By Peter C. Scales, Ph.D. Being both a positive youth development researcher and a high school tennis coach, I was especially interested in–frustrated with–a recent youth sports story that makes most of us shake our heads in disbelief. If what we’re trying to do in relationships with young people is to help them discover who […]
By Mackenzie Steinberg, Research and Development Communications VISTA, Search Institute One of the reasons I decided to apply to be an AmeriCorps VISTA member at Search Institute is its commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion. Here at Search Institute, our vision is that all young people have what they need to thrive. All young people. […]
by Eugene C. Roehlkepartain, PhD It’s almost a throwaway line to say, “It’s all about relationships.” We use it to sell cars, computers, and coffee. We train doctors and nurses to work on their bedside manners. We script call center operators to make sure even unhappy customers “have a nice day.” Teachers attend in-service workshops […]
By Eugene C. Roehlkepartain, Ph.D., Vice President, Research & Development The Rev. Merton P. Strommen, PhD, died peacefully on Monday, September 2, 2019, in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He was 100 years old. Dr. Merton P. Strommen was an internationally known pioneer in youth research who founded Search Institute, conducted dozens of studies, and was considered […]
The prior post in this series emphasized the importance of focusing SEL efforts as tightly and as strategically as possible before setting out to plan any staff learning, practical expectations, monitoring, and the like. Establishing this focus is imperative as, with so many improvement initiatives currently moving within schools, practitioners require clear ideas about (1) […]
As mentioned in previous posts, my role at Search Institute gives me the chance to talk with educators from all over about how to improve social-emotional learning (SEL) in their schools. These conversations come in many shapes and depths: one-hour informational calls, Q&A sessions at conferences, full-day learning engagements with frontline and administrative staff, implementation-planning […]
A few weeks ago at this blog, I discussed what developmental psychologists are increasingly understanding about what works (and why) when it comes to social-emotional learning (SEL). Relatedly, I shared some resources for school leaders who are hoping to get more intentional about strengthening their schools’ SEL practices: CASEL’s Guide to Schoolwide SEL and CORE […]
Through Search Institute, I’m able to talk about the science of motivation and relationships with educators from all over the country, and from all corners of the education field: teachers seeking to enhance their classroom practices, school leaders hoping to create more motivating and relationship-rich school cultures, district administrators looking for improvements with sturdy evidence […]
I’m a psychologist as well as a tennis coach, and have a new book out, Mental and Emotional Training for Tennis: Compete–Learn–Honor. It’s about teaching “mental toughness,” but by showing coaches how to build relationships with their players so players develop a deeper, more spiritual, more selfless, effective, and long-lasting mental “toughness.” Here’s how we […]
