Guide · Agent skill
How to use the Social-Emotional Learning agent skill in OpenMAIC
Updated · written with AI from the project's own documentation and checked against our catalogue data
The social-emotional-learning skill is an instruction file that teaches an AI agent to build OpenMAIC classroom lessons where social-emotional skills are practiced alongside the main subject concept. This guide explains what the skill makes the agent do, how to install it, how to ask for it, and where it should not be used. By the end you will know how to set a concept goal and an SEL goal for a lesson and what the agent should produce.
Social-Emotional Learning in LessonsTHU-MAIC/OpenMAIC · MIT Download the skill Quick start
- 1Download and unzip. Download the skill ZIP from the page and unzip it into ~/.claude/skills/ or a project's .claude/skills/ folder.
- 2Confirm the environment. Make sure you are working in an OpenMAIC classroom generation environment with the stage-design skill available.
- 3State the subject concept. Tell the agent the subject, the concept students should understand or transfer, and the lesson's main task.
- 4Choose one or two SEL skills. Pick from self-management, empathy, collaboration or responsible decision-making, and say what behaviour would show it.
- 5Ask for the lesson. Make a natural request that names the SEL skill and the subject lesson, then review the page plan.
- 6Check safety and reflection. Confirm the reflection asks about both the concept and the SEL skill, and that no page asks for personal disclosure.
What the skill makes the agent do
The skill asks the agent to treat social-emotional learning as a parallel goal inside a concept-centered lesson. The subject concept stays the main target; the SEL goal changes how students experience it. Before planning pages, the agent states one concept goal and one SEL goal, and names what observable behaviour would show the SEL skill happening.
The source focuses on four SEL skill areas: self-awareness and self-management, social awareness and empathy, relationship skills and collaboration, and responsible decision-making. The agent should pick one or two that fit the concept task rather than covering all of them in one lesson.
- Places an emotional check-in in the opening slide.
- Designs a multi-agent discussion with real disagreement, kept on ideas rather than people, in the concept slide.
- Gives interactive pages a predictable frustration, feedback and retry path.
- Ends with a reflection that asks what concept was understood and which social-emotional skill was practised.
Install the skill from the ZIP or the Claude apps
Download the ZIP for this skill from the page. Unzip it into your personal skills folder at ~/.claude/skills/ so it is available across projects, or into a project's .claude/skills/ folder so it applies only to that project. The skill's file is SKILL.md.
If you use the Claude apps instead, upload the skill under Settings → Capabilities → Skills.
- Personal install: unzip into ~/.claude/skills/.
- Project install: unzip into the project's .claude/skills/ folder.
- Claude apps: Settings → Capabilities → Skills, then upload.
Trigger the skill with a natural request
You do not need to name the skill. The skill's description says it applies when you ask to add emotional awareness, self-management, empathy, collaboration, relationship skills, resilience, or responsible decision-making to a subject lesson. Say what subject and concept you are teaching and which skill you want practised.
Make sure the request is about a subject lesson. The skill says not to use it when SEL itself is the standalone content of a counselling, advisory, psychology or homeroom lesson.
- Example: add empathy practice to a unit on river ecosystems in an OpenMAIC lesson.
- Example: build a fractions lesson where students practise responsible decision-making through a shopping budget task.
- Example: weave collaboration and accepting feedback into a persuasive writing classroom.
What the skill needs and how it fits with other skills
The skill needs the OpenMAIC classroom generation environment. It also relies on the stage-design skill, which the source describes as governing the workflow for classroom creation and saving. The understanding-by-design skill is optional; if you use it, the source says to settle the big idea, essential question and performance task first, then embed SEL in the page plan.
The skill does not run scripts and does not use the network, according to its listing. It consists of SKILL.md only.
- Required: OpenMAIC classroom generation environment.
- Required: stage-design skill.
- Optional: understanding-by-design skill.
Safety limits built into the skill
The skill sets firm limits. Emotional expression is accepted without judgement, and students are not pressed to disclose personal trauma, mental health status or private experiences. The agent must not diagnose psychological conditions, treat learning setbacks as pathology, or use shaming, public ranking or peer pressure to drive participation.
The skill's own listing warns against using it with students who may be in emotional distress without a qualified adult involved, because reflection prompts can surface sensitive feelings. Review generated reflection prompts before students see them.
- No forced disclosure of personal or emotional history.
- No psychological diagnosis.
- No shaming, public ranking or peer pressure.
- Confirm scope with the user first if SEL is meant to be a second full strand beside the subject.
What people use it for
- Adding empathy practice to a science unit by having agent students offer different interpretations of the same data.
- Building a maths lesson where students practise self-management when an interactive task gives feedback and a retry.
- Designing a history discussion where students practise accepting constructive criticism and arguing about ideas rather than people.
- Writing a reflection page for a subject unit that records both the concept learned and the social-emotional skill practised.
Frequently asked questions
Is the social-emotional-learning skill free to use?
The source lists the skill under the MIT licence. It does not mention prices, so check the licence file in the repository for the terms that apply.
What do I need to run this skill?
You need the OpenMAIC classroom generation environment and the stage-design skill. The understanding-by-design skill is optional. The skill runs no scripts and uses no network.
Where do I install the skill folder?
Unzip the downloaded ZIP into ~/.claude/skills/ for personal use or into a project's .claude/skills/ folder. In the Claude apps, upload it under Settings → Capabilities → Skills.
Can I use it for a standalone counselling or homeroom lesson?
No. The skill says not to use it when SEL is the standalone content of a counselling, advisory, psychology or homeroom lesson. For that case, the agent should confirm scope first.
Is it safe to use with students who are struggling emotionally?
The source warns against using it with students who may be in emotional distress without a qualified adult involved, since reflection prompts can surface sensitive feelings.
How is this different from a general lesson-planning skill?
This skill focuses on adding a parallel SEL goal to a subject concept lesson, with specific embedding points and safety limits. Its listing does not compare it with other tools, so judge the fit against your own lesson needs.
New agent skills, repos and AI tools — every week
The best new skills and open-source projects, the fastest-growing repos, and one free prompt. Five minutes to read. Unsubscribe anytime.
Our verdict
Use this skill if you build OpenMAIC subject lessons and want practice in self-management, empathy, collaboration and responsible decisions built into the same pages as the concept. Pick something else if you need a standalone counselling, homeroom or psychology lesson, or if you are working with students who may be in emotional distress without a qualified adult present.
Download the skill