Tag Archives: empathy

Teaching and Learning Should Bring Joy

By Lina Bondesson

Content: This resource is a TED talk titled “Every kid needs a champion” by Rita Pierson, available on YouTube. 

Context: Those who could benefit from this resource include current and future youth educators and facilitators. 

Goal: To remind educators that the relationships they build with students not only leave a lasting impact but also encourage students to enjoy learning. Students who have positive relationships with teachers are more likely to be better problem solvers and more resilient (Rimm-Kaufman, 2025) which are traits that increase conflict competency. 

Suggested Implementation: This video could be implemented in a mid-year training of middle school educators. I suggest that Brené Brown’s “Empathy vs. Sympathy” animated short video on YouTube can be used as a supplemental material in the following lesson plan: 

Materials:  

  • Computer and projector or screen that YouTube can be displayed on 
  • Whiteboard/flipchart/blackboard/screen that can be written on and kept up throughout session 
  • Notebooks or paper and writing utensils for each participant to use for reflection 

Time: 65 minutes 

(10 minutes) Facilitator: [Introduce yourself, give a chance for participants to introduce themselves either one at a time, if there are less than 15 participants, or to the colleagues they are sitting with, if there are more than 15 students.] Today’s session will be about 45 minutes long and focuses on the conscious relationships we build with our students. I want to start today’s session by showing you all a short TED talk by Rita Pierson. While watching, please write down any quotes that stand out to you. If nothing stands out, you don’t need to write anything down. 

(8 mins) Facilitator: display video on screen and have participants watch it together:

(5-7 mins) Facilitator: Instruct participants to turn to a colleague and share a quote they wrote down (if they wrote one), and in 30 seconds explain its importance. Then, ask 3 participants: Does anyone want to share the quote they wrote down? If so, what is it and why did you write it down?  

  • Facilitator: Write any quotes on a whiteboard/flipchart/screen that participants can see through the remainder of the session 

(2 mins) Facilitator: I wanted to share this video to remind us all of the basis of education: relationships. The students in our classes can either leave school encouraged to keep learning new things and approaching the world with excitement, or they can walk away with hatred for learning and distrust for the education system. We make that difference. 

(2 mins) Facilitator: Remind participants of the importance of empathy as an educator by stating: “Rita Pierson reminds us that connection is part of being an educator. But connection requires empathy. Let’s think about times when our classrooms/students/workshops/etc. could benefit from consciously showing empathy.” 

(8 mins) Facilitator: Ask participants to turn to the same colleague and think of a student they have struggled to connect with this year. Why do you haven’t been able to connect? What behaviors and emotions have blocked this connection? How might your actions have prohibited you from connecting with that student? (Participants should use pseudonyms for students) 

  • Inform participants when they have 4 minutes left and should swap who is sharing. If someone cannot find a partner, ask “Whoever doesn’t have a partner put your hand in the air” and if there is an odd number of participants, make one group of three. 
  • It may be beneficial to write the above questions on the whiteboard/flipchart/screen so that participants can easily refer to them. 

(30 sec) Facilitator: “Thank you for sharing, everyone! Now, let’s remind ourselves of what empathy means in this animated short video explanation from Brené Brown.” 

(3 mins) Facilitator: play Brené Brown’s “Empathy vs. Sympathy” animated short on YouTube:

(5 mins) Facilitator: lead group discussion using the following question: 

  • According to your experiences, what is the difference between empathy and sympathy? (This question aims to bring participants into their own experiences and think about situations where someone showed them sympathy rather than empathy and how that made them feel.) 

(5 mins) Facilitator: lead independent reflection on the following questions: (Participants should write their answers in their notebooks/on a piece of paper.) 

  • Which response (sympathy or empathy) do you find yourself defaulting to with struggling students, and why? 
  • What might it look like to respond with empathy to the student you thought of earlier in this session? 

(2 mins) Facilitator: I want to highlight tips that other educators have provided for fostering positive relationships with students: (Provide participants with the link to this website to learn more: https://www.apa.org/education-career/k12/relationships )

  • “Show your pleasure and enjoyment of students. 
  • Interact with students in a responsive and respectful manner. 
  • Offer students help (e.g., answering questions in timely manner, offering support that matches students’ needs) in achieving academic and social objectives. 
  • Help students reflect on their thinking and learning skills. 
  • Know and demonstrate knowledge about individual students’ backgrounds, interests, emotional strengths and academic levels. 
  • Avoid showing irritability or aggravation toward students. 
  • Acknowledge the importance of peers in schools by encouraging students to be caring and respectful to one another.” (Rimm-Kaufman, 2025) 

(7 mins) Facilitator: Now, think back to the student you had in mind at the start of this training. I want you all to brainstorm one concrete action you will take this week to support that student’s learning and show you believe in them. After you think of your action, talk with the same colleague from the start of this session and ask them to give you constructive criticism. 

(5 mins) Facilitator: Now, as a closing activity, turn to the colleague you have been speaking to throughout this class, exchange emails, and set a calendar reminder in three weeks to send a reflection email on how implementing the action you brainstormed in this session has been going in your classroom. Title this reflection email as “I tried it…” and hold each other accountable for sending those reflections! 

(2 mins) Facilitator closing remarks: Building peace starts in the classroom. Research has repeatedly shown that student-teacher relationships have a lasting impact (Rimm-Kaufman, 2025) which means that fostering a positive and supportive relationship with students is the foundation of forming the next generation of learners and leaders. As educators, we need to focus on the relationships we are building with students and be proactive in the atmospheres we foster in our classrooms. Remember, “teaching and learning should bring joy” (Rita Pierson). 

Suggested Implementation Plan Resources: 

Pierson, R. (2013, May 3). Every Kid Needs a Champion. YouTube. https://youtu.be/SFnMTHhKdkw?si=rtgsv0riux9m2Bm1
Brown, B. (2016, April 1). Brené Brown on Empathy vs Sympathy. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KZBTYViDPlQRimm-Kaufman, S. (2025, March 5). Improving students’ relationships with teachers. American Psychological Association. https://www.apa.org/education-career/k12/relationships 

Audience: I have shared this resource with a friend of mine who is a TA and a director of an organization I volunteer for that does ESL lessons for refugees. I hope this will be useful for them!

The Power of Eye Contact

This exercise is an adaptation of “Emotional Intelligence Exercise: Making Eye Contact” that is available on this website: https://www.skillsconverged.com/blogs/free-training-materials/emotional-intelligence-exercise-making-eye-contact

Learning Objectives

This exercise helps participants to understand and appreciate the power of eye contact and how it can affect emotional connection and emotional states. It is ideal in teaching emotional intelligence, body language and communication skills.  

Context

Since this exercise can be used to teach emotional intelligence, body language, and communication skills, it is best placed in any educational setting and can be tailored to appeal to both a younger and older audience. Emotional intelligence is an important life skill, and everyone, regardless of age, education, and background, can benefit from this activity.

Implementation

This resource can be incorporated in many ways, but it is best used as an icebreaker and/or at the start of the class, workshop, meeting, etc… This resource is also good to incorporate in the middle of said class, workshop, meeting, etc… because it requires participants to get up and move around which increases engagement and active listening. It also provides a good opportunity for participants to get up and stretch, especially if they have been sitting for too long.

A good amount of space is required for participants to be able to freely walk around, therefore it is important to consider the number of participants that will be doing this exercise in addition to the space that you will be utilizing. It is recommended that participants are either given or use their own piece of paper and a writing utensil, for it will be helpful to give them the opportunity to take down notes during appropriate times throughout the activity in order to remember details for the debrief afterwards. The debrief is not necessary, but it would help participants get more from the exercise and is highly recommended.

This exercise can take anywhere between 10-30 minutes depending on how much time you allocate to your participants for note-taking after each round as well as how much time you spend on the debrief afterwards. The actual exercise itself could take 10-15 minutes.

Exercise Instructions for Facilitator(s)

This activity will have 3 rounds. Make sure to provide participants with a notecard/piece of paper and a writing utensil.

Round 1

  1. Once we say so, everyone will start walking around the room as if you all are in a public space while NOT making eye contact with anyone else. 
  2. We will be setting a timer and doing this for 1 minute, once the minute is over, we will tell you all to stop and give you further instructions.
  3. *Do the activity for 1 minute* 
  4. STOP 
  5. Using the card we handed you, please write down how this round made you feel and/or what you are feeling now; you can write whatever you want, just make sure to put a *1* next to what you wrote to indicate that it’s for the first round.
  6. We will be doing this 2 more times. 

Round 2

  1. Once we say so, everyone will start walking around the room again, and this time we ask that you seek out eye contact. However, as soon as you and someone else make eye contact, you both should break it and look away.
  2. We will be setting a timer and doing this for 1 minute. Once the minute is over, we will tell you all to stop and give you further instructions.
  3. *Do the activity for 1 minute*
  4. STOP
  5. Using the card we handed you, please write down how this round made you feel and/or what you are feeling now; you can write whatever you want, just make sure to put a *2* next to what you wrote to indicate that it’s for the second round.
  6. We will be doing this one last time.

Round 3

  1. Once we say so, everyone will start walking around the room again. Just like Round 2, we ask that you seek out eye contact. This time, however, you will pair up with the first person you make eye contact with. Once you pair up, you and your partner should stand side by side and make sure that you do not establish eye contact with anyone else.
  2. We will be setting a timer and doing this for 1 minute. Once the minute is over, we will tell you all to stop and give you further instructions.
  3. *Do the activity for 1 minute* 
  4. STOP 
  5. Using the card we handed you, please write down how this round made you feel and/or what you are feeling now; you can write whatever you want, just make sure to put a *3* next to what you wrote to indicate that it’s for the third round.
  6. Once you have written on your card, go back to your seat with your card, and we will follow up with a discussion. 

Debrief

  • Before we get started with our discussion, please note that you are not required to share if you do not want to. You are allowed to share as much as you would like, and we hope that we have enough people willing to share for us to be able to have this discussion.
  • While you were going through the different rounds of exercise, how did you feel?  
    • How did it feel when you were making eye contact and you had to break it straight away? 
    • How did it feel when you made eye contact and you could approach the person to pair up with
  • If you had a difficult time pairing up with someone, how did it feel to go about finding someone you could make eye contact with?
  • How easy was it to make eye contact with someone?
  • How close do you feel with people that you maintained eye contact with?
  • What pre-conditioning dictates our behavior in making eye contact or maintaining eye contact, and how does this compare between different societies? 

Move This World: Peace Education Through Movement

While attending the Peace Education Exploratorium this weekend, I had the opportunity to learn about many different pedagogies of peace at work in the world today. The role of sports and peace education specifically piqued my interest as one of the guest facilitators, Amanda Munroe, spoke about her involvement with  Move This World, formerly Dance 4 Peace. 

Here is a short video about Move This World’s work. Move This World Video! 

Move This World is a non-profit organization dedicated to using creative movement to transform conflict, violence and bullying in communities around the globe.  Move This World created an innovative curriculum focusing on fostering empathy, mediation skills, diversity appreciation, anger management and conflict transformation. With a need for peace intervention at all levels, Move This World operates with grade level specific curriculum. The curriculum theme for each age group can be viewed by clicking here! 

Founder, Sara Potler, began the program with youth in Bogota, Colombia. Promoting peace through dance, Potler began the formation of the idea that movement can be used to create peace. Today Move This World works internationally in Colombia, Germany and the Philippines and stateside in Baltimore, Newark, New York City and Washington, D.C. Move This World employs several different peace pedagogies. By working and learning students with whom we are learning with, community building is a play. By moving and working together, relationships between peers can strengthen and encourage a community of peace. The second pillar of peace pedagogy, engaging in multiple intelligence’s is played upon. Through movement via sports, dance or whatever gets students flowing you can engage in the body, music, naturalist and interpersonal multiple intelligence’s. By accessing these intelligence’s, students are able to experience alternative forms of education. These tools enable students to benefit by stretching their skills into multiple forms of intelligence’s. 

Ways to use this resource – Elementary & Middle School 

Incorporating movement in the classroom is the first step in introducing peace pedagogy into the classroom. By looking at the curriculum themes for each grade level, teachers can gear their lesson plans to whichever activities best fit their classroom.

Ways to use this resource – High School

While kindergarden through eight grade focuses on key themes to teach students, the high school curriculum focuses on facilitating students own leadership and peace building skills. The first semester hones in on understanding emotions, conflict and cultural diversity. With an entire semester of immersion into conflict resolution information, the second semester is geared towards fostering students own leadership capacity as they grow to be peace-makers in their own community. 

During high school I was involved in the PALS, Peer Assistance and Leadership, which fostered parallel goals as Move This World focuses on during primary education. This program was brought to my high school by the administration in hopes of reducing the increasing amount of violence. While other non-violent programs were simultaneously put in place, as the development of the PALS program increased the violence occurring within the school decreased.  To learn more about training opportunities through PALS, click here. 

Ways to use this resource – Become a Partner! 

If your school or organization desires to facilitate peaceful change through movement, please sign up to receive more information from Move This World by clicking here. Move This World works in Colombia, Germany and the Philippines and stateside in Baltimore, Newark, New York City and Washington, D.C. If your school or organization is outside these regions, Move This World provides many beneficial tools to use in your classroom, as well as great curriculum models to follow.