The sixth Standard of Effective Practice relies on ten components to unpack professional responsibilities through an asset-based mindset that honors the whole student. As educators develop this mindset, they will flexibly engage with all five SEL competencies. In particular, educators must rely on self-awareness skills centered in identity, self-management skills centered in agency, social awareness skills centered in belonging, and responsible decision-making skills centered in curiosity.
Ideally, educators cultivate self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, and responsible decision-making skills during their pre-service licensure programs and in-service practices, model and rely on those skills with colleagues, students, families, and community members in school and community settings, and utilize parallel grade-banded, benchmarked SEL competencies for students (SEL Framework: Five Competencies) in order to integrate evidence-based Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) practices across all subject areas and in all settings. For Standard Six: Professional Responsibilities, we developed three learning goals for self-awareness, one goal for self-management, one goal for social awareness, and one goal for responsible decision-making, set measurable benchmarks, provided a learning target for each benchmark with space for noting evidence of the benchmark and to action plan, and identified resources from local and national partners.
The uniform reflection template for learning targets is located to the right on the main menu. This template along with aligned learning targets can be used for syllabi creation, tier 3 licensure via portfolio, and district professional learning about adult transformative SEL.
Self Awareness Centered in Identity
Identity is focal among self-awareness competencies and refers to how students (and adults) view themselves. Identity is multidimensional (e.g., race/ethnicity, socioeconomic status, gender, religion, values, interests, etc.), with each dimension having a level of importance and emotional tenor (positive/negative) that may change over time. These dimensions also intersect with each other (e.g., Latina teacher dedicated to a chronically under-resourced school, Indigenous transgender boy leading his school’s yearbook club). Having a healthy sense of identity is important developmentally across the lifespan because it buffers against negative or traumatic experiences (e.g., stereotype threat or discrimination) and contributes to positive academic, social, and emotional outcomes.
Learning Goal
Demonstrates awareness of personal rights and responsibilities.
Standards Components
6ACode of Ethics for Minnesota Teachers
The teacher understands the standards of professional conduct in the Code of Ethics for Minnesota Teachers, including the role of social media, privacy, and boundaries in relationships with students.
Resources
Benchmark
Identify role(s) as a responsible community member.
Learning Target
I can model being a contributing, reflective, and caring community member.
Learning Goal
Demonstrates awareness of personal rights and responsibilities.
Standards Components
6BStudent Rights and Teacher Responsibilities
The teacher understands laws related to student rights and teacher responsibilities, such as for educational equity, appropriate education for students with disabilities, confidentiality, privacy, appropriate treatment of students, data practices, and mandatory reporting requirements in situations of known or suspected abuse or neglect.
Resources
Benchmark
Advocate for the rights of self and others.
Learning Target
I can honor my responsibilities for supporting student rights.
Learning Goal
Demonstrates an awareness and understanding of own emotions.
Standards Components
6EIntersecting Social Identities
The teacher explores their own intersecting social identities and how they impact daily experience as an educator.
Benchmark
Understand that identities and heritage practices shape the ways one views, understands and interprets emotions.
Learning Target
I can model personal cultural awareness and its impact on the learning environment.
Learning Goal
Demonstrates awareness of personal strengths, challenges, aspirations and cultural, linguistic, and community assets.
Standards Components
6FDisrupt Oppressive Systems
The teacher assesses how their biases, perceptions, and academic training may affect their teaching practice and perpetuate oppressive systems and utilizes tools to mitigate their own behavior to disrupt oppressive systems.
Benchmark
Examine the ways that one's actions create unjust imbalances in opportunity, access, participation and success for particular groups of people.
Learning Target
I can continuously reflect on and take action against mental models, ideologies, and life experiences that perpetuate oppressive systems.
Self-Management Centered in Agency
Agency is focal among self-management competencies and signifies perceived and actual capacity to effect change through purposeful action. This may include having voice and making choices about learning and career goals to pursue, overcoming personal challenges, and engaging in collaborative problem solving. Agency is key to young adults’ success, allowing them to take intentional actions to shape the course of their lives. Agency also includes collective efficacy, which has been shown to improve teachers’ abilities to improve school outcomes for students from under-resourced communities and to increase coordinated actions among adolescents and adults that contribute positively to civic life.
Learning Goal
Demonstrates the skills to set, monitor, adapt, achieve and evaluate goals.
Standards Components
6HCurrent and Emerging Technologies
The teacher demonstrates continual growth in knowledge and skills of current and emerging technologies and applies them to improve personal productivity and professional practice.
Resources
Benchmark
Analyze and implement feedback from multiple sources (peers, teachers, family).
Learning Target
I can receive feedback, assess necessary changes, and take action to promote improvement.
Social Awareness Centered in Belonging
Belonging is focal among social awareness competencies and connotes experiences of acceptance, respect, and inclusion within a group or community. It implies not only feeling recognized but also being fully involved in relationship-building and co-creating learning spaces.
Learning Goal
Demonstrates the skills to set, monitor, adapt, achieve and evaluate goals.
Standards Components
6CHistorical Foundations of Education in Minnesota
The teacher understands the historical foundations of education in Minnesota, including laws, policies, and practices, that have and continue to create inequitable opportunities, experiences, and outcomes for learners, especially for Indigenous students and students historically denied access, underserved, and/or underrepresented on the basis of race, class, gender, sexual orientation, language, socioeconomic status, and/or country of origin.
6DPrejudice, Discrimination, and Racism
The teacher understands how prejudice, discrimination, and racism operates at the interpersonal, intergroup, and institutional levels.
Resources
Coming Soon
Benchmark
Evaluate strategies for recognizing and opposing stereotyping, prejudice and discrimination among individuals, institutions and social structures.
Learning Target
I can acknowledge and take action against the dominant culture of schools and society that puts students from marginalized backgrounds at risk of stress, alienation, and disengagement.
Responsible Decision-Making Centered in Curiosity
Curiosity is focal among responsible decision-making competencies and can animate critical self- and social analysis and action. Curiosity has both cognitive and affective elements that contribute to an enduring tendency to pursue knowledge and new experiences. As such, it appears to be essential to attention, engagement, and learning.
Learning Goal
Considers ethical standards, social and community norms and safety concerns in making decisions.
Standards Components
6GSelf-Assessment and Problem-Solving Strategies
The teacher uses a variety of self assessment and problem-solving strategies to analyze and reflect on their practice and to make adaptations and adjustments towards more equitable outcomes.
6ISafe, Legal, and Ethical Use of Information and Technology
The teacher advocates, models, and teaches safe, legal and ethical use of information and technology, including appropriate documentation of sources and respect for others in use of social media.
Benchmark
Demonstrate ability to consider personal responsibility, social norms, safety concerns and ethical standards in making decisions.
Learning Target
I can model fairness, honesty, and integrity in my practice.