Guest Lecture: Social-Emotional Learning

On March 12, 2025, students enrolled in several degree programmes had a unique opportunity to attend an online webinar on Social-Emotional Learning (SEL), organised in collaboration with Berdiansk State Pedagogical University.

Guest Expert
The invited expert was Olha Korobova — Deputy Principal of Berdiansk Gymnasium No. 16 of Berdiansk City Council of Zaporizhzhia Oblast, Teacher-Methodologist of the Highest Category, Trainer-Facilitator of the British Council, Trainer at ZOIPPO and LOIPPO, and participant in numerous international educational projects.

Participants
The webinar brought together students from the following degree programmes:

• Bachelor’s level — Secondary Education (English Language and Literature);
• Bachelor’s level — Philology (Germanic Languages and Literatures (including Translation), First Language – English, Second Language – German);
• Master’s level — Secondary Education (Language and Literature (English));
• 014.01 Secondary Education (Ukrainian Language and Literature);
• 061 Journalism.

Social-Emotional Learning has become especially relevant in today’s context, as educators work daily with children experiencing stress, loss, and uncertainty due to the ongoing war. The ability to recognise students’ emotional states, create a safe learning environment, foster empathy, and develop self-regulation skills is no longer an optional competency for a teacher — it is a professional imperative.

Ms Korobova generously shared her extensive practical experience in implementing SEL principles in school settings, discussed her work within British Council international projects, and presented approaches that genuinely work in the classroom. This encounter was not merely an informative session — it was a living transmission of wisdom from a practitioner who stands before students every day and knows how to speak to them from the heart.

Such meetings with experienced professionals are an essential component of our students’ training — because the best learning happens when knowledge comes from those who have already walked the path.