Supporting SEL Through Creativity in the Arts: Vulnerability and Feedback in the Music Classroom
Throughout my Cohort 21 experience this year, I’ve been exploring the question: How might we support students with their SEL through creativity in the arts that encourage vulnerability while also providing meaningful feedback for student growth?
This question emerged from my desire to create an environment where students could express themselves authentically through music while developing technical skills and emotional intelligence. The balance between encouraging vulnerability and providing constructive feedback seemed particularly important in arts education, where creative expression is deeply personal.
What I Did & Its Impact
My approach centered around a rap and songwriting project that integrated multiple learning dimensions:
- Students learned about the background and musical elements of Hip Hop and Rap music during their music classes
- They explored how poetic devices are used in lyrics, connecting music to literary techniques
- Each student received a “My Songwriting Journal” with prompts to spark creativity before focusing on lyrics
- The journal was designed with flexible sections for different parts of their final project—a rap song with a backing track
- Students could complete the journal in any order, allowing their creativity to guide the process
Several challenges emerged during implementation. Many students initially felt reluctant to write lyrics, struggling with what to write about. I found that offering the option to start with composing the music helped them avoid feeling “stuck” and often inspired their lyrical ideas later. Some students needed more individualized support, including having me scribe their spoken ideas until they gained the confidence to continue independently.
The impact was evident in student engagement and perseverance. Many noted in their reflections that while the project was challenging at first, they found genuine enjoyment in the problem-solving aspects of the creative process. Their pride in overcoming initial obstacles became a significant outcome of the project.
What I Learned
While I didn’t collect explicit data on SEL outcomes, the evidence appeared organically through student work. In their lyrics, I observed students processing complex emotions, while others used the space to celebrate their passions and achievements. The project design intentionally created safe spaces for vulnerability—some students noted that knowing their work wouldn’t be shared with peers allowed them to take creative risks.
One of the most surprising discoveries came through reading student reflections. Most acknowledged the difficulty of starting the creative process and reflected thoughtfully on how they persevered through initial discomfort. Several students who began the project believing they disliked rapping or singing discovered new enjoyment in these forms of expression.
As an educator, my primary challenge was determining appropriate timing—balancing in-class work time (which allowed for immediate feedback) with independent exploration. After implementing this project for two years, I’ve noticed a shift in my teaching philosophy. Rather than focusing primarily on the end product (which is common in music education), I’ve developed a deeper appreciation for the journey. The hurdles students overcome and the new passions they discover have become equally, if not more important, than the final creative product.
Connections to Educational Theory and Research
This project aligns with several established educational theories and research frameworks that support both artistic development and social-emotional learning:
Constructivist Learning Theory: By allowing students to build their understanding through experimentation with music composition and lyric writing, this project embodies Vygotsky’s social constructivist principles. Students constructed knowledge through active creation rather than passive reception, with teacher scaffolding (like scribing initial ideas) providing support within their zones of proximal development.
CASEL’s SEL Framework: The Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning identifies five core competencies that were naturally integrated into this project:
- Self-awareness – Students reflected on their emotions and experiences as source material for lyrics
- Self-management – The perseverance required to overcome creative blocks developed regulation skills
- Social awareness – Learning about hip-hop’s cultural and historical context built cultural competence
- Relationship skills – Collaborative aspects of music production fostered communication
- Responsible decision-making – Students made choices about content, style, and presentation of their work
Growth Mindset: Carol Dweck’s research on fixed versus growth mindset was evident in how students approached challenges. Their reflections about persevering through difficulty and discovering new capabilities align perfectly with growth mindset principles, where struggle is viewed as a pathway to mastery rather than evidence of limitation.
Flow Theory: Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi’s concept of “flow”—the optimal state of engagement where challenge and skill are balanced—appeared in students who became deeply absorbed in the creative process. The flexible structure allowed students to find their flow states, whether through composition, lyric writing, or production.
Culturally Responsive Teaching: By centering hip-hop, a genre with deep cultural significance for many students, this project embraced Gloria Ladson-Billings’ principles of culturally responsive pedagogy. Students could connect academic content with cultural knowledge and personal experience, increasing relevance and engagement.
Resources to Share
This project benefited greatly from collaboration. I worked with colleagues in the English department to revise our assessment criteria, making it more accessible and flexible for students. Rather than adhering to a rigid lesson schedule, I approached the unit with intentional openness, allowing student interests to guide our exploration. This collaborative, flexible approach helped students feel more connected to the material and created a sense that we were all learning together.
For the technical aspects, students primarily used Soundtrap for music composition and recording. I also incorporated resources shared by a colleague from the public school board who had implemented similar projects.
Big Takeaway
My most significant insight from this Action Plan journey is the power of modeling vulnerability as an educator. By writing lyrics alongside my students and demonstrating rap techniques over beats—despite not being an “expert”—I showed them that we were truly on this learning journey together. This approach created an authentic environment where students felt safer taking creative risks because they saw their teacher doing the same.
This aligns with research on psychological safety in learning environments (Edmondson) and the importance of teacher authenticity in building trust with students. When teachers position themselves as co-learners rather than infallible experts, it creates space for students to take the risks necessary for deep learning and creative expression.
Lingering Questions
Looking ahead, I’m interested in refining the recording and production aspects of this project. Time constraints and our current program (Soundtrap) presented some limitations. In an ideal scenario, I would love to have school devices equipped with more sophisticated Digital Audio Workstation (DAW) software and quality microphones to enhance the recording and mixing experience. This technical upgrade would allow students to realize their creative visions and potentially deepen their engagement with the music production process.
This connects to research on authentic assessment and the importance of providing professional-quality tools for arts education. As James Catterall’s studies on arts integration have shown, when students engage with arts using professional tools and processes, the benefits extend beyond artistic skills to include increased motivation, engagement, and transfer of learning to other domains.
Final Thoughts
This Action Plan has reinforced my belief that meaningful arts education must balance structure with creative freedom, technical skill development with emotional expression. By creating spaces where students can be vulnerable while receiving constructive feedback, we help them develop not just as musicians but as individuals who understand the value of perseverance, self-expression, and creative problem-solving. These are skills that extend far beyond the music classroom and into their broader lives as learners and community members.
As I move forward in my teaching career, I’ll continue to prioritize this balance, always remembering that sometimes the most powerful teaching happens when we’re willing to be learners alongside our students.