The RULER Approach, developed by researchers at Yale University, is an evidence-based social and emotional learning program dedicated to enriching the lives of educators, students, and families.
The Anchors of Emotional Literacy
"I constantly refer to the Mood Meter in class. I think it helps to humanize me for the students, and helps them to engage in healthy discussion and reflection about their feelings.”
~ 1ST GRADE TEACHER
“Meta-Moments are just smart. It’s a simple and intelligent tool everyone can use to handle stress.”
~ 11TH GRADE TEACHER
As a first step to implementing The RULER Approach, students and their teachers, school leaders and their staff, and families develop Charters—a joint mission statement for the learning and working environment they pledge to maintain. The focus is on how each stakeholder wants to feel,
what needs to happen for those feelings to be present consistently, guidelines for handling uncomfortable feelings and conflict, and methods for creating and sustaining a positive climate.
The Mood Meter helps individuals to identify their feelings accurately. Rooted in decades of research, it involves the use of multiple senses to build emotional awareness. The two axes of the Mood Meter correspond with two of the primary components of emotions and moods—feeling (ranging from unpleasant to pleasant) and energy (ranging from low to high). Basic activities develop skills in recognizing and labeling feelings; advanced activities develop skills in understanding, expressing, and regulating emotions.
Emotions are adaptive when the information they provide is attended to, interpreted, understood, and managed effectively. Meta-Moments are a process that children and adults learn to help them expand the “space in time” between an emotional trigger and a response. Strategies are developed to improve everyone’s reflective practices and problem solving skills so they can respond effectively to life’s many emotional experiences.
The Blueprint was designed to help students, teachers, school leaders, and family members problem-solve about past conflicts and disagreements, challenging real-time interactions, and upcoming difficulties effectively. Students and adults work with each other and independently to actively consider each other’s feelings and perspectives to identify healthy solutions. The Blueprint builds empathy and perspective taking, defuses conflict, and helps schools reduce the amount of time spent off task.