Cultivating Empathy to Young Minds While They Learn to be Good Citizens in a Digital World. EDLD 5316

Katrice Wright

Technology has changed the way I teach and the way students learn. I am crowned to work with a school that is 1:1 and now has 5G WIFI availability. As a leader, I have a cognitive process that supports my angle of teaching and writing. Cognitive science is the study of how intelligence is linked to behaviors. Students have been provided technology that adds itself to rich learning and meaningful experiences. Roger Shank says that cognitive science can save our schools. If we can take the idea that academics is the force that guides learning and turns that thought into designing education around cognitive processes, it can change education views. In my humble opinion, If w can take the learning into Social processes, we can just maybe keep our young learners engaged authentically. Having to educate or be educated in a remote, blended, and hybrid model is something that has allowed all of us to step up. Technology as a form of teaching is a decisive move.

We are in the age of the flipped classroom and blended learning. Using cognitive science to better our schools is a step in the right direction. Empathy is needed, and educators, teachers, and leaders need to cultivate it, and now! We use applications to hook our learners in and drop knowledge on the short and fast. Working in a district that has provided us with a Learning Management System, Schoology works seamlessly with the tools I use, Flipgrid, Nearpod, and Padlet. Most young learners are tech-savvy and can operate all platforms with ease. Educators should stay flexible and work to try and add new tools to their teaching toolbox.

Social Processes

Students are social beings. They have to interact and establish behaviors that allow for communication and collaboration. We have to understand and respect their voice. I use several platforms/ tools to enable my learners to have honest, reflective discussions and be creative. We use technology to do just about everything. Our students use their devices for more than learning, but some use technology to communicate with one another. We should limit their physical interaction but increases the cognitive way they process interacting with their social business.

Influence having the skill set to get others to do what you want them to do. Students can influence one another positively or negatively. Consider how schools and education have changed due to a world pandemic. Staying mindful of your student’s social interaction will definitely be rewarding because of the confidence nurtured by acceptable teaching practices.

Teamwork is getting around the individual difference to reach the desired goal. Having a temperament that getting along with others/classmates is necessary to achieve the common goal. Cooperation is so important it creates a force that students must cultivate to be a welled rounded humans and students. If broken down, collaboration means working together, which benefits the path to get to the desired results accomplished. We have all heard the saying, “teamwork makes the dream work.” It runs true in education. The best lessons I have ever created were those that allowed groups to work on a project but establish clear roles for each member to model respect and give the students a chance to pull in their responsibility to themselves and their group members.

Negotiation understanding that services can be traded to have success. Adjustments are always being made in life and especially in the classroom. Having a discussion to reach an agreement, goal or assignment takes skill. Students have to practice healthy dialogue, whether in person or behind the keyboard and computer screen. Using platforms like Filpgrid and Padlet can have a meaningful, healthy discussion that can be beneficial to young learners should always be encouraged.

Describing understanding how to communicate one’s thoughts and what has happened. Making a clear account in words of what has taken place. Being able to give a statement in terms that are relevant characteristics hitting all the qualities and aware of the event.

The desire of my education journey for myself and my students is that I must create exciting yet significant learning experiences. Students need enjoyable lessons. Establishing a cultural connection can also make the learning worth it. Having no relationship to the class can be a horrible experience. The brain cannot process thinking deeply about things the students don’t care about or connect with. Educators need to approach the cognitive process that has to do with educators’ social aspects, and I am guilty. Students need to see themselves in our teaching. They need more diversity, and they need to be exposed to more than one way of doing things. Technology has provided many platforms to do the same thing. It’s just preference, sometimes. Authentic teaching can equal authentic learning. We are teaching today’s students with yesterday’s beliefs, and they are better than that. Students deserve to be accountable. They want to try new things. We should all think about empathy and how the classroom should require it, and education needs to help cultivate empathy. I want my students to feel supported and empowered with the learning intention and success criteria I have for them in my learning environment. We should want to make an impact and leave a footprint that educators after us will walk in. Meaningful lessons that have valuable takeaways for all. Remember to have a growth mindset when it comes to technology and teaching.