AI How and Why: Pairing SEL and AI to Support Student Growth

Note: This piece was written by a member of Illinois’ education community, with editorial support from the LTC. The views expressed in this article do not reflect those of the Learning Technology Center, its team, or its partners.

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It’s not just a summer heat wave – social-emotional learning (SEL) and artificial intelligence have remained hot topics in education post-COVID.  Often, these two topics are siloed. But together, they can make sustainable social-emotional growth achievable without extra heavy lifting.

Before jumping in, consider that SEL implementation, like any successful educational initiative, is built on consistency and stability. Both can be challenging if you don’t have a lot of SEL experience, but the right AI-powered support can make both achievable.

Modeling is also essential, though it can also pose a challenge when you’re first starting out. Don’t feel like you must go all in immediately. Using a small amount of time each day and modeling appropriate expectations and reflections will make a significant impact on your students.

AI can also offer you a model to develop your own classroom practice and activities. Here are a couple ways you can prompt your preferred AI to kick start your classroom’s adoption of SEL practices:

No matter what subject or grade level you teach, self-reflection can help students deepen their understanding of themselves as well as what they’re learning. As useful as it is, teaching self-reflection can be difficult, especially with the constraints of a hectic school day and a jam-packed core curriculum.

Here’s what I received in return:

What is one moment from today that made you feel proud of yourself? Why did it stand out, and what did you learn from it?

This is a great start! Concise and open-ended, this prompt offers students a lot of flexibility in how they respond. Better yet, it asks them to go beyond simply identifying a memorable moment to consider how that moment helped them grow.

Next, let’s expand these reflections into a daily activity.

Prompt your chatbot for a full week of journal prompts and you’ll may get options with differing SEL themes, like these:

Monday – Self-Awareness:
What emotion did you feel most today? What caused it, and how did you respond?

Tuesday – Self-Management:
Describe a time today when you had to stay calm or focused. What helped you manage your emotions or actions?

Wednesday – Social Awareness:
Think of someone you interacted with today. How do you think they were feeling, and how could you tell?

Thursday – Relationship Skills:
Write about a positive conversation you had this week. What made it a good interaction?

Friday – Responsible Decision-Making:
Describe a choice you made this week. What was the outcome, and would you make the same decision again? Why or why not?

Once you’re ready to bring this activity to your classroom, consider tailoring your journal prompts further by adding your students’ age group or grade into your chatbot prompts. From there, you can post up there prompts or assign one daily as a quick activity that infuses SEL practice into your classroom routine.

If you decide to use this activity, remember that you need to model the desired response.  Students will take a cue from you, so make sure you’re the first person to respond. 

Second, students may not be comfortable sharing, so don’t force them to do so. Some students may not be experienced with slowing down their minds and reflecting on their feelings and thoughts. That’s perfectly OK, especially since an activity like this can offer them a safe space to give it a try.  

Last, if your students don’t respond in the way you expect, that’s OK, too!  Be consistent and keep offering journaling time. Your students will catch on and embrace it or even find a way to make it their own.

You may need to model this to start off, but if you get a statement like, “ Today, I’m feeling sad,” you may get a response like this:

“I’m really sorry to hear you’re feeling sad today. It’s completely okay to feel that way.”

Note how this response affirms the user’s feelings while still offering some sympathy. Some AI chatbots specifically designed for this kind of reflection may go further with a response like:

“Is there anything specific that’s making you feel sad, or is it more of a general feeling today?

There’s no pressure to share if you don’t want to, but sometimes just acknowledging what you’re feeling can be a helpful first step.”

A great prompt all around!  By modeling a self-reflective response, students are given feedback that encourages deeper self-analysis and empathy. This, in turn, creates that safe space for students to discuss how they’re feeling and how they’re doing.

Engaging with this type of AI-powered reflection tool isn’t just useful in the moment. In practice, these responses model emotionally aware responses to varying emotional states, helping students sharpen how they engage with and respond to their own emotions (as well as those of their friends and family).

AI-powered check-ins are a great way to start or end class. In just a few minutes (5-10 max), students can take a mental break, reflect, and use their new awareness to better inform their day ahead.

I also like using these check-ins with the students when they’re returning from a highly emotional time or place.  For example, PE and recess can be competitive, so a quick check-in during the following period offers students space to reflect and vent. 

AI can support your classroom’s SEL goals in simple, yet effective ways if you give it the opportunity. Try out one of these activities over the course of a few weeks and see if it’s a good fit for your students. 

Even if you need to make tweeks, stick to the plan. That level of consistency can pay off in more socially and emotionally aware students over the course of a 180-day school year.