Developing Empathy with Your Students Through Technology
by Claire Levenson
What is Empathy and Why is it Important for Students?
Empathy is the ability to perceive and relate to the feelings of others. Helping young children to develop a substantial sense of empathy is beneficial for several reasons: it assists them in forming strong relationships with their peers, educators, and adult figures in their lives. Developing empathy also encourages student’s acceptance of others as well as leads to healthier mental states and the ability to advocate for one’s self more actively.
What are the Three Types of Empathy?
Cognitive Empathy: “Simply knowing how the other person feels and what they might be thinking. Sometimes called perspective-taking.” – Daniel Goleman, psychologist.
Emotional Empathy: “When you feel physically along with the other person, as though their emotions were contagious,” –Daniel Goleman
Compassionate Empathy: “With this kind of empathy we not only understand a person’s predicament and feel with them, but are spontaneously moved to help, if needed.” – Daniel Goleman
*This is the type of empathy as an educator we are striving to teach our students!
-Typically when someone comes to us upset, we skew to one side or the other. We either react with more feeling or more thinking. While the ‘ideal’ response is a combination of both. Teaching children how to develop empathy in a way where they can not only relate to one another on a cognitive level but also on an emotional level is ideal. This whole concept is not just for elementary school teachers but also secondary, as learning to deal with our emotions and how we relate to one another is a journey that does not end when we are children.
How does Technology Play a Role?
The following video beautifully details three ways technology can be used to help students build empathy in the classroom.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HZWusHfiBYc
These are just three examples; there are thousands of more ways because the internet is an ever evolving tool that should continue to be utilized in the classroom. For younger students using Google Hangout, as stated in the video, is a wonderful tool. This is an easy, user friendly way for students to practice digital citizenship by posting their work online and giving each other feedback. Also included in the video, as students get older, in your classroom you can begin to include social media such as Facebook and Twitter as a place for students to practice modeling digital citizenship.
Digital Empathy in the Time of COVID-19
Helping students develop empathy is particularly important when there are national disasters, states of emergencies, pandemics, etc. going on in the world. It is important for students to understand what other people may be going through even if they themselves are not going through the same thing. Utilizing technology to teach students empathy is vital during these times. Using tools such as cardboard VR to show students different parts of the world, bringing in virtual guest speakers, and doing virtual role-playing/exploring characters’ roles, are all great ways for students to learn to put themselves in others shoes using technology. All of these tools will help students develop the compassionate empathy that we are aiming to teach them which is especially important in our world today.
Resources:
https://blog.heartmanity.com/the-three-kinds-of-empathy-emotional-cognitive-compassionate
https://edtechnology.co.uk/comments/how-to-teach-digital-empathy/
Hey Claire! I thought that your blog was very captivating and I was drawn immediately in by the picture you used in the beginning. It is important for students to recognize that empathy is a healthy balance of the mind and your heart. Giving and receiving empathy helps with mental health and would be be beneficial for your students as it also helps them recognize each others feelings in a deeper way. Something that really stood out to me in your post was the ways to incorporate empathy digitally throughout this pandemic. It is important for teachers to be able to still give students the empathy that they need virtually. I especially liked your idea of bringing in a guest speaker because it gives the students something to look forward to and also a brand new perspective on a topic from someone other than their teacher!
ReplyDeleteHi Claire! I really like the topic you did your blog on, and I feel it connects to what we are working on in class so well. I think the way you broke down the three types of empathy are very clear and easy to follow while reading a long. Everything is very organized to make sure the message you want to convey is coming across appropriately. I think it is so important for students to develop strong skills when it comes too empathy not just for themselves but for each other as well. Awsome post, this was a job well done!
ReplyDeleteHi Claire! I really enjoyed your blog post. I thought the picture you used in the beginning was very captivating to tie in what you will be discussing. I agree with what you said as to why is empathy important to students. It is necessary for students to develop empathy in order to formulate relationships and acceptance with one another. Before reading your blog and Read the World, I did not realize there are three different types of empathy, or ways it can be broken down into different categories. In terms of technology, I never thought empathy could play a role. I like the video you attached to help clarify how tech can be used to build empathy in the classroom. One example that stuck out to me is definitely google hangout. I have seen other teachers use it for their students and have resulted in positive interactions with one another. Similar to discussion board on blackboard that we use, students are able to post work and receive feedback from other peers. Lastly, I like how you tied in your blog with the pandemic we are facing today. Even though everyone is at home, it is important for us all to stay connected. By having numerous online platforms, teachers can still implement activities that tie together with empathy for students to complete. I will definitely keep this all in mind for when I become a teacher. I think empathy is extremely important for students to learn and utilize in the classroom. Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteHey Claire! I really loved the way you started off your blog. This really made me so excited to continue reading on. I definitely agree with you that empathy is very important to develop with students. We as teachers need to solidify that foundation. I liked when you said, "Teaching children how to develop empathy in a way where they can not only relate to one another on a cognitive level but also on an emotional level is ideal." I thought this was so useful because we need to not forget to reach to students on an emotional level. I also never realized there were three different kinds on empathy before reading your blog. I loved how you separated each one and talked about their significance. Lastly, I liked how you connected your blog to the current state of the world. It is very important for teachers to stay connected with their students during these difficult times. Especially during these times, it is important to utilize the resources available. Overall, I will definitely think of these resources in the future, great work!
ReplyDeleteHi Claire, great post! I was really pulled in right away and I enjoyed how you structured this post to build up to the main point of teaching empathy with technology. I feel the idea you have chosen for this post is one of the most undervalued aspect of helping students, especially younger ones learn. The text we have read for this course speaks a lot about empathy and many of the try-its are centered around this idea. It was beneficial how you broke down different types of empathy as well, technology can help in some many ways so I felt it was a great choice you made to include different types of empathy. I especially liked how you related this all back to our current world health situation, relevance and personal connection can definitely lead to someone being more inclined to exhibit that empathetic behavior. Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteHi Claire! I love this topic and am happy you brought this to our blog. First, I like that you broke down empathy into three different types. I don't often see empathy being described in this way, but it's important for educators to recognize that distinction before bringing this work into the classroom. Something that stood out to me in your post was your point regarding using technology to teach students digital citizenship. When reading the chapter in the book, I had not thought about this. But, using technology to teach empathy skills is the perfect opportunity to discuss digital citizenship. I remember in our Educational Technology class, we focused on and discussed digital citizenship in much depth. If we want our students to successfully use technology, modeling empathy in these practices is a must! Empathy is the foundation for a conducive, technological learning environment. Overall, awesome ideas. Thanks for sharing this!
ReplyDeleteHi Claire! Great job on your blog post on developing empathy with our students through technology. I really liked this topic because I feel like the text we had for this class also had a lot of great information on this topic. It is important we create this sense of empathy in the classroom – when students can feel for each other’s emotions, it creates a better classroom community and a great sense of trust. I did not know there were three types of empathy, and it is good to know that we are striving to teach compassionate empathy in our classrooms. I really enjoyed the video you included with the three ways technology can help build empathy in the classroom. I think my favorite example was the one on modeling digital citizenship. I feel like with the pandemic and switching to online learning, we can see this occur through platforms that different schools are using. I know my school that I intern at uses Google Classroom, and I am constantly getting email notifications of students commenting on each other’s work! Awesome job on this blog post, I can’t wait to have my own classroom in the future and have the ideas of empathy be important with my students.
ReplyDeleteHi Claire! This post is so helpful! I really liked how you started by introducing empathy and going over the three types. I had an understanding of what empathy is but I really liked how you broke it down. I like that you made the empathy connection to technology. This is so important in today's world as teachers are working to continue building students character even though they are teaching online. I also really liked the resources you provided they gave so much information that is really helpful when discussing empathy with students. Great job!
ReplyDeleteHi Claire! Wonderful job on your blog post. Developing empathy at all ages is highly important. Currently, I teach Kindergarten and in the beginning of the year I focus a lot on empathy, feelings, and what is means to be a good citizen. I loved how you mentioned role playing. I think this is a great and engaging way to teach empathy. Teaching empathy through technology is always important but now especially. I think it important for students to know how to respectfully disagree with students and know how to make respectful comments with assignments. The video was great I liked how it gave suggestions across the grade levels. Empathy is so important thank you for sharing!
ReplyDeleteHi Claire, great work on your blog post! The video, 3 Ways to Build Empathy Using Technology, was a quick and simple sample of how to help students with empathy. One thing that really resonated with me were the empathy building Try Its from the reading. I think it is extremely important to teach children empathy beyond holiday food fundraisers. World hunger is an on going issue that students should be aware of which then will help authenticate their donations and their empathy towards the matter. Just like the image you have here on your blog, "Teach empathy as a LIFE SKILL, not a lesson plan." This is such an extremely strong statement.
ReplyDeleteHi Claire! Great job, this was so interesting and informative. I wasn't aware of the three types of empathy so thank you for teaching me! I loved the video, it gave me so many great ideas. I loved even more how you tied this topic into COVID, which is all on our minds right now, as well as our students. I agree, now more than ever it is important for our students to understand and have empathy towards others.
ReplyDeleteThis was a great post. I think teaching empathy is not only critical for our students, but also difficult. It is hard to teach feelings, understanding and compassion. It is not as simple as learning to count. I also think, we take these ideas and think they are naturally ingrained within all students and thatś just not the case. These can be the most important lesson a child takes with them into the world. The capability to be empathetic is a lifelong skill that can benefit anyone in all aspects of their life. I was curious how you would use technology to help build this within the classroom. The video gave many great ideas and the google hangout, I have heard of, but had never thought of it as a way to teach empathy. I also liked how you tied in what we are experiencing now and being able to connect with people and understand what they are feeling and going through during difficult times. My favorite part was the quote you started with, teach empathy as a life skill , not a lesson plan. I could not agree more. Great job!!
ReplyDeleteGood morning Claire~ This is such an important topic especially in these times of social distancing. Empathy is a life skill and not just a lesson and helping students recognize moments that they can act on and show empathy, with a screen between them, is a challenge but you incorporated many useful tips. I just had my 1st graders complete an oral presentation of a biography using flipgrid- and their assignment for next week is to go back and re watch everyone's videos and leave a reply video for a few classmates. This is one way I can model and encourage young students to speak in a constructive and positive way to each other (even though we are not together in the classroom). I found the video clip you included also very useful with tips to build empathy.
ReplyDeleteClaire- This post was fantastic! Teaching students how to be empathetic is such an important, life long skill. Not only will empathy help them in school to make and keep friendships but in the real world as well. To be completely honest I had no idea there were 3 different types of empathy until recently. I thought it was just all combined into one! Taking the time to teach and explain the difference between them might be beneficial to help students grow and develop each type. I shared the YouTube video that you linked with one of my teacher friends and we both agreed that using technology to teach empathy is going to be a focal point in our rooms. Without empathy, school is kind of a crappy place to be and as teachers it is our job to foster empathy to the best of our abilities. Great job again!
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