Identity, relationships, and emotion are assets for learning, not distractions from it. Teachers build on students' cultural strengths and develop the social and emotional skills that make rigorous learning possible.
The arc has two movements. Practice becomes more asset-based and culturally rooted. And ownership shifts, from the teacher cultivating to students self-regulating and advocating. A practice reaches Sustaining when every student's identity is an asset and they manage themselves and relate to others well.
Evidence base: culturally responsive teaching and the neuroscience of learning, culturally relevant pedagogy, and CASEL's competencies and transformative SEL.
Start with the goal
Know strategies for self-awareness, regulation, and relating to others.
Understand that their identity and culture are assets for learning.
Do manage themselves, take others' perspectives, and make responsible decisions.
Equity and BelongingThis is where equity becomes structural. Asset-based, identity-affirming practice and strong relationships are the conditions under which historically underserved students reach rigor.
Technology and AIAI enhances learning only through critical use and evaluation. Each practice names what that looks like. Treat outputs as drafts, check for accuracy, bias, and false agreement, decide when not to use the tool, protect your own thinking, and disclose how you used it.
Paired practices
1Asset-based view of identity
Emerging
Developing
Embedded
Sustaining
Teacher
Frames student backgrounds as gaps.
Names a student strength occasionally.
Names students' strengths in relation to the task routinely.
Builds tasks on students' cultural knowledge and assets.
Student
Hear their background described as a gap.
Hear a strength named at times.
Hear their strengths named in relation to work.
Use their cultural knowledge in the task.
AI in practice critical use and evaluation
Teacher
- Audit AI outputs for deficit framing or stereotype, then revise.
- Ask AI for asset-based language, then verify it rings true.
Student
- Notice when AI content erases or stereotypes their identity, and push back.
- Use AI to explore their heritage, then verify with trusted sources.
How to measureNote how often the teacher names student strengths in relation to the task; building tasks on cultural assets is Sustaining.
2Culturally relevant content
Emerging
Developing
Embedded
Sustaining
Teacher
Uses one dominant perspective in materials.
Adds a few diverse voices.
Centers diverse perspectives in most materials.
Has students bring their own cultural texts into the work.
Student
Encounter one perspective.
Encounter a few added voices.
Engage diverse perspectives in materials.
Contribute texts from their own culture.
AI in practice critical use and evaluation
Teacher
- Run a bias audit on AI-generated content, documenting whose perspectives are centered.
- Ask AI to widen representation, then verify it avoids tokenism.
Student
- Test AI content for whose stories it tells, then seek what is missing.
- Use AI to find diverse sources, then verify their credibility.
How to measureScan materials for whose perspectives are centered; one dominant perspective is lower, students contributing their own texts is Sustaining.
3Learning partnerships
Emerging
Developing
Embedded
Sustaining
Teacher
Interacts with students transactionally.
Builds rapport with some students.
Pairs warmth with high expectations for most students.
Holds every student to rigor within a trusting relationship.
Student
Receive directions with little rapport.
Have rapport with the teacher.
Are pushed and supported by the teacher.
Take on challenge within a trusted relationship.
AI in practice critical use and evaluation
Teacher
- Use AI to free time for relationship-building, never to automate the relationship.
- Ask AI to organize what you know about students, protecting their privacy.
Student
- Turn to people, not AI, for connection and encouragement.
- Use AI for academic help while leaning on real relationships for support.
How to measureObserve warmth paired with high expectations; rigor within a trusting relationship for every student is Sustaining.
4Identity-safe environment
Emerging
Developing
Embedded
Sustaining
Teacher
Calls on the same few students.
Invites broader participation.
Uses structures so most students contribute.
Structures so every student contributes and is affirmed.
Student
Fewer than half participate or volunteer.
About half participate.
Most participate and volunteer ideas.
Nearly all contribute and affirm peers.
AI in practice critical use and evaluation
Teacher
- Check AI examples and images for who is included and excluded, then adjust.
- Ask AI to surface inclusive practices, then judge them.
Student
- Flag AI content that excludes them, and ask for representation.
- Use AI to learn about classmates' cultures respectfully, then verify.
How to measureTrack the share of students who participate and volunteer; nearly all contributing and affirming peers is Sustaining.
5Self-awareness
Emerging
Developing
Embedded
Sustaining
Teacher
Provides no way to name emotions or strengths.
Asks students to name a feeling when prompted.
Has students name emotions and strengths in a routine.
Has students explain how emotion and identity affect their learning.
Student
Do not name feelings or strengths.
Name a feeling when asked.
Name emotions and strengths in a check-in.
Explain how feelings affect their learning.
AI in practice critical use and evaluation
Teacher
- Use AI to design self-awareness prompts, then verify they are developmentally sound.
- Ask AI for reflection frames, then judge them.
Student
- Use AI to prompt self-reflection, then do the reflecting themselves.
- Turn to trusted people, not AI, for emotional processing.
How to measureNote whether students name emotions and strengths; explaining how feelings affect their learning is Sustaining.
6Self-management
Emerging
Developing
Embedded
Sustaining
Teacher
Responds to dysregulation only after it escalates.
Names a calming strategy sometimes.
Teaches and cues regulation strategies.
Students use regulation strategies without cueing.
Student
Escalate without strategies.
Use a strategy when reminded.
Use a taught strategy when cued.
Use regulation strategies on their own.
AI in practice critical use and evaluation
Teacher
- Use AI to build regulation-strategy resources, then verify they are appropriate.
- Ask AI for calming routines, then judge their fit.
Student
- Use AI to learn a coping strategy, then practice it with people who support them.
- Recognize when a feeling needs a person, not a chatbot.
How to measureObserve whether students use regulation strategies and whether cueing is needed; using them on their own is Sustaining.
7Social awareness and empathy
Emerging
Developing
Embedded
Sustaining
Teacher
Does not build in perspective-taking.
Mentions others' viewpoints occasionally.
Has students practice perspective-taking.
Has students act on others' perspectives in their work.
Student
Stay in their own view.
Consider another view when prompted.
Take others' perspectives in discussion.
Act on others' perspectives.
AI in practice critical use and evaluation
Teacher
- Use AI to design perspective-taking scenarios, then verify they are respectful.
- Ask AI for empathy-building structures, then judge them.
Student
- Use AI to explore another viewpoint, then verify and reflect.
- Test whether AI flattens a perspective, and seek the real voice.
How to measureNote whether students take and act on others' perspectives; acting on others' perspectives is Sustaining.
8Relationship skills
Emerging
Developing
Embedded
Sustaining
Teacher
Leaves communication and conflict untaught.
Models a communication skill.
Has students practice communication and teamwork with stems.
Has students resolve and repair conflicts using taught skills.
Student
Avoid or escalate conflict.
Use a communication skill when modeled.
Use stems to communicate and cooperate.
Resolve and repair conflicts themselves.
AI in practice critical use and evaluation
Teacher
- Use AI to script communication practice, then verify it is authentic.
- Ask AI for conflict-resolution protocols, then judge them.
Student
- Rehearse a hard conversation with AI, then have it with the person.
- Use AI to prepare, then rely on real relationships to resolve things.
How to measureObserve how students communicate and handle conflict; resolving and repairing conflict themselves is Sustaining.
9Responsible decision-making
Emerging
Developing
Embedded
Sustaining
Teacher
Does not examine choices and consequences.
Discusses a choice occasionally.
Has students weigh options and consequences.
Has students make and defend ethical decisions.
Student
Act without weighing choices.
Discuss a choice when prompted.
Weigh consequences before acting.
Make and justify an ethical decision.
AI in practice critical use and evaluation
Teacher
- Use AI to build decision-making scenarios, then verify they fit students' lives.
- Ask AI for ethical dilemmas, then judge their value.
Student
- Use AI to map options and consequences, then decide themselves.
- Question AI advice on a personal decision, and use their own judgment.
How to measureNote whether students weigh consequences and justify choices; making and defending an ethical decision is Sustaining.
Planning and setting
Design moves that set up the practices above.
Clarity of the learning goal
Every lesson opens from a clear goal. Emerging: the objective is implicit. Developing: the objective is stated. Embedded: a clear know, understand, and do is shared with success criteria. Sustaining: students can state the goal and criteria in their own words.
Knowing students and communities
Plans to learn students' cultures, strengths, and contexts, and to build content that reflects them.
Integrating SEL with rigor
Plans social-emotional skill-building inside academic work, not as a separate add-on.
Evidence and measurement
Each practice above carries its own measure. These are the primary evidence sources for the component as a whole.
Evidence for this component
- Materials reviewed for representation and asset framing.
- Observation of who participates and contributes.
- Student work that draws on cultural knowledge, and a record of regulation strategies students use.