Empathy in Teaching

Learning to Think from a Student's Perspective

Empathy is a word that many people use. However, very few really know what it means. Empathy is defined as "the psychological identification with or vicarious experiencing of the feelings, thoughts, or attitudes of another." This definition, at the most basic level, refers to the ability of one person to understand the feelings, thoughts or attitudes of another person. While this definition goes a long way to define the word, it does not explain how empathy has a wide range of forms and intensities that can be either positive or negative in the way they manifest themselves. After explaining this concept, I will move on to explain how empathy can be used as an extremely positive force in education. 

The Wide Range of Empathetic Responses

     Empathy can be divided into two broad categories. These categories are emotional empathy and cognitive empathy. Emotional empathy can be described as an instinctive ability people have from birth that allows them to see emotions in others and then feel those emotions themselves in a range of intensities. Some people feel a small connection to others emotionally while other people can feel a very large connection. In fact, people who have been classified with psychopathy almost always lack emotional empathy and this is one of the listed traits that help define those types of people. On the other hand, people who feel very large emotional empathy can become overwhelmed and be prone to depression. Cognitive empathy, the second category, involves the ability to see things from another person's point of view. Sometimes cognitive empathy has been referred to as 'theory of mind'. This cognitive form of empathy develops over time in children and can be nurtured from a very young age. People with autism generally lack this ability and a lack of balance between the two types of empathy can make life harder for any person. In fact, it is this balance between the two types of empathy that I wish to discuss further. 

"Once a teacher understands the cognitive and emotional states of the students, effective instruction can take place"

Understanding More Than Just What Students Know

     In order to be an effective educator, a teacher needs to be able to anticipate the needs of the students. This involves first knowing what the students already know and do not know. This statement is probably going to feel obvious to any teacher because it has to do with assessing a student's cognitive level through testing and knowing what they have learned before. The next statement, however, may not feel so obvious. Being an effective teacher involves knowing the emotional state of the students. Most educators try to focus almost entirely on the subject they are teaching and spend very little, if any, time thinking about the emotional states of the students. These teachers do this at the risk of sabotaging themselves and their students. I say this because the goal of any educator is to give students knowledge, skills, and experiences that will make them more successful in the future. If a teacher is not thinking about the emotional states of the students, it is impossible to create a positive atmosphere that is conducive to learning. Once a teacher understands the cognitive and emotional states of the students, effective instruction can take place. 

     The atmosphere in any classroom plays a large part in how successfully students interact and absorb concepts. This atmosphere is created on two fronts. The attitudes and feelings of the students, and the attitudes and feelings of the teacher. In every classroom there are highly motivated students that almost always come to class ready and willing to learn. These students are a joy to have in class but they rarely represent more than a small percentage of all the students. It is very easy to just focus on these students and feel that we are doing our job. However, as educators, it is the teacher's job to manage the classroom atmosphere and ensure that it is conducive to teaching and learning for all the students. All teachers have their own methods to do this, but in my opinion teachers are rarely successful. The reason for this is lack of empathy. Many teachers try to do all they can to make the subject matter interesting to the students. They do whatever they can to get the students attention and then try to make them enthusiastic about what the lesson is about. This is important but it is not enough. A teacher can be bouncing off the walls with enthusiasm about their subject and students will still ignore them or be barely awake during class. Therefore, before the class begins a teacher needs to think deeply about the emotional and cognitive states of the students. Once this is done, a teacher can address these states and make a relationship with students that fosters trust and respect. Then, and only then, can a teacher create an environment where learning can take place. 

"Empathy...facilitates the development of social competence and enhances the quality of meaningful relationships" - McDonald & Messinger

     Nicole McDonald and Daniel Messinger (2010) explain that "empathy...facilitates the development of social competence and enhances the quality of meaningful relationships". The key part of this idea is the word "quality". I would argue that if there is any social context where the quality of a relationship is of high importance, it is in schools. Teachers can rely too heavily on the fact that students show up for class more often than not. It is very easy to ignore the fact that students may not want to be in the classroom. Every student is forced to attend classes and teachers can become complacent due to the fact that they do not need to attract students in this manner. However, I believe that physically being in the classroom is not the same as being 'present'. In order for a student to fully be present in class and be fully engaged in the lesson, they need to want to learn. By showing empathy for a student's state of mind, a teacher can create these high quality and meaningful relationships with students. Let's examine how this can be done. 

Creating Relationships

     In my experience, students feel that the people in their life do not understand them. This may be true, or it may not, but it is true in the minds of the students. Therefore, the first way to create relationships with students is to ask and listen. Before class starts is a great time to ask students about how they feel or how they are doing. The simple act of asking how a student is doing, and listening to the answer, can turn a non-responsive student into an active participant. This act shows the student that you are genuinely interested in their state of mind and they then feel that they have a teacher who cares for them on some level. It is not possible to talk to all students in a class in this manner but talking to even one or two can have an effect on the classroom atmosphere. 

     The second way to create relationships with students is to pay attention to student schedules. Students can very easily feel overwhelmed by the various demands that are placed on them in school. They often have homework from multiple subjects in addition to special projects and after school club activities. Some students also have responsibilities outside of school that include extra-curricular activities or even extra study. Understanding these other obligations that your students have and expressing your concern for how they are coping with them can have a positive effect on your relationship with students. Sometimes the simple act of sympathizing with their workload can make them feel better and subsequently more apt to pay attention in your class. If possible, a teacher can even schedule homework assignments that do not conflict heavily with other school projects. Expressing your understanding and then showing how you plan to help students can gain valuable trust that can go a long way. 

     A third way to create relationships with students is to see your lesson from the student's point of view. As teachers we can very easily get hung up on the simple exchange of ideas without thinking about how the students will process what they learn. In other words, it is important to mentally put yourself in their shoes and try to make the cognitive connections that will lead to understanding the concepts of a lesson. Imagining what it will be like to read a text with difficult vocabulary, answer questions, and discuss complicated topics can help a teacher to ensure that the lesson plan will be effective. Beyond this practice, it is important to discuss this with your students as well. When you see that a student or group of students are struggling with a lesson, it is important to show them that you understand the difficult parts of the lesson and then suggest a way for them to tackle it that will lead to success. Again, students feel that you are sympathetic to their feelings and they will try harder to apply themselves. 

     Finally, one last way to create relationships with students is to show students that you are fallible. Nobody likes a know-it-all and no students like a teacher who acts like they know everything. Everyone makes mistakes and students know this better than most people. Showing your students that you make errors helps them to know that you understand it when they make errors. In addition, it is imperative that teachers provide a model to students of how to deal with errors. When a teacher can show that they do not get overly concerned or disrupted by occasional errors of any magnitude, students can take this as a lesson. In fact, some of the greatest lessons we can teach students is how to find positives in negatives. As soon as a student sees that their teacher not only makes errors like they do, but also sees those errors as a positive force, they are much more likely to respect and therefore pay attention to that teacher's lessons. 

Students Need Relationships in Order to be Challenged

     The human condition dictates that relationships are important not only for learning and growing, but also for happiness. Study after study has shown that the number one factor in a person's happiness is the quality of their relationships. The Harvard Grant study was one such study. The study followed the lives of over 200 men for 75 years and came to the conclusion that the quality of our relationships is the biggest factor in our happiness. I believe that schools need to be happy places. When students are happy, they can be challenged to learn. Therefore, we as educators need to create an environment where a strong relationship between teacher and student leads to the happiness needed to facilitate a positive learning experience. This all begins with the simple act of using empathy as our greatest teaching tool. The four ways that we can easily start using empathy in our classrooms is to ask and listen, pay attention to their schedules, see your lessons from the student's point of view, and show that you are fallible. With these methods as a starting point, it is possible to more successfully take the journey to academic success that is laid out before us all. 

Reference(s)

McDonald, N.M., and D.S. Messinger. 2010. The Development of Empathy: How, When, and Why. Department of Psychology, University of Miami: USA.