that supports educators in effectively adapting to meet students\u2019 needs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"what-is-the-connection-between-public-learning-and-adult-sel\"><strong>What Is the Connection Between Public Learning and Adult SEL?<\/strong><\/h2><a class=top href=\"#top\">Back to top<\/a>\n\n\n\n<p>Public Learning requires sharing uncertainties, challenges, and unpolished, real-time classroom data in order to deepen awareness of blind spots around teaching and learning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As such, it can bring up strong feelings. Listeners can feel unsure about how to call attention to assumptions or biases without disrupting collegial relationships. However, through modeling, practicing, and reflecting, teams can develop the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.aft.org\/ae\/summer2021\/jagers_skoog-hoffman_barthelus_schlund\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">transformative SEL competencies<\/a> that make Public Learning not only productive, but connective.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Curiosity, collaborative problem-solving, agency, identity, and belonging flourish during Public Learning. These are the same SEL competencies that enable educators to adapt their instruction and make informed, equitable decisions in their daily practice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"what-is-so-transformative-about-public-learning\"><strong>What Is So \u201cTransformative\u201d About Public Learning?<\/strong><\/h2><a class=top href=\"#top\">Back to top<\/a>\n\n\n\n<p>Many systems, even those that explicitly prioritize adult SEL, silo it in the same way it is often siloed for students. This can manifest as a focus on mindfulness strategies, mental health literacy, or community building.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>While these activities are valuable, leaders often facilitate them in isolated moments. Public Learning, in contrast, integrates adult SEL with educators\u2019 most essential task: understanding how to make equitable decisions that positively impact student learning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As such, it is a key driver of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.teachertraininguk.com\/post\/professor-john-hattie-thursday-8th-july-2021#:~:text=Collective%20teacher%20efficacy%20refers%20to,extraordinary%20impact%20on%20student%20achievement.\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">collective teacher efficacy<\/a>, one of the strongest indicators of a team\u2019s ability to transform outcomes for students. By nourishing the SEL competencies that enable educators to effectively evaluate their own practice and make adaptations for greater impact, Public Learning increases educator teams\u2019 effectiveness at reaching their goals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"isnt-it-hard-to-change-the-way-educators-collaborate-how-do-i-even-start\"><strong>Isn\u2019t it Hard to Change the Way Educators Collaborate? How Do I Even Start?<\/strong><\/h2><a class=top href=\"#top\">Back to top<\/a>\n\n\n\n<p>Building a culture of Public Learning takes time. Educators must understand the purpose of the activity, see it modeled, and reflect meaningfully on their experience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>One way to get started is for you to model Public Learning yourself. In a \u201cfishbowl,\u201d share one of your own teaching dilemmas and invite a colleague to be your Listener. Try to share some real-time classroom or leadership data and to reflect afterward on an assumption or bias that the conversation illuminated. Then, have your team try it in small groups.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>After they practice, pause to share a few specific observations about the SEL competencies you see growing in your team. Invite them to reflect on which competencies felt most alive for them. With regular doses of Public Learning, your team will begin to understand its value and feel excitement for weaving it into the fabric of collaboration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"why-is-this-important-now\"><strong>Why Is This Important Now?<\/strong><\/h2><a class=top href=\"#top\">Back to top<\/a>\n\n\n\n<p>Across the nation, students are experiencing predictive and pervasive inequitable outcomes. Teachers are burning out and leaving the profession. The students in the highest-need schools do not have the best prepared or supported teachers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>While the root causes for these challenges are many, one is the ongoing deprofessionalization of teaching, including a compliance orientation toward adult learning. Meetings that deprive educators of their agency perpetuate patterns that are harmful to educators and students alike.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Practices like Public Learning honor and nourish educators\u2019 SEL while simultaneously developing their capacity to hone their instruction. Meetings shift from passive, compliance-oriented slogs to energizing, curiosity-driven learning experiences that deepen belonging amongst teams.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Public Learning is one piece of a multifaceted puzzle to not only keep teachers in the profession but enable them to continuously grow, with transformative SEL competencies as the drivers of equitable change.<strong><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>The views in this blog are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of CASEL.<\/em><em><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><em>Sarah Sugarman<\/em><\/strong><em> (she\/her) is senior director of <\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/weleadbylearning.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><em>Lead by Learning<\/em><\/a><em>, a center of professional learning at Northeastern University in Oakland, CA. Previously, Sarah taught second and third grade in East Oakland and at the Mills College Children\u2019s School. Sarah received her B.A. in Urban Studies from Brown University and her M.A. in Education from Mills College. She recently published a longer piece on Public Learning in the journal <\/em>Social and Emotional Learning: Research, Practice, and Policy<em>, available <\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.sciencedirect.com\/science\/article\/pii\/S2773233925000075?via%3Dihub\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><em>here<\/em><\/a><em>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Related Posts:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/casel.org\/blog\/what-about-the-adults-a-sneak-peek-at-casels-new-report-on-adult-sel-approaches\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">What About the Adults? A Peek at CASEL\u2019s New Report on Adult SEL Approaches<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/casel.org\/blog\/we-teach-who-we-are-not-just-what-we-know-what-top-researchers-had-to-say-about-adult-sel\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">\u201cWe teach who we are, not just what we know.\u201d What Top Researchers Had to Say About Adult SEL<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/casel.org\/blog\/adult-sel-the-foundation-to-systemic-sel\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">What We Learned From Focusing on Adult SEL<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Write for Us<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Are you interested in writing for CASEL\u2019s blog, <em>Constellations<\/em>? <a href=\"https:\/\/docs.google.com\/document\/d\/1zSZFveKA8xsmlCADpfDP8t-y9emN0qswHQh1MnfmqBI\/edit\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Learn more<\/a> about what we\u2019re looking for and how to pitch your idea!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Key Points Back to top For many educators, staff meetings are something to sit through. Grade-level and department meetings are for receiving information. PLC meetings are for deciding what to teach next. But what if just some of those meetings centered around your learning? What if they honored your need to develop as a social [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":81372,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","theme":[201],"class_list":["post-81371","blogposts","type-blogposts","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","theme-deep-dives"],"acf":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/casel.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/blogposts\/81371","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/casel.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/blogposts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/casel.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/blogposts"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/casel.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/casel.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=81371"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/casel.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/81372"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/casel.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=81371"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"theme","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/casel.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/theme?post=81371"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}