Empathy Matters: A Core Skill for K-12 and Beyond (prev course #: EDU-X797O) - EDU-X712U

Course Description

Develop Your and Your Students' Capacity to Understand the Thoughts, Feelings, and Experiences of Others

Empathy is a key skill that supports human development, aids emotional regulations, helps build and maintain healthy relationships, and contributes to one’s ability to flourish as a global citizen in the quickening pace of technology and changes that define our 21st century culture. This course examines what it means to be empathetic and why empathy matters for teachers' well-being and their students' success in school and success after high school--college, careers, and engagement within their community.  Connect research to pedagogical best practices that support the building of empathy skills with K-12 students.  Participants will reflect, and revise existing lessons to integrate emotional intelligence building skills to increase empathetic behaviors, creating an Educator's Empathy Toolkit.

Learner Outcomes

• Understand the need to develop students' emotional skills of empathy and define the difference between empathy and other emotional skills, such as compassion
• Analyze research about the physiological effects of empathy on the developing brain and body and apply findings to create age appropriate empathy building in the daily lives of students, in and outside of the classroom
• Create a Teacher's Empathy Toolkit specific to subject/grade level, e.g. multiple subject elementary or single subject specific
• Demonstrate knowledge, skills, and an attitude of intentionality of teaching children empathy development by integrating into daily teaching practices
• Communicate and collaborate with students' parents/caregivers as educational partners using the 3 I's model - invite, inform, and involve
• Reflect on one's own thinking and teaching biases to build own knowledge, skills and attitudes about empathy in a "Teacher's Journal" of reflective writing assignments
• Reflect on ethical issues, personal values and ways to translate values as a strength base for professional development of the skill of empathy
• Revise an existing lesson plan to embed components for teaching empathy intentionality
• Connect and incorporate issues of student population diversity with the need for empathy as self-awareness and social-awareness skills

Course Details

Number of Units: 3.0 graduate level extension credit(s) in semester hours

Who Should Attend: This course provides continuing education for teachers (Grades K-12)--veteran and beginning.  The course can also enhance building the emotional intelligence of empathy for parents and caregivers.

Course Materials: Text, Unselfie: Why Empathetic Kids Succeed in Our All-About-Me World, by Michele Borba, available at Amazon.com or your local bookstore.

Technical Requirements

Testimonials

"The Empathy Matters: A Core Skill for K-12 and Beyond course exceeded my expectations. The instructor was highly committed to engaging the students. I found her openness to "learning alongside the students" to be refreshing and encouraging - and the real life examples she brought to the discussion were helpful and enlightening. | The instructor did a wonderful job creating an easy-to-follow syllabus, learning modules, and module reflections that supported the transfer of knowledge. Additionally, she assigned readings which were interesting, thought-provoking and meaningful. Her immediate feedback was excellent and very useful. | I found the online self-paced format very efficient and flexible for students who work full-time and have other responsibilities. My experience both challenged me and made me a better person, parent, and teacher!" -- Pete Lotus, Educator, Burbank, Illinois

Applies Towards the Following Certificate(s), Professional Programs and Series

• Professional Teachers Program Series : Courses - Enroll in One or More
• Teacher Wellness Series : Courses - Enroll in One or More