CASE STUDY CATEGORY
Designing a Four-Week Social-Emotional Learning Program for International Students
Client: UBC Faculty of Education, Vancouver Summer Program
Scope: Curriculum design, program development, and instruction
Timeline: Ongoing since 2023 — now in its fourth year
THE ASK
UBC's Faculty of Education asked me to build a full-time, four-week summer course for international exchange students, most with limited English, who wanted to learn about social-emotional learning (SEL), child development, and how Canadian schools and communities support children's wellbeing.
The brief was demanding. The full program runs 9:00 am to 4:30 pm, five days a week, for a month. It needed to combine academic depth with real-world experiences that allowed students to see the theories in practice on the ground. And it had to work for learners who were navigating English as a second language, and who were in an unfamiliar context far from home.
WHAT I BUILT
I designed the full curriculum from the ground up that covered the theory and practice of children's social-emotional development, wellness, and learning across school, family, and community contexts. Topics included Child Development, Social and Emotional Learning, Resilience, Moral development, Mental health promotion in schools, ecological systems thinking, Affective Neuroscience, Inclusive education and culturally responsive approaches to classroom teaching and assessment.
I built it as a month of connected experiences. I drew on my local network of educators, school counsellors, librarians, researchers, and community program leaders to bring in guest speakers and arrange site visits that let students see the theories in action — in elementary school classrooms, independent schools, neighbourhood houses, public libraries, and community programs across Vancouver. Each visit was tied directly back to a concept from class, so students weren't just observing, they were reflecting and applying what they'd just learned.
I also made a point of modelling the material, not just teaching it. Since a core concept of the course was about building safe, respectful, emotionally responsive learning environments, I ran the classroom that way — building community from day one, making space for students to connect their learning to their own cultural context, and keeping the material relatable, fun, accessible for students working hard just to follow along in their second language.
THE RESULT
The program is now in its fourth year and has consistently been at full enrollment — no small feat in international summer programming, where low retention and disengagement are common. Students say they sign up because of what previous participants tell them, often sharing their experience on social media.
"Angela's work in the Vancouver Summer Program exemplifies the kind of teaching that extends far beyond course content delivery. She creates transformative educational experiences that help international students feel at home, build professional networks, and gain authentic insights into their chosen field — all while mastering academic material."
- Fang Wang, PhD, Director of International Initiatives, UBC's Faculty of Education
WHY THIS MATTERS FOR YOUR PROGRAM
This project is a good example of what I bring to organizations building learning experiences for diverse audiences:
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Curriculum design from scratch. I can take a broad mandate and turn it into a structured, sequenced program with clear objectives, assessments, and flexibility.
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Deep content expertise. I have decades of knowledge and experience in emotional intelligence, child development, social-emotional learning, resilience, and family and community systems.
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A working network of practitioners. I am well-connected in my field, and able to bring in people who bring the learning to life: teachers, school counsellors, community program directors, and researchers.
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Teaching that connects with people where they are. Students in this program came primarily from Hong Kong, mainland China, Taiwan, Korea, and Japan, many with limited English. Building a classroom where they felt safe, capable, and engaged — despite the language and cultural distance — is a skill that transfers directly to any organization trying to reach a diverse, international, or non-native-English-speaking audience.
If you're building a program or curriculum that needs to land with a wide range of learners, I'd love to talk about how this approach could work for you.
