Do you want to develop more meaningful relationships and learning experiences in your classroom right now? The articles below provide inspiration for you and your students as you embark on the new year together. Our best articles feature innovative teaching ideas, tips for supporting student well-being, ways to capitalize on students’ strengths and sense of purpose, and exercises to reignite your own passion for teaching in 2019.

The Greater Good Science Center’s Education Program aspires to provide education professionals with a deeper scientific understanding of social-emotional learning, mindfulness, ethical development, and other positive practices for adult and student well-being. Our mission is to help teachers and school leaders cultivate kinder, more compassionate, and equitable classrooms and schools—and we hope these articles will help you do just that.

Here are our best articles from 2018, based on a composite ranking of pageviews and editors’ picks.

Five Ways to Help Teens Feel Good about Themselves, by Amy L. Eva: As teens struggle with anxiety and perfectionism, how can we help them like who they are?

How to Help Students Apply SEL to Their Real Life, by Patrick Cook-Deegan: SEL and mindfulness classes do a good job teaching self-awareness and inner development. But how do we help students use these skills to tackle real-world problems?

Five Lessons for Adults from the Movie Eighth Grade, by Amy L. Eva and Megan Wood: A mother and daughter reflect on a young teen’s trials and triumphs at the end of middle school.

Five Ways to Support Students Affected by Trauma, by Lea Waters and Tom Brunzell: Teachers can help students recognize their strengths and build resilience.

How Photography Can Help Cultivate Mindfulness and Gratitude, by Emily Campbell: A new program helps students and teachers notice the good things in life.

Five Ways to Reignite Your Passion for Teaching, by Amy L. Eva: Even the best work can wear us down. How do we find inspiration and purpose again?

How to Talk about Ethical Issues in the Classroom, by Emily Campbell: Research suggests a helpful, three-part framework for discussing issues of right and wrong.

Five Ways to Help Teens Think Beyond Themselves, by Amy L. Eva: Part of finding your purpose is connecting and contributing to something larger than yourself.

How These Teens Found Their Sense of Purpose, by Vicki Zakrzewski: Our Purpose Challenge scholarship winners provide insight into how to help adolescents develop meaningful goals.

These Kids Are Learning How to Have Bipartisan Conversations, by Elizabeth Svoboda: A first-of-its-kind workshop trains high school students to have productive disagreements.

How to Cultivate Curiosity in Your Classroom, by Amy L. Eva: Curiosity comes in different forms, and we can encourage it in the classroom to help our students thrive.

source https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/our_best_education_articles_of_2018