Empathy in the School Setting

Published on Nov 24, 2015

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PRESENTATION OUTLINE

Empathy in the School Setting

AIMS 2015
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My Story

(That's not me)

On teaching

(Also not me)

"It is customary for adults to forget how hard and dull and long school is. The learning by memory all the basic things one must know is the most incredible and unending effort. Learning to read is probably the most difficult and revolutionary thing that happens to the human brain and if you don't believe that, watch an illiterate adult try to do so. School is not easy and it is not for the most part very much fun, but then, if you are very lucky, you may find a teacher. Three real teachers in a lifetime is the very best of luck."

EXERCISE

Your REAL Teacher

Education is the process of one human being, gathering together with other human beings, to discover the true nature of being human.
- Cyril Harvey, Guilford College

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Emotional Intelligence predicts:

  • Success in school
  • Success in careers
  • Success in relationships
  • Success in life
Goleman, D. (1995). Emotional intelligence. New York: Bantam.

Social & Emotional Learning

Empathy

What is it?
Hoffman, M.L. (2000). Empathy and moral development. Cambridge: Cambridge University
Press.
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Empathy is "feeling WITH another."





Nancy Eisenberg and Janet Strayer

Eisenberg, N. & Strayer, J. (1987). Critical issues in the study of empathy. In N. Eisenberg & J. Strayer, Empathy and its development (pp. 3-13). New York, NY: Cambridge Press

"Empathy is the latest code word for liberal activism"

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Empathy

What ISN'T it?
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Sympathy

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"a contiguous sharing of emotions"

Other key terms:  Personal Distress

Constructs of Empathy: Cognitive

"Thinking," imagining, perspective-taking, deliberate, language-based
Eisenberg, N. & Strayer, J. (1987). Critical issues in the study of empathy. In N. Eisenberg & J. Strayer, Empathy and its development (pp. 3-13). New York, NY: Cambridge Press.
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Constructs of Empathy: Affective

"Feeling,"automatic, unwitting, non-language based
Hoffman, M.L. (2000). Empathy and moral development. Cambridge: Cambridge University
Press.

Constructs of Empathy:  Mirror Neuron System

Rizzolatti, G. (1996). Premotor cortex and the recognition of motor actions. Cognitive
Brain Research, 3, 131-141.

Rizzolatti, G. & Craighero L. (2004). The mirror neuron system. Annual Review of
Neuroscience, 27: 169-192.
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Development of Empathy

Eisenberg, N., & Fabes, R. A. (1991). Prosocial behavior and empathy: A multi-method
developmental perspective. In M. S. Clark (Ed.), Prosocial behavior (pp. 34-61).
Newbury Park, CA: Sage.

Eisenberg, N., Spinrad, T., & Sadovsky, A. (2006). Empathy-related responding in children. In M. Killen and J. Smetana (Eds.), Handbook of moral development (pp. 517-550). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

Hoffman, M.L. (2000). Empathy and moral development. Cambridge: Cambridge University
Press.

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Stepien, K. & Baerstein, A. (2006). Educating for empathy. Journal of General Internal
Medicine, 21, 524-530.

Associated Outcomes of High Empathy

  • Pro-social behavior
  • Increased altruism
  • Increased cooperation
  • Reduced agression
  • Reduced prejudice
  • Improved academic achievement (especially in humanities)
  • Improved peer relationships (defenders)
Eisenberg, N., & Fabes, R. A. (1991). Prosocial behavior and empathy: A multi-method
developmental perspective. In M. S. Clark (Ed.), Prosocial behavior (pp. 34-61).
Newbury Park, CA: Sage.

Eisenberg, N., & Fabes, R. A. (1998). Prosocial development. In W. Damon & N. Eisenberg,
(Eds.), Handbook of child psychology, vol 3: Social, emotional and personality
Development (pp. 701-775). New York: John Riley.

Fesbach, N.D. & Fesbach, S. Empathy and education. In J. Decety & W. Ickes (Eds.), The
social neuroscience of empathy (pp. 85-98). Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press.

Associated Outcomes of Deficient Empathy

  • Anti-social behavior
  • Deliquency
  • Child abuse
  • Bullying
  • Victimization
Woods, S., Wolke D., Nowicki, C., & Hall, L. (2007) Emotion recognition abilities and empathy of victims of bullying. Child Abuse & Neglect, 33, 307–311.

Ellis, P. (1982). Empathy: a factor in anti-social behavior. Journal of Abnormal Child
Psychology, 10: 1 , 123-134.

Empathic Relationships

"mutually shared knowledge"
De Wied, M., Branje, S., & Meeus, W. (2007). Empathy and conflict resolution in friendship
relations among adolescents. Aggressive Behavior, 33, 48–55.


Gleason, K.A., Jens-Campbell, L., & Ickes, W. (2009). The role of empathic accuracy in
adolescent peer relations and adjustment. Personal and Social Psychology Bulletin, 35, 8,
997-1011.

Goubert, L., Craig, K., & Buysse, A. Perceiving others in pain: Experimental and clinical
evidence on the role of empathy. In J. Decety and W. Ickes (Eds.), The Social Neuroscience of Empathy (pp. 215-233) Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press.

Graham, T. (1994). Gender, relationship, and target differences in empathic accuracy. Unpublished master’s thesis, University of Texas, Arlington.
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Empathy and gender

Graham, T. (1994). Gender, relationship, and target differences in empathic accuracy. Unpublished master’s thesis, University of Texas, Arlington.


Hoffman, M. L. (1977). Sex differences in empathy and related behaviors. Psychological
Bulletin, 84 (4), 712-722.

Eisenberg, N. & Lennon, R. (1983). Sex differences in empathy and related capacities.
Psychological Bulletin, 94(1), 100-131.


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The "boy code"

Cox, A. (2006). Boys of few words. New York: Guilford.

Kindlon, D. & Thompson, M. (1999). Raising Cain. New York, NY: Ballantine Books.

Pollack, W. (1999). Real boys. New York, NY: Henry Holt and Company.

Facial-recognition exercise

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Threats OF empathy

Empathy without ethicality
http://theweek.com/articles/443448/dark-side-empathy

Anneke Buffone and Michael Poulin at UBuffalo
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Discussion

How does this impact our notion of what it means to teach?

Model the way

  • Empathize before you rationalize or systematize
  • "Thereness"
  • Listen deeply
  • Share of yourself (vulnerability)
  • Explore your students' lives
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Developing empathy in school

A skills-based approach
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Empathic skills

  • Deep listening
  • Recognizing cues
  • Perspective-taking
  • Reflection
  • Self-assessment
  • Dialogue & conversation
  • Risk-taking, extension & grappling
  • Collaboration

Exercise

Design and describe an activity that addresses one or more of these skills

Steinbeck's real teachers:
"My three had these things in common - They all loved what they were doing. They did not tell - they catalyzed a burning desire to know. Under their influence, the horizons sprung wide and fear went away and the unknown became knowable. But most important of all, the truth, that dangerous stuff, became beautiful and very precious."

Bart Bronk
University Liggett School
bbronk@uls.org
@bronkykong

Bart Bronk

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