Bridge to Learning
Exploring the Social and Emotional Foundations of Teaching and Learning
Bridge to Learning is a project of the Early Life Stress and Resilience Program in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Stanford University School of Medicine. The purpose of the project is to promote student-centered teaching and learning that supports personally meaningful achievement and wellbeing for all students.
Mini-Course
This self-paced mini-course, designed for K-12 teachers, administrators, and teacher educators, explores the cognitive, affective, and behavioral dimensions of adolescent development, motivation in educational contexts, and student-centered teaching and learning.
Course content:
Draws from a broad range of concepts, from both scientific literature and clinical practice, with a developmental view that addresses the ways in which students and educators think, feel, and act; and
Focuses not only on individuals but on the reciprocal relationships between individuals and the family, community, cultural, and political contexts in which they develop, including perspectives that acknowledge and affirm the positive contributions of students’ family and cultural values, experiences, and practices.
Learning Objectives
At the conclusion of this lesson, learners will be able to:
describe some common motivational contexts in schools;
list some psychological factors that can impede a student’s academic achievement, social functioning, and emotional health;
describe the process for developing a social, emotional, and cultural lens for teaching and learning;
define motivation;
describe the three basic psychological needs of autonomy, competence, and belonging; and
explain the relationship between basic need satisfaction and motivation.
Learning Objectives
At the conclusion of this lesson, learners will be able to:
explain the two subtypes of operant learning;
describe some examples of external contingencies and their consequences;
explain how social factors can influence the outcomes of external contingencies; and
describe the criteria for selecting an effective contingency.
Learning Objectives
At the conclusion of this lesson, learners will be able to describe:
three types of motivation;
the internalization process;
the six regulatory styles; and
how orientation styles, goals, and interpersonal relationships affect basic need satisfaction and motivation.
Learning Objectives
At the conclusion of this lesson, learners will be able to:
describe key concepts, principles, processes, and strategies of autonomy-supportive teaching and coaching;
discuss the roles that values, strengths, and goals play in student achievement and wellbeing; and
enact evidence-informed approaches to coaching students, such as Motivational Interviewing (MI) and the ABCDEF model of cognitive change.
Note: The views and opinions expressed in the Educator Reflections presented throughout this mini-course are those of the individual contributors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the Bridge to Learning Project or Stanford University. We present their perspectives, which reflect their own beliefs, experiences, and attempts to engage with the content and questions posed in this mini-course as they relate to their own professional identity and practice, as they may be useful for others.
Disclaimer of Warranty and Limitation of Liability
THE INFORMATION IN THIS MINI-COURSE IS PROVIDED “AS IS” WITHOUT ANY REPRESENTATION, OR WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED. STANFORD UNIVERSITY IS NOT LIABLE FOR ANY TYPE OF LOSS OR INJURY, OR ANY DAMAGES WHETHER DIRECT OR INDIRECT, ARISING FROM USE OF THESE RESOURCES. This mini-course is for informational purposes only, and is not a substitute for the advice, diagnosis or treatment by an appropriately qualified and licensed physician or other health care provider.