Teaching and Learning with Compassion

While classrooms are intended to be safe and healthy environments that foster learning, the stress and politics embedded within them often create situations that can breed anxiety and even animosity – both for instructors and students.

In this workshop, participants will explore the role of kindness, empathy, and compassion in the classroom. Working closely with classroom scenarios, we will address the various ways that compassion can be used to help facilitate teaching and learning. We will also be discussing the role of “trigger warnings,” self-care, personal boundaries, and clear expectations in considering our interactions with students.

The aim of the workshop is to work as a group to develop pedagogical strategies in response to these concepts and experiences, so that we can work to minimize stressful interactions and foster improved learning environments.

Facilitator: Dr. Victoria Kannen (Professor of Sociology, Schools of Justice, Community Services, and General Studies)

Learning Outcomes

Participants will:

• Consider the ways that being compassionate can foster more productive learning environments
• Recognize the importance of content warnings and language-use as elements of compassionate teaching
• Engage with peers about pedagogical strategies that help avoid classroom anxieties and foster healthy interactions with students

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This session is part of our EDI Series focused on equity, diversity and inclusion happening in 2023-24 and is part of our Next Level Badging.  Join us for three EDI sessions and earn the EDI Badge.