Emotions, Empathy and Learning

PGCHE

•Activity

‘In hostels B&C, where children lie about on the floor, cannot get up, refuse to eat, mess their pants, steal whenever they feel a loving impulse, torture cats, kill mice and bury them so as to have a cemetery where they can go and cry, in these hostels there should be a notice: visitors not admitted. The wardens of these hostels have the perpetual job of covering naked souls, and they see as much suffering as can be seen in a mental hospital for adults’ Docker-Drysdale, 1990, pg132 These children have experienced virtually no empathy

What is empathy?

• An ability to feel and see the world from another’s perspective by building a mental understanding of others in your own mind • allows human beings to understand and value each others feelings and understanding • for teachers empathy crucial for emotional and intellectual assessment, high quality relationships and the appropriate scaffolding of learning

50’s 60’s & 70s affective issues taken seriously - from counselling psychology to education-

'Just as the client finds that empathy provides a climate for learning more of himself, so the student finds himself in a climate for learning subject matter when he is in the presence of an understanding teacher'

(Rogers, 1975 ,pg 8)

Motivation – Maslow’s hierarchy of needs

Basic needs have to be met before higher order needs http://chiron.valdosta.edu/whuitt/col/regsys/maslow.html

http://www.tutor2u.net/business/people/motivation_theory_maslow.asp

A technology for humanising education – David Aspy 1972!!!

• Nothing to do with ICT!!!

• The school system can be very inhuman • The quality of the human relationships in the classroom is central to good teaching • Teachers need to value students, tune into them, show them empathy and communicate very positively with them • Teachers are more successful if they know their pupils very well and treat them as human beings in valuing relationships, rather than as pupils to be taught a set curriculum • Designed a whole set of teacher behaviours in class both to analyse classroom relationships and to support teachers in using a more empathic approach

80’s &90s Cognitive/skills domination

• mechanistic • National curriculum, teaching competencies • Tick box /hoop jumping approach to learning • devoid of emotion • Late 90’s role of emotion returns to fashion

Our emotions and learning

• Think of a learning achievement you feel really good about. What was good about it?

What effect did it have? • Think of some aspect of learning you really struggled in – felt bad about -- why was that? Have you ever overcome this set back?

• Do this following research apply to our classrooms?

Teachers as moral models: the role of empathy in teacher/pupil relationships (Cooper, 2002)

• Detailed exposition and classification of empathy at work in real classrooms • Detailed explanation of effects of empathy including how it supports learning, interaction • But…. detailed explanation of how factors in the contexts in which teachers work constrain the use of empathy

Empathic treatment central to both moral attitudes and learning

• Hoffman,1967; Rogers,1975; Straughan,1989; Bottery, 1990 • Koseki & Berghammer,1992 – different kinds of empathy – some more moral • Noddings,1986 – care – engrossment in others – feeling as they feel • Murdoch,1970 - care – loving attention • Vygotsky, 1986 – affective and cognitive inseparable (educators focus on cognitive)

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When we approach the problem of the interrelation between thought and language and other aspects of mind, the first question that arises is that of intellect and affect. Their separation as subjects of study is a major weakness of traditional psychology, [] (E)very idea contains a transmuted affective attitude toward the bit of reality to which it refers.

(Vygotsky, 1986 p 10).

Emotion central to learning and moral development

• Best, 1998 – emotions neglected in British education – • Goleman,1996; Damasio; 1994,1999,2003 neuroscience reaffirms the role of emotion in interaction - therefore all learning is affective in nature • Leal, 2002 – interaction socio-emotional process – turn-taking dialogue vital

Psychology, socio-cultural theory and neuroscience affirm the human in learning • Damasio, 1999 – each interaction causes us to adapt our internal map of ourselves – this is both a mental and bodily process and is registered as a feeling • To keep us keen on interaction feelings have to be mainly positive or we withdraw – • Since learning is the result of interaction we need to keep the ambience in class positive • intensive positive interaction (like falling in love!!) supports processing, learning and memory

• Best argues that love is the spirituality at the heart of education – mutually respectful interaction (2003) • affective and moral issues in education more prominent again (Broadfoot, 2000, Hargreaves, 2001, Deakin-Crick 2003) • Much of this affective emphasis also reinforced by recent literature on teacher learning (Hoban, 2002, Ripple Report, 2003) – not just children • Damasio (2003) links spirituality to a sense of bodily and mental harmony and serene joy and testifies to the the brain.

narcotic

effect of such joy on

Where does Emotional Literacy start?

Empathy and shared understanding starts with love and being loved

What would he be saying if he could speak?

I love you mum!

From non-verbal expression to lone words

to rhyme and music

Emotional and sensual understanding gradually expressed symbolically in language • Slowly, sometimes painfully, sometimes more enjoyably, children master reading and writing • But we are multi sensory creatures and this is our natural way of interpreting the world

• Research suggests that 93% of communication is non-verbal • Empathy and emotion expressed through the non-verbal

Findings from thesis

• Empathy a rich and powerful phenomenon which showed itself in different degrees in different contexts – fundamental, functional, profound, feigned • Empathy develops over time and with frequency of interaction • Involves creating a rich mental model of individuals which connects closely with your own - both affective and cognitive –academic and personal

Characteristics of empathy (Cooper, 2002)

• Fundamental - initial characteristics - means of communication • Profound - 1-1 relationships • Functional or relative empathy - used for groups and to allow teachers to cope with constraints of classrooms • shallow and feigned empathy

Profound Empathy 1-1

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Developing positive emotions and interactions

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Understanding self, others and explaining understanding

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Appreciation of all relationships

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Breadth and depth of empathy

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Act and take responsibility

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Richly adaptive and integrated concept of themselves and others

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Moral aspects

Sharing very positive emotions

Well I get a superb sense of joy out of it

(Anna 994).

trying to put yourself in the positions the learner's in and trying to see what would be difficult, daunting or enjoyable, I mean actually the enjoyment side of work is very important:

(Tanya 357/368). Includes masking negative emotions Time, Sole attention and understanding

Deep in discussion type of thing, fully concentrated on one another on each other, like we are now (laughs) looking into each other's eyes, nothing can escape one another's attention

(Claire 566/572).

Enthusiasm I think breeds enthusiasm ... you know it generates itself (Sara)

Constraints on empathy

• poor teacher/student ratios • lack of time • Rigid, over-filled curriculum • competition, testing, league tables • secondary schools/HE -fragmented relationships • teachers’ personal problems • unempathic management/systems • children with multiple needs

Effects of empathy

• Increases interaction and communication • builds esteem /self-worth • creates emotional links • builds trust and security and provokes emulation of empathy building empathic climates • Optimises Learning !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Emotional closeness reveals the hidden factors which inhibit communication, learning and development

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I think it's important to be empathic, not so much to understand what these children are learning inside the classroom, but trying to understand why some of these children respond and react in some of the ways they do and see it in the light of some of the experiences that they have that we don't see. [] because things happen behind some of these lace curtains, in these lovely houses, that we don't know about

(Terry) - all ages??

Empathy leads to emulation of empathy – improves empathic ambience and increases positive interaction

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By your praise of somebody else you can hear another child trying to mirror what you’re doing

(Charlotte).

• Intense positive interaction breeds positive interaction

Classroom ambience and quality of learning dependant on degree of profound empathy available for individuals Teacher Curricular teacher /pupil quality Flexibility ratio

Quality/ amount/frequency

Time

of positive interaction

Quality

leading to profound empathy

of management Nature and groupings Facilitative quality of pupils in class of environment 7

Teacher dominant classrooms reduce interaction • When teachers dominate the class, emphasise the negative over the positive, deny interaction, then we recognise the literature on alienating environments, power and control typified by Foucault (1977) and Goffman, (1961), Illich (1971), Hargreaves (1982).

• Such teaching is unempathic and large classes and a rigid, fragmented curriculum especially in secondary schools encourage this style (Cooper, 2002) HE least empathic phase

• In such classes students are often treated and react as a group – has been trend in primary but perhaps changing back • Students do not interact enough to internalise learning and have little sense of ownership over learning • they do not have enough control or influence to increase their self-esteem • the classroom atmosphere is more likely to be cold and unhappy and the students reflect the attitude of the teacher making them unhappy too.

Need to build emotional capital through positive interactions: • in homes • in learning institutions Have you come across students with no self esteem ?

How did it effect them - their learning ? What can we do to improve esteem?

Teacher characteristics

Empathic Unempathic

Attitudes

open, warm, relaxed, good humoured, fair, ensures fairness, models and expects common courtesy, explains how children should work or behave in an understanding way rather than criticising their present work or behaviour sees class as a group, not individuals, not interested in developing individuals, more interested in teaching subject, can be impatient, intolerant of some pupils' weaknesses or even whole class, does not listen, finds it hard to change tack if lesson not going well and finds it hard to apologise if wrong

Empathic Unempathic

Facial characteristics

frequent smiles, generally positive demeanour, expressive face which shows emotions and can switch emotions quite quickly, tends to reflect student emotions but also leads and influences them e.g. if the teacher wants to encourage thinking/reflecting, she models a thinking face robot-like, not expressive, do not show emotions, facial expressions not in tune with words

Empathic |Unempathic

Voice

positive, encouraging, expressive, clear directions when necessary and supportive, varied, reflects accurately the meaning of the words

Body-language

Uses gesture, animated, tactile, moves around, uses body for emphasis and explanation unemotional, efficient, business like, very matter of fact, tone not in tune with words wooden, unapproachable, distant, formal, not animated

Empathic Unempathic

Positioning

generally gets closer to child, less distance, less formality and in a large classroom provides one to one support when possible, moves around quite a lot, sits down with pupils, lowers whole body often down below student's level.

more formal, distanced from children, front of class, higher than children

Empathic Unempathic

Responses

knows and uses students name frequently, listens carefully to students, gives them sole concentration when possible, elicits understanding from them, echoes and affirms their comments, tries to give a positive response but asks them to elaborate or develop response if weak, prompts and helps them when necessary, constructs answerable questions to build confidence responds more to whole class, not understanding, not individualised, overrides, ignores pupils' comments, negative or unhelpful responses to children's attempts, does not value extend or clarify comments, doesn't spend time explaining problematic issues

Empathic Unempathic

Content of teaching

frequently initiates a session with some aspect of topic that relates directly to child's own experience, personal interest, humour and discussion of non academic issues interspersed at appropriate moments through lesson, the personal used as a vehicle into the subject matter Sticks to curriculum/subject, blanket teaching, little differentiation, does not relate to children's interests and understanding or to the real world

Empathic Unempathic

Method of teaching

varied teaching strategies, relaxed but rigorous, involves changes of pace and style, adaptable and flexible, sessions well-structured, individualised and personalised wherever possible, use of differentiation matches task to child, explains problem issues, takes time over any issues, prepares individual material for children who need it more rigid, lacks variety, lacks interpersonal level, elicits less from pupils, more instruction, less reflection/discussion, interaction, less reflection of pupils interest, emotions

Empathic Unempathic

Other features

Uses humour, 'not like a teacher’, in touch with student's interests, form personal relationships with each child, considers the informal significant, very aware of individual social and emotional aspects, put time and effort into relationships. Concerned with out of school life of child. Maintain a long-term view of the child's well-being.

Behaves like a teacher, lacking in humour, shows false emotion, does not concern themselves with personal issues with children, tends to ignore emotional aspects of interaction. Not particularly interested in the child beyond today's class.

The concept of capital - Social & cultural capital - Pierre Bourdieu (1930-2002) Emotional capital - needed for constructive learning

Pennies from Heaven – Dennis Potter - characters symbols of ways of learning

• children fear her • cruel • rigid • aggressive • confrontational • rule-bound • abrupt • tense • empathy limited to only some children

• warm • loving • sensitive to children’s feelings • imaginative • creative • Uses all senses - music, dancing ,stories, drama • natural world - fun-loving • very positive discipline • familial

The big questions

• Sit back for one minute and characterise your ideal learning experience – • Which factors would make it ideal?

• Think about your ideal teaching experience?

• Which factors would make it ideal?

Are universities good places to learn?

Could we make them better?

How ?

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No Place to Learn

Why Universities Aren't Working Tom Pocklington and Allan Tupper • http://www.newhorizons.org/strategies/learning_envir onments/lang.htm

• http://www.hobart.k12.in.us/technology/learn%20env ir.html

• Cooper, B. (2004) Empathy, interaction and caring; teachers’ roles in a constrained environment,

Pastoral Care in Education

Vol 22 no3 Sept 2004

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Possible futures

http://www.virtual.gmu.edu/pdf/constr.pdf