SEL Lab
The Pause Between the Surge and the Move
Feelings are data, not directives.
Band
6-8NEGATIVE: no learner feelings storedNEGATIVE: no SEL scoreNEGATIVE: no single correct emotion
PredictTestExplainReviseDefendTransfer0/6 evidence steps
Scenarios
Scene (drawn, constructed)
The Saved Seat
Checkable cue: Riley's gaze toward the poster on the wall
BRANCHING TREE
Sort claims: what you SAW vs what you THINK
Hold it gently — it might be right. It isn't observed.
Riley's gaze toward the poster on the wall
The Saved Seat: character might feel bad about "ask-directly"
The Saved Seat: character might feel bad about "use-sarcasm"
The Saved Seat: character might feel bad about "walk-away"
Observations (drop here)
Hypotheses (drop here)
Paper Card (the only journal)
No journal in this machine, and no field anywhere for your feelings.
MISCONCEPTION CHALLENGES
Each MISC-SEL tag represents a common misconception about feelings and social situations. The lab confronts each one through the interaction design itself.
MISC-SEL-01
I know what they're thinking (mind-reading certainty)
Confrontation: The typing; the gentle hold; the reveal that observation earned
MISC-SEL-02
Feelings are good or bad
Confrontation: Data, not directives; nothing named is scored
MISC-SEL-03
Avoiding it resolves it
Confrontation: The quiet branch: the problem didn't shrink
MISC-SEL-04
Pausing is weakness; react now
Confrontation: The gate, then the naming of what it was
MISC-SEL-05
Apologizing means losing
Confrontation: Repair modeled as strong — and never mandated
MISC-SEL-06
Empathy means agreement
Confrontation: The sting honored inside the both-true reveal
MISC-SEL-07
There's one right feeling
Confrontation: The mix, co-equal; no feeling gates
MISC-SEL-08
I'm just an angry person (fixed-trait)
Confrontation: The fixed-trait lint; the do-over structure as counterexample
MISC-SEL-09
Understanding why means it didn't sting
Confrontation: It just wasn't the whole file
MISC-SEL tags
MISC-SEL-01MISC-SEL-02MISC-SEL-03MISC-SEL-04MISC-SEL-05MISC-SEL-06MISC-SEL-07MISC-SEL-08MISC-SEL-09
If something like this is heavy in your real life, that's a conversation for a person you trust, not a screen.
SEL Lab. CASEL 5, aligned — the only honest verb. Self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills, responsible decision-making. No SEL score of the learner. No measurement of competence. No journal in this machine. No free-text below 9-12. Constructed characters always. Authored scenarios, educator-and-counselor reviewed. Selections are session-only. The card leaves the product.