Using PBL to Teach SEL Skills

Project-based learning (PBL) is becoming more popular as an effective and engaging way to instruct students throughout the day. For a new teacher, sometimes it can feel overwhelming to have to find a way to teach social skills in addition to traditional academic content. There are easy ways to integrate social skills in PBL activities you already have planned in your class. Specifically, collaborating with peers to solve problems is often enjoyable for learners.

Traditionally, PBL involves a process of introducing topics with exploratory learning, practicing a skill, or assessing knowledge. The American School Counselor Association (ASCA) advocates for academic success through the ASCA Student Standards: Mindsets & Behaviors for Student Success, which support and reinforce PBL. Some social and emotional learning (SEL) standards that do this are engaging in challenging coursework, effective oral and written communication skills and listening skills, effective collaboration and cooperation skills, and leadership and teamwork skills to work effectively in diverse groups.

PBL Fosters Development of Important SEL Skills

Exploratory learning allows students to ask questions and share insights or curiosities about the educational content and standards. Once students understand a concept, teachers can use PBL to help them practice a skill. For example, students could complete a math assignment where they must collect data and then build a three-dimensional graph together using connector blocks to show data results. Assessing a student’s knowledge after a unit might include using a rubric during the project—addressing academic standards and the quality of completed work. While PBL is often utilized in the classroom for academic assessment and learning, the opportunity to teach social skills is often missed. 

PBL naturally includes some amazing social and emotional learning skills, including cooperation, active listening, compromise, and self-awareness. When students engage in PBL, they learn how to problem-solve, create, and learn something together. Some students struggle with these essential skills, but effective cooperation requires students to listen to one another and consider the opinions and ideas of others. Active listening requires students to not only understand what their peers are saying but also have the patience and self-control to do so. Compromise and self-awareness teach students how to negotiate and be comfortable with not always getting their way. 

PBL Promotes Student Reflection

Using PBL to teach students social skills provides an authentic way to practice and improve on them. There are several ways to assess and evaluate the social skills of students. One way is to intentionally look for a specific skill in all students. This can be done through a project that evaluates students on their ability to compromise while building one structure as a group. This does not mean that students might not disagree during their project; having disagreements is part of progress. Successful compromise in a project includes being able to share and listen to different perspectives and come to a solution together while using empathy, respect, kindness, and compromise. 

Another option that new educators can use is to have students write reflections on what went well during the project and what could have been improved on—perhaps a specific social skill or how the group worked together in general. This helps students be aware of how they are working together in a nonevaluative way. It gives them an opportunity to be authentic and really consider how they worked with other students. These types of reflection-based activities encourage students to be more self-aware during PBL opportunities.

You can also allow students to engage in helpful peer feedback after a project for another effective way to help them reflect on and improve their social skills. After students have practiced a specific social skill, you can add it to a rubric to account for a small portion of their grade. Making 5 percent of the grade reflect how well a student cooperates also helps students be more self-aware.

I’ve created rubrics in the past that allowed part of students’ grades to be contingent on cooperation. In an example of a rubric with a four-point spread per category, four points might be “cooperated with others and managed disagreements kindly all of the time,” three points might be “cooperated with others and managed disagreements kindly with only one needed redirection,” two points might be “cooperated with others and managed disagreements kindly with two needed redirections,” one point might be “cooperated with others and managed disagreements kindly with three or more needed redirections.” I try not to give zero points because improving on social skills is a lifelong process. 

Teach Social Skills Through Activities You Already Use

There are some effortless ways that new educators can begin teaching social skills to students that are embedded in everyday curriculum.

Brainstorming: An effective way to start is to brainstorm and discuss what successful social skills look like. Try sharing various scenarios in class meetings to help students get a better understanding of what strong social skills are.

Feedback: Giving feedback in real time while students are working is just as important as giving feedback on the academic performance of students within the group. Comments like “It looks like you were able to compromise on the design” and “It was thoughtful of you to let him finish before sharing your ideas for the report” are amazing ways to reinforce great social skills.

Goal setting: Students work on academic goals and objectives throughout the year. These goals are usually initiated by the teacher, and other times students set their own personal academic progress goals. Helping students set goals on social skills also helps them develop into well-rounded adults, and PBL gives them this opportunity. Some goals may include not interrupting others, taking turns, observing personal space, asking questions, and sharing ideas respectfully. These are all critical skills that students can learn in authentic ways. 

The more fun a project is for students, the more opportunities you have to teach social skills. Students who are deeply engaged in learning have strong opinions, feelings, ideas, and beliefs. They want their ideas and suggestions to be part of the project. Project-based learning is a terrific way to teach social skills in authentic ways while students learn.