Zaner-Bloser

Every educational program aims to help students become successful learners. However, in many cases, they solely focus on teaching the fundamentals of subjects, failing to take into account the impact students’ emotional health can have on their learning and vice versa. Some students feel stonewalled by the materials or anxious about school in general, and teachers face challenges because their regular curricula don't provide a framework for teaching emotion-based concepts. This leads to situations where emotional challenges can prevent students from reaching their full potential.

These are the challenges that Zaner- Bloser Publishing, an educational company specializing in providing quality literacy, handwriting, and mathematics programs for students, directly confronts. The company's wide range of literacy and mathematics programs and educational tools are designed to help students build foundational academic skills, however, they recognize there are often emotional barriers and underlying issues that stand between students and their school work.

"We need to recognize students holistically, and that includes recognizing all parts of them, including their emotions and responses," says Victor Fitzjarrald, Director of Product Management at Zaner- Bloser.

Unlike other companies that focus on a pull-out model that teaches instructors about student emotions (and why they matter) before returning to an academic setting, Zaner-Bloser is taking an integrated approach that connects emotional and academic learning directly in the classroom. This allows the company to create a framework that contextualizes emotions in relation to the learning environment, transforming our understanding of learning as a holistic process.

The approach is exemplified in Zaner-Bloser's six 'mindscapes,' which are nature-themed and each focus on three skills we want every student to develop. The 'Mountain' mindscape provides a perfect example as it highlights determination, persistence, and resilience, attributes that help students overcome personal mountains they’ll encounter at school such as exams or complex projects.

In practice, the Mountain approach may involve a teacher recognizing an upcoming big exam and the need to reinforce resilience in their students. Using Zaner-Bloser's activity cards (of which the company supplies 25 per ‘mindscape’), the teacher can select from an assortment of activities in different modalities including speaking and active listening, writing and drawing, movement, and guided reflection to reinforce the importance of the Mountain mindset for students and how to apply those skills in different learning situations.

The result of this approach is the development of a common language between students and teachers, with positive results evident in a field test Zaner-Bloser conducted for its Mountain mindscape. Working with a fifth grade teacher who had one month to implement the mindscape with her students, the company provided her with a sample Teacher Guide, posters, Teacher Journal, Student Notebook pages, and various activities to try with her students.

We need to recognize [students] holistically as students, and that includes recognizing all parts of them, including their emotions and responses.

One Friday, a few days into the field test, the teacher asked her students to talk about their plans for the weekend. During the session, the teacher mentioned she would be running a half-marathon and asked her students if they had any advice for her. The students immediately responded by reminding her to be a mountain, demonstrating they had internalized the framework taught to them and how it can be applied even outside of the classroom.

This approach to building students up exemplifies Zaner-Bloser's approach to social and emotional learning (SEL). "Some folks, when they approach the SEL market, do it from a more traditional deficit-based model. What's wrong? What do I need to fix?" says Fitzjarrald.

In contrast, Zaner-Bloser's approach to SEL recognizes the rich tapestry of emotions students experience, celebrates their strengths, and empowers them to recognize and build on these strengths to help them succeed in tough situations.

This concept is realized in the upcoming Mindscapes: Becoming Our Best Selves, grades K–5 program developed by Zaner-Bloser in collaboration with experts in the field, including Professor of Literary Education Dr. Ernest Morrell and continuing education expert Pam Allyn. Together, they have created an approach that combines various educational concepts from learning sciences and neuroscience, synthesizing them into a single solution designed to make the learning process more engaging, accessible, and attainable for all students. Ultimately, Zaner-Bloser's work always comes back to its singular goal—helping students become their best selves.