The Teacher and Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) Specialization

Absolutely—it’s beginner-friendly. No prior SEL experience is needed. The specialization starts from foundational concepts and is designed to welcome all educators.

The five-course series explores:

• Teacher emotional awareness—joy, sadness, grit, and wholeness in teaching
• Student well-being through SEL principles, program evaluation, and curriculum design
• Cultural responsiveness, mindfulness, social justice, and empathy in education
• Teacher self-care, narrative reflection, and mindfulness-based professional development
• Capstone integration: implementing SEL in school contexts and communicating its value to leadership.

• Estimated completion: ~2 months at 10 hours per week, with a self-paced schedule.
• The program supports flexible deadlines and learner-driven pacing.
• Designed with university rigor in mind—it involves more reading than lecture content and aligns with a three-credit graduate course load.

• Yes—it features quizzes, peer-reviewed assignments, reflective prompts, and discussions in each course.
• The capstone (approx. 25 hours) includes two practical options: crafting a Teacher SEL Implementation Plan or exploring “cinema, SEL, and the classroom.”

• Earn a shareable certificate and—you can even apply to receive 3 graduate-level credit hours from the University of Colorado Boulder, which many use for teacher recertification or professional development.
• Emphasizes teacher well-being and emotional intelligence, vital for sustainable and empathetic teaching.
• SEL benefits extend beyond the classroom—by fostering emotional awareness, this certification supports both educator health and improved student outcomes.