Teaching Communication Skills to Foster Social-Emotional Learning

Communication is an essential 21st century learning skill and is ranked high among a job candidate's “must have” skills and qualities. In the global workplace, communication is a key element in effective collaboration and teamwork. Employers are seeking candidates who are adept in various forms of communication and show signs of empathy to others by the manner they listen and respond. Communication skills are in alignment with social-emotional learning. Through effective communication, young people can build positive relationships with others to collaborate, and they learn to be self and socially aware through effective listening and mutual perspective taking. Educators must begin to think about the real-world challenges of communication skills and how to incorporate practical strategies that address these skills in their daily lessons to optimize student success in their daily and academic lives as well as their future lives in the workplace.