Students Who Care Write With Flair!The Empathetic Classroom

Caitlin KrauseELMLE 2014

BERLIN

Where is “home”, and how is it defined?…

Each student entering a classroomcarries with him/her

an individual identity:a history,

a set of hopes;a set of fears.

Think back to your own student experiences, and to a class that you enjoyed:

What are traits of this class that made it memorable?

“a positive place”“recognized me as a person”“gave me sense of belonging”

“challenged and encouraged me”“made me laugh”

“made me feel as if people cared”“was a safe space to take risks”

The best classrooms seem to stand out for reasons beyond cognitive skill development–

building empathy makes a difference.

The classroom can become a place of intimidation and judgment in a

heartbeat.Community comes first!

That is the true core.

The first step for students is to feel they belong,

they each have a voice, and they are drivers,

not along for the ride.

Empathyis the (missing?) link

Em (in) Pathy (feeling)“Empathy enables us to reach out

and connect with others in our human condition, and it is a crucial need for our species,

having an intrinsic evolutionary and neurological basis for development.”

(www.empathyed.org)

First Steps in Writing & Sharing

When giving in-class empathetic “quickwrites”, consider using a short reading that students

can respond to in writing (poem/ quote/ news/ scenario).

Write alongside students; they will see you writing and take cues from you.

Make sharing optional, without too much critique in beginning– just sharing, appreciating, postulating,

moving on (and, you can share!).

Sharing is optional… yet, encouraged!

from Writing for Your Life by Deena Metzger

Arguments for Empathy in Education:

Daniel Pink and the Conceptual Age, need to: “create artistic and emotional beauty…to combine seemingly unrelated ideas

into a novel invention…,to empathize,

to find joy in one’s self and elicit it in others”

(p. 51, A Whole New Mind).

Howard Gardner’s Frames of Mind and Multiple Intelligences:

Interpersonal intelligence is the “capacity to understand the intentions,

motivations, and desires of other people.” (Gardner, 2003, p. 43)

Howard Gardner, photo by Peter Gregoire, Edutopia

Jean Piaget and Lev Vygotsky’s research, “constructivism” revolution in learning theories: children are unique learners,

actively constructing knowledge based on previous experiences– not passive learners, not “sponges”– they are actively engaged

and driving their own learning!

Statue of Piaget in Geneva, photo by Roland Zumbühl Lev Vygotsky, image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

Students self-reflect about writing, journals, and various styles.

They have voice:

Claire: http://blogs.zis.ch/13498/

Katherine: http://blogs.zis.ch/14030/

Roos: http://blogs.zis.ch/13856/

Kevin: http://blogs.zis.ch/3865/

Ties: http://blogs.zis.ch/14339/

Eliminate fear = + community = + sharing!

You set the tone as a writing mentor, yet students are the true leaders in the classroom

WRITING = RISK-TAKING: we want everyone to clamor to debate,

engage, and tell his/her story!

“Good teaching cannot be reduced to technique; good teaching comes from the

identity and integrity of the teacher.”

“Relational trust is built on movements of the human heart such as empathy, commitment, compassion, patience,

and the capacity to forgive.”

- Parker Palmer, The Courage to Teach

•Building empathy takes time, care and patience… teaching listening and responding

•Writing is not a lonely activity; the process thrives on interaction and understanding of others (empathy).

•Give credit to the difficult task of writing!

 "Easy-to-read is hard to write."     

- Pam Zollman

Empathy and Mindfulness:As we seek to understand others,

pausing to be mindful of ourselvesand the surrounding world is fundamental.

Pause for Mindfulness: Are you aware of yourself, and your 5 senses?How can you describe the space around you?

Is there enough “empty space” for free flowing thoughts?

“Music is the space between the notes.” -Debussy

Keats’ Negative Capability

Play music as background for students, for example:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mYIfiQlfaas

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pmKkaCKWreM

Mindfulness in EducationInvites the Writing Voice to Speak;

Links to Empathy

Write whatever comes to your mind– a story, reaction, or other, when you hear the above.

Just let it happen…Write without edits.

Beginning with a community of sharing, risk-taking, self-reflection, and students

owning their own writing allows the classroom to bloom.

In fact, there are no “walls”; no fixed classroom space. Freedom is key.

We could extend to contexts that included local community, outside influences and

global connections.

Student Writing about Zeitgeist “The Spirit of the Times”: Students' Zeitgeist 2013 Compilation - published December 11Google's Zeitgeist 2013 Video - published December 17 Zeitgeist Response When I heard the number of people that had lost their lives after the typhoon in the Philippines, I was unbelievably upset. I guess I am the kind of person who really cares about what happens in the world. Natural disasters like the Typhoon Haiyan have a huge impact on me, and I really do care. The Philippines did not have enough supplies to give to all of the victims, so other countries helped out. The United Kingdom on its own raised 23 million pounds; the Netherlands raised roughly 15 million euros; many countries have donated money and have done fundraising actions to make sure that no more people become victims of Haiyan.

– Roos

Student Writing Sample – What Would You Give Up?Response to poem by Marie Howe:

Student Writing Sample – What Would You Give Up?Response to poem by Marie Howe:

Additional In-Class Universal Writing Ideas—

ways to infuse writinginto any subject,

with Essential Questions

Essential Question (interdisciplinary):How does learning about nature teach us something

about ourselves?

Video Response:View: http://vimeo.com/58045466#

Begin by writing about this topic for 2 minutes. Your goal is to include as many thoughts as possible, without worry about grammar, spelling

and conventions.

Empathetic Quickwrite:3 nouns, 2 verbs news story

Show that action and news hinge on certain parts of speech;

good summarizing tool.

Stories travel around the room;students find links and connections

to be the next speaker.

Write from one viewpoint of the story; then, from another

Writing is an engaging, collaborative arena!

“It (education) is about respecting children as human beings, and about

supporting, not suppressing, their passion, curiosity, and talent.”

- Yong Zhao, World Class Learners (p. 256)

In Sum:

1) Freedom to Share & Celebrate2) Students as Drivers

3) Empathetic Classrooms Span the Globe

"A need to hear and tell stories is essential to

human beings, second in necessity

apparently after nourishment

and before love and shelter." 

–Reynolds PriceThere are stories and

perspectives all around us

“I believe in the kind of empathy that is created through imagination and through intimate, personal relationships. I am a writer and a teacher, so much

of my time is spent interpreting stories and connecting to other individuals. It is the urge to

know more about ourselves and others that creates empathy. Through imagination… we transcend our

limitations, freshen our eyes, and are able to look at ourselves and the world through a new and

alternative lens.”- Azar Nafizi

Empathyis at the heart

of a writing classroom,allowing each memberto value one another;

to share and learnwith authenticity;

to extend to the world.

Additional Empathy-Building Writing Prompt: Index Card Introductions

(great for a first day “quickwrite”)

1. Full Name, Nickname preferred

2. Birthplace

3. Place Considered “Home” and Why

4. Distinguishing Characteristic

5. Primary Human Emotion: name all four, focus on one

Empathy-Building Writing Prompts:

“Pacman” Main Character

MAD GLAD SAD SCARED

Forced Fusion

5 Card Flickr:

http://5card.cogdogblog.com/show.php?suit=5card

Ethos Pathos Logos

Additional Materials and Writing Prompts:

Short Stories: VCPDMS

Hyperbole/Understatement

Rants and Raves

Music Thesis Statement

Epigraphs

Ekphrasis

Alien Writing

Nature Journaling

Additional Materials and Writing Prompts:

Solstice, Equinox and Vivaldi’s Four Seasons

Poetry Out Loud

Universal School Readings

Create a Rubric Through Class Discussions

Commenting on Poetry: Sound, Structure, Symbolism, Significance!

Empathy –Related Sources & Websites:

Forbes Article “Why We Should Teach Empathy to Improve Education and Test Scores”:http://www.forbes.com/sites/ashoka/2012/09/26/why-we-should-teach-empathy-to-improve-education-and-test-

scores/2/

Dr. Thomas Lewis, "The Neuroscience of Empathy" as part of the Authors@Google series: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1-T2GsG0l1E

Daniel Pink, A Whole New Mindhttp://www.danpink.com/books/whole-new-mind

Howard Gardner, Frames of Mind: The Theory of Multiple Intelligenceshttp://howardgardner.com/papers/

“Beyond the Echo Chamber”:http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jayson-boyers/beyond-the-echo-chamber-w_b_3001066.html

How Children Develop Empathy: http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/12/10/understanding-how-children-develop-empathy/

Empathy Ed:http://www.empathyed.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&layout=blog&id=40&Itemid=62

The Morality of Meditation:http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/07/opinion/sunday/the-morality-of-meditation.html?smid=tw-nytimes&_r=1&

Northfield Mount Hermon Library Website with Mindfulness Links:

http://libguides.nmhschool.org/mindfulness

Empathy –Related Sources & Websites (cont.):

Music to Write to – Ólafur Arnalds:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mYIfiQlfaas

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pmKkaCKWreM

“Meet Me in Big Sur” – Andrew Julian:http://vimeo.com/58045466

DIIGO LIST: MINDFULNESS

Tips for Teaching Mindfulness to Studentshttp://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/tips_for_teaching_mindfulness_to_kids

How To Start a Meditation Program in Your School | Edutopiahttp://www.edutopia.org/stw-student-stress-meditation-school-tips

The science behind meditation, and why it makes you feel betterhttp://io9.com/how-meditation-changes-your-brain-and-makes-you-feel-b-470030863

Mindful Moment Program at Patterson High School | Indiegogohttp://www.indiegogo.com/projects/mindful-moment-program-at-patterson-high-school

FOCUS: Mindfulness Resources for educatorshttp://us7.campaign-archive2.com/?u=68c24e7257bd5ad0fbbbbb25f&id=797a93878f&e=2a174ef0e1

Mindfulness: The Basicshttp://www.mindful.org/mindfulness-practice/mindfulness-the-basics

Useful Websites & Sources:

WAC introduction & Q&A, Colorado State:

http://wac.colostate.edu/intro/

42 MS writing exercises:

http://www.education.com/activity/middle-school/writing/

NWP National Writing Project:

http://www.nwp.org/cs/public/print/resource_topic/writing_across_the_curriculum

MS Writing Resource “Write in the Middle”

http://www.learner.org/workshops/middlewriting/

PURDUE Overview & Resource (High School Level, yet can be modified for MS):

http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/677/1/

Intro to Rhetoric (Ethos, Pathos, Logos tools, great for writing & persuasion):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mIESu4yXco4

Shelley Stagg Petersen on Staccato & discovery writing: http://www.eric.ed.gov/PDFS/EJ779054.pdf

Six Traits of Writing Video by Adora: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zyZRDL8nm-A

HIGH SCHOOL WAC manual:

http://www.ncpublicschools.org/docs/curriculum/languagearts/secondary/writing/writinghandbook.pdf

Writing Advice: http://www.buzzfeed.com/expresident/writing-advice-from-famous-authors?fb_ref=recbar

Sarah Kay TED Spoken Word Poetry: www.youtube.com/watch?v=0snNB1yS3IE&feature=

Caitlin Krauseckrause@zis.ch

www.caitlinkrause.tumblr.com/@CKwriter

www.flickr.com/caitlinkrause

"If you can learn a simple trick, Scout, you'll get along a lot better with all kinds of folks. You never really understand

a person until you consider things from his point of view, until you climb inside of his skin and walk around in it."

- Atticus Finch, To Kill a Mockingbird