The terms instructional practice and instructional strategy incorporate a wide range of techniques educators use to support student learning. Consider adding i

to using programs that have evidence, measuring the extent to which a program was imple-
mented as designed, whether the entire program was implemented, staff training, level of
student engagement, and the appropriate use of adaptations (Durlak, 2015). Understanding
these issues is critical to having SEL programming lead to the outcomes you were hoping
for (Oberle et al., 2016). We encourage you to use Worksheets 4.1 and 4.2 as you apply this
chapter’s content to your site. This chapter broadly includes:

• Methods for creating a setting conducive to SEL through climate, relationships, and
organized classroom space and behavior management strategies.

• Procedures and strategies to ensure high- quality SEL classroom implementation.

CREATING CLASSROOMS
CONDUCIVE TO SEL IMPLEMENTATION

Classrooms are a place where the climate is paramount to learning (Matsumura, Slater,
& Crosson, 2008). This means the extent to which students feel connected, safe, and sup-
ported. For students to develop academic and social– emotional competence, both instruc-
tional rigor and emotional support in teaching and learning are key (Matsumura et al.,
2008). Implementing an SEL program is one way to positively influence classroom climate,
because at the core of the material is curiosity and exploration of emotions and social inter-
actions as valid and something to be learned (e.g., Hagelskamp et al., 2013). There are spe-
cific strategies known to contribute to positive classroom climate in general that can also fit
into a larger SEL picture (Doll, Brehm, & Zucker, 2014; O’Conner et al., 2017). In this sec-
tion, we review the following two areas: (1) cultivating positive relationships with students,
student peers, and families; and (2) applying organizational strategies to promote order,
safety, connection, and predictability in classroom spaces and with student behavior.

Supportive Classrooms through Relationships and Engagement

Not only do relationships shape students’ overall development (Jones & Bouffard, 2012;
Rudasill, Reio, Stipanovic, & Taylor, 2010), but they can also influence classroom climate
(Doll et al., 2014). To better understand how supportive classrooms can be achieved to effec-
tively support SEL implementation, let us review the process by which relationships— and
a related term, attachment—can be developed. Students can be in supportive and less than
supportive relationships with adults, peers, and other youth. All parties engage in behaviors
that can promote (or undermine) relationships, leading to differing degrees in the quality of
attachment (Cassidy, 2016).

Attachment is typically viewed within a framework of an adult reliably responding to
a child’s need (thereby creating a “safe haven”) and providing a “secure base” from which a
child can explore his or her environment, a task that is necessary to learn and