CASEL Series (Episode 5 of 5) - Responsible Decision Making with Dr. Maurice J. Elias
This is the 5th and final episode in our “SEL for Adults” Series! While this episode is centered on responsible decision-making, our guest Dr. Maurice J. Elias does a wonderful job at giving us an overview of the history of SEL and the importance of SEL for character development and flourishing, especially in students.
CASEL defines responsible decision-making as “The abilities to make caring and constructive choices about personal behavior and social interactions across diverse situations.” You do not want to miss out on this informative and inspirational conversation!
More about our guest, Dr. Maurice J. Elias:
Maurice J. Elias, Ph.D. is Professor and Past-Director of Clinical Ph.D. Training, Psychology Department, Rutgers University, Director of the Rutgers Social-Emotional and Character Development Lab (www.secdlab.org), Co-Founder and Contributing Faculty of The Collaborative Center for Civic Engagement (engage.rutgers.edu), Past President of the Society for Community Research and Action, and Founding Member of the Leadership Team for the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (www.CASEL.org).
Dr. Elias lectures nationally and internationally is frequently sought out as an expert in print and electronic media and devotes his research and writing to the area of social-emotional and character development in children, schools, and families. Books include the just-published Nurturing Students’ Character: Everyday Teaching Activities for Social-Emotional Learning, Social Decision Making/Social Problem Solving Curricula for Elementary and Middle School Students (2006-12, www.researchpress.com), The Educators Guide to Emotional Intelligence and Academic Achievement: Social-Emotional Learning in the Classroom (Corwin, 2006), Bullying, victimization, bullying, and peer harassment: A handbook of prevention and Intervention (Taylor & Francis, 2007), Urban Dreams: Stories of Hope, Character, and Resilience (2008, Hamilton Books), School Climate: Building Safe, Supportive and Engaging Classrooms & Schools (2011, National Professional Resources, www.nprinc.com), the new e-book, Emotionally Intelligent Parenting (via Kindle and Nook), Schools of Social-Emotional Competence and Character(www.nprinc.com), and The Other Side of the Report Card: Assessing Students’ Social, Emotional, and Character Development (how schools and districts can integrate SECD systematically into their ongoing student report cards—Corwin Press). He collaborated with storytellers in the U.S. and Israel, and a prominent Israeli School Psychologist, to create a book for young children: Talking Treasure: Stories to Help Build Emotional Intelligence and Resilience in Young Children(www.researchpress.com, 2012).
Dr. Elias has received the SCRA Distinguished Contribution to Practice and Ethnic Minority Mentoring Awards, APA’s National Psychological Consultants to Management Award, the Joseph E. Zins Memorial Senior Scholar Award for Social-Emotional Learning from the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL), the John P. McGovern Medal from the American School Health Association, the Sanford McDonnell Award for Lifetime Achievement in Character Education, and the Jane Bostrum Service to School Psychology Award.
He is a licensed psychologist in NJ and writes a blog on Social-Emotional and Character Development (SECD) for the George Lucas Educational Foundation at www.edutopia.org. Most recently, he is the co-author of The Joys & Oys of Parenting: Insights and Wisdom from the Jewish Tradition (2016, Behrman House), Boost Emotional Intelligence in Students: 30 Flexible Research-Based Lessons to Build EQ Skills (2018, Free Spirit), Nurturing Students’ Character: Everyday Teaching Activities for Social-Emotional Learning, and Social-Emotional Learning Lab: A Comprehensive SEL Resource Kit (2021, with Victoria Poedubicky).
