The Impact of Social Emotional Learning on High School Students in a Partnered Learning Environment

The purpose of this case study is to examine the impact that social emotional learning (SEL) has on students within a partnered learning classroom environment. Most research on social emotional learning focuses on elementary aged students, and lacks data from high school aged adolescents. Research interests include topics such as body language when engaging with peers, active and passive listening, how well students can collaborate with peers with diverse abilities, and the effectiveness of collaboration between educators, among other areas of interest. High school students whose ages ranged between fifteen to eighteen and two students whose ages ranged from nineteen to twenty-one, were chosen to partake in this study, based off of an initial observation. Participants consist of general and special education students, as well as instructional assistants, a special education teacher and the lead art teacher. Data was collected through digital observational field notes and a corresponding spreadsheet to track behaviors and analyze the potential benefits of collaborative art-making spaces. Data was coded by the following overarching themes: relationship skills, social awareness, and collaboration among educators; and then branched into smaller themes such as passive/active listening, interactions with peers, redirection, and amount of time on task. The study concluded that collaborative classroom spaces yield positive social outcomes for students with various disabilities, as well as their general education counterparts. The study also yielded results that co-taught classrooms can be successful with proper organization and communication between educators.