4 Proven Strategies for teaching Empathy-Donna Wilson Marcus Conyers

Empathy is the capability to learn and transfer another’s emotions. Empathy has the power to improve individual lives while also promoting good social change in schools and communities around the world. There are two common methods to empathy in psychology today: shared emotional reaction and perspective-taking.

When a person shares another person’s emotions, this is known as a shared emotional reaction or affective empathy. Marcus was joined by a group of friends as he crossed the finish line of a half-marathon, and they threw their arms up just like he did, mimicking his stance.

Another example of this form of empathy is people in the audience involuntarily copying a speaker’s smile. When a person is able to see herself in another’s circumstances, this is known as mindfulness or cognitive empathy. “If you just learn a single trick, Scout, you’ll get along a lot better with all kinds of people,” says Atticus Finch (Gregory Peck) in the movie To Kill a Mockingbird. You can never truly comprehend a person until you put yourself in his shoes. Unless you get into his skin and wander around in it.”

 INDICATIONS OF EMPATHY 

You have a knack for paying attention to what others have to say. People frequently confide in you about their issues. You have a keen sense of how other people are feeling. You frequently consider how other people actually feel. Others come to you for guidance. Tragic occurrences frequently overwhelm you. You make an effort to assist others who are in need.

What are the proven strategies for teaching empathy? 

Here are some ways that Donna Wilson Marcus Conyers alumni utilize their students around the world to help them develop both affective and cognitive empathy. Let us know about it in detail:

MODELING

Teachers can serve as role models for students, demonstrating the importance of Empathy in interpersonal relationships. Individuals are led to care for the emotions of others in the class by the teacher. Students mimic teachers’ optimistic and confident learning behaviors as teachers display how to be positive while learning.

POINT OF VIEW TEACHING

We teach kids about different points of view by using the numbers 6 and 9. Students should first consider the number 6 and then the number 9. Explain to pupils that the inspiration for this activity came from an old Middle Eastern fable about two princes who had been at odds for a long time. The image on the table was rated a 6 by one prince, while the other prince rated it a 9 by the other.

For years, the conflict raged, until one day, while the princes sat at the table, a young boy flipped the tablecloth around, allowing them to see the other’s point of view for the first time. When the conflict was over, the princes became firm friends.

Give an incident from your own life where you got into an argument with someone just because they had a different point of view. Request that students form small groups and discuss how critical it is to recognise that many people disagree with us simply because they hold a different viewpoint. Dissect the feedback from the students.

DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVES TAUGHT THROUGH LITERATURE

Literature can be utilized in the classroom to help pupils perceive an issue from many perspectives. The story of “The Three Little Pigs,” for example, is well-known. Because we see the wolf as a vicious monster, we sympathize with the pigs, but is it possible to see the narrative from the wolf’s perspective? In his book The True Story of the Three Little Pigs, Jon Scieszka sets out to do just that. The wolf in this amusing retelling didn’t huff and puff to blow the pigs’ dwellings down; instead, he had a bad allergy and accidently blew the houses down with a loud and forceful sneeze while passing by to get a cup of sugar.

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ACTIVELY LISTENING TO OTHERS

Effective listening is challenging, and people frequently do not listen to one another in conversation. This is one of the most common hurdles to empathic interactions. The HEAR technique was created to assist students notice and block out noise while focusing on listening to one another. The steps in the HEAR approach are as follows:

  1. Halt: Quit what you’re doing, put a halt to your internal discussion about other things, and turn your mind up to the speaker.
  1. Interact: Pay attention to the speaker. We recommend including a physical component, such as moving your head slightly to the right so your right ear is facing the speaker, as a reminder to focus entirely on listening.
  1. Predict: By anticipating what the speaker will say, you’re accepting that you’ll probably learn something new and intriguing, which will increase your desire to listen.
  1. Repeat: Consider what the speaker is saying again. Analyze and paraphrase it in your head or in a group conversation with your classmates. Replaying and discussing what you’ve heard will help you better understand what the speaker is trying to say.

Conclusion 

In this article, you come to know about 4 proven strategies for teaching empathy by Donna Wilson Marcus Conyers. Be conscious of your sentiments and beliefs about your ability to comprehend and share other people’s emotions. We can all become more competent at taking another’s perspective using metacognitive awareness throughout our lives. When we urge kids to become more empathic, we are assisting them in increasing their chances of academic and personal success. We should pay greater attention to this vital ability. I hope it will be helpful for you all. 

Carter Martin

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