Navigating Today and Preparing Students for Tomorrow

The pressure that comes with being a human in a complex and constantly changing world is tremendous. Now imagine what it feels like for an elementary, middle, or high school student. Children experience uncertainty, classroom stressors, loss of friendships, bullying, and many of the same emotionally disruptive situations adults face, but without the developed emotional intelligence necessary to take it on.

As an educator, how can you take action to help students find support and build the resilience they'll need to navigate life beyond the classroom?

The first step is learning how social-emotional competencies can be taught through the process of guided learning. With Gale Presents: Imago, you can help your school community address the urgent need for an engaging curriculum to support social-emotional development and build the soft skills needed for twenty-first-century careers. 

Gale Presents: Imago is an online, video-based curriculum platform that provides digital lessons in three critical areas: social-emotional learning, career readiness, and soft skills. Video lessons engage and educate K-12 learners, helping them unlock their full potential to thrive. 

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Empathy, kindness, compassion, confidence, and a commitment to learning. This is the foundation of it all. By implementing a social-emotional learning curriculum, or SEL education, your school can get kids engaged; decrease emotional distress; and increase students' overall efficacy, persistence, ethics, connections, and academic success. In fact, a meta-analysis of 213 studies found that standardized test scores improved by an average of 11 percentage points for those who participated in SEL programs and also gives them the skills employers are seeking most.1

The partnership between Gale and IMAGO creates a uniquely comprehensive offering that allows schools to leverage Gale eBooks and IMAGO’s video-based lessons to customize solutions to meet students’ needs. Both Gale eBooks and IMAGO lessons are accessible 24/7 from anywhere and on any device, supporting schools seamlessly as they move between in-person and remote learning settings.

Soon, the learners of today will make the political and economic decisions of tomorrow. If we prepare them with social-emotional competencies, imagine what our communities and workforces will look like.

  • Close a Critical Gap in Education

    Gale Presents: Imago provides lesson plans specifically designed to support emotional intelligence education in fifth through twelfth grade. This is a largely underserved space, as most SEL curriculum focuses on early childhood development.

    We want to give K-12 learners the foundation to be their best, and ultimately, thrive in their lives and careers. Studies show that 71% of U.S. hiring managers valued social-emotional competencies over IQ in employees. Furthermore, 59% of employers said they would not hire someone with a higher IQ and low social-emotional competencies.2 The behaviors that result from emotional competencies (e.g., being polite and respectful, interpreting body language, effective listening, or arriving on time) are used daily at school, at work, and at home.

  • Drive Learning Engagement with Student-Centered Curriculum

    Asking students to learn information or a skill they’ll use in the distant future is a challenging request. The answer to the popular question “When am I going to use this?” has to be tailored for today. Students who are presented with an SEL curriculum will gain a better understanding of their future options, will be able to apply the skills they’ve learned immediately, and will have more motivation to learn.

    In the Gale Presents: Imago platform, students can view video modules, or lessons, on SEL topics, or Mindsets, and respond to study guide questions. Mindsets lessons were designed to operationally define IMAGO’s six-component SEL model: Self-Awareness, Relationship Skills, Social Awareness, Ethical Decision Making, Global Awareness, and Self-Management. These core competencies are defined by CASEL. All of the Mindset lessons are in-line with CASEL's core competencies.

  • Integrate Resource Easily into Classroom Workflow

    The Gale Presents: Imago platform is designed to reduce teacher prep time and help educators get up and running to focus on meeting students’ needs. All lessons come with facilitator guides that include activities, questions, and additional resources that educators need to teach in class or remotely. The curriculum can be self-study or facilitator led depending on the teacher’s individual preference. Learner responses to study guide questions give insight into students’ perspectives and current skills as well as the impact of lessons on students.

    The platform also offers professional learning around effective online engagement and modeling social and emotional behaviors. Teaching the curriculum is just one learning component; modeling behaviors is the second, and sometimes, the most important.

  • Support Diversity and Inclusion

    The lessons available in Gale Presents: Imago help schools foster a culture of diversity and inclusion. For example, lessons on empathy, adaptability, and diverse perspectives help students develop the social awareness and relationship skills they need to be part of a diverse school community that promotes belonging and acceptance for all.

  • Explore Our Learner-First Approach

    Platform Features

    • Lessons can be self-study or teacher/student-led, and delivered both in person and via distance learning. 

    • Lessons are accessible 24/7, from anywhere and any device, to support schools seamlessly as they navigate between in-person and remote settings.

    • SEL lessons are turnkey—each one comes complete with facilitator guides containing activities and additional content.

    • Engaging and entertaining lessons are built for the next generation. The platform is designed to encourage and facilitate conversation.

    • Over 225 researched-based, digital lessons cover career exploration; life skills, such as eye contact, body language, empathy, and self-awareness; work skills; and social and emotional learning.

    • Family wellness lessons are free to the public. They address relevant topics and explain how to navigate emotions, like anger, loneliness, and grief.

  • See How Imago Makes a Difference

    Student results from using Gale Presents: Imago lessons:

    • 63% report a better understanding of their future options.
    • 84% said they are able to apply learned skills immediately.
    • 86% said they have more motivation to learn.

How Schools Can Benefit from SEL and Career-Readiness Curriculum

Snehal Bhakta, the career and technical education (CTE) administrator for Clark County School District in Las Vegas, shares why he began using IMAGO and how it has impacted one of the most diverse districts in the country. He also explains how he incorporated Gale eBooks CTE collection and video-based content from IMAGO into the school curriculum and why he would recommend it to other districts.

Who is IMAGO?

Established in 2011, IMAGO is a social and emotional learning platform with a mission to prepare students with the critical skills and knowledge for workforce readiness and success. To achieve this, IMAGO provides online video curricula for learners and augmented professional development workshops for educators. IMAGO designed and produced over 200 multimedia digital lessons covering career exploration, workforce preparation, and SEL. IMAGO partners with over 100 school districts and is available to approximately 500,000 learners nationwide. 

READ CUSTOMER REVIEWS

“IMAGO has ideas that really fit what we wanted with a very creative approach. With IMAGO, we’re able to give our students custom lessons that are relatable to their hometown while still being able to teach them about CTE and emotional intelligence.”

Kristen McKenna                  Director of College and Career Readiness, Madera Unified School District

“An increased understanding and connection to our school-wide learner outcomes, our district’s graduate profile, and application of general soft skills [have resulted from using] IMAGO lessons. The lessons drive home a clear point and idea thanks to their thoughtful planning and engaging design.”

Jeremy Ward                      Assistant  Superintendent– College & Career Readiness, Fresno Unified School District

“Our goal is to provide a tool and [the] support for teachers to aid in college and career readiness around soft skills and communication, regardless of a student’s future.”

Snehal Bhakta,                                  CTE Administrator, Clark County School District

MEET OUR PARTNERING SCHOOL DISTRICTS

Page Sources:

1. Durlak, J. A., Weissberg, R., P., Dymnicki, A. B., Taylor, R. D. & Schellinger, K. B. (2011). The Impact of Enhancing Students' Social and Emotional Learning: A Meta-analysis of School-Based Universal Interventions. Child Development, 82: 405-432.

2. Harris Interactive (2011). Career Builder: Seventy-One Percent of Employers Say They Value Emotional Intelligence Over IQ.