How does using an empathy based critical lens affect student engagement with and interpretation o...

1. Psychoanalytic lens: learning empathy

1.1. Do you believe that behaviors are learned/a response to our environment?

1.1.1. 85% of participants saw a correlation between nurture and behavior

1.1.1.1. expanding on this idea during text analysis: mapping the ways in which circumstance and treatment shapes characters' actions: applying this knowledge to student lives and using it to understand broader societal issues/impact of actions

1.1.1.1.1. intentionality vs. impact conversations

2. Creative expression through multimodalism: using student answers for helpful multimodal outlets to build empathy

2.1. What are some powerful ways that someone can tell their story? (For example, would this be through poetry? Would this be through spoken word? Would this be something else?)

2.1.1. personal narratives through creative outlet choice/using these for psych lens: engaging in introspection and healing

2.1.1.1. art

2.1.1.2. poetry

2.1.1.3. spoken word

2.1.1.4. music

2.1.2. listening as learning: sharing perspectives and lived experiences as a way to understand social issues

2.1.2.1. space to distinguish the difference between a multifaceted human being and one facet of their life/mental health

2.1.2.1.1. space for psych lens using internalization

3. YPAR understanding of psychoanalytic lens: students learn psych/behaviors through introspection; understanding and sharing their own lived experiences. (empathy-based psych)

3.1. What are some words you associate with addiction?

3.1.1. many of the words were used to dehumanize the people struggling with addiction, rather than to explain addiction itself

3.1.1.1. applying that empathy

3.1.2. some of the words were rooted demonstrated students' ability to engage in sympathy

3.1.2.1. expanding on that sympathy to look into the various factors that lead to behaviors and circumstances

3.2. Have you ever started to view yourself differently based on the way that you were treated?

3.2.1. 68% of participants allude to the fact that they have internalized the way that they have been treated

3.2.1.1. dismantling negative rhetoric and empowering each other by understanding internalization

3.2.1.1.1. using internalization conversations in the context of social issues. (linking this to issues of oppression)

3.2.2. a smaller percentage of students did not see a connection between the way they view themselves and the way that they have been treated

3.2.2.1. using student resilience as a way to understand one branch of resistance

3.3. Does reading personal stories of someone change the way you view them? Does talking/writing about personal things change the way you view yourself?

3.3.1. the vast majority of participants said that reading personal stories would change the way they viewed the author

3.3.1.1. breaking down texts and personal narratives through a psychoanalytic lens that fosters empathy using students' ability to listen as a way to foster empathy

3.3.1.1.1. connections vs. listening and recognizing differing experiences

3.3.2. some students did think that sharing personal things about themselves changed the way they saw a situation

3.3.2.1. learning introspection: delving deeper into our experiences through creative literature analysis of work

3.3.2.1.1. self reflections and psych lens

4. Background knowledge: using student knowledge of equity/social justice to shape empathy building

4.1. How do you define empathy?

4.1.1. desire to clear confusion between sympathy and empathy

4.1.1.1. acknowledgement that empathy is not always attainable because lived experiences differ: room to map out the power of listening

4.1.2. the majority of students have some idea of what empathy is

4.1.2.1. expanding on the concept of empathy by understanding uses and limitations

4.1.3. a few students are unfamiliar with the term (but some experience with the concept)

4.1.3.1. introduction to empathy through the creative process

4.2. In the classroom, how often are you asked to place yourself in someone else’s shoes?

4.2.1. recognition of empathy from an introspective lens: using introspection, but understanding the limitations

4.2.1.1. room to map out the ways in which placing ourselves in someone else's shoes may not be enough when attempting to understand someone else; how we identify ourselves is based on the stimuli and social social scenarios. We may not be able to feel everything that other people have felt, due to differences in privilege, experiences, etc.

4.2.2. everyone who answered this question acknowledged that this has been brought up at some point during their education

5. Connections: Using psych/empathy to analyze behaviors within the context of social justice issues (applied empathy to understand critical lenses)

5.1. How do you believe other people view addiction?

5.1.1. all students who answered this question acknowledged that society has a low opinion of those struggling with addiction. The idea that people struggling with addiction are feared and dehumanized was brought up. (Although different language was used)

5.1.1.1. room for humanization and healing

5.2. Do you think the way we treat people causes them to act a certain way?

5.2.1. 82% of participants said that there was a connection between behaviors and treatment.

5.2.1.1. space to learn about the psychological impacts of individual and societal labels: dismantling oppressive power structures

5.2.2. a small percentage of participants did not see a correlation between treatment and reaction behaviors

5.2.2.1. space to bring in scenarios from the text/connections to real life

5.3. How familiar are you with oppression? (Racism, homophobia, classism, stigmas, xenophobia, etc.- prevent equitable treatment? What does resistance mean to you?

5.3.1. most students who participated were familiar with one or more of the terms, but unfamiliar with wider concepts of oppression

5.3.1.1. space to use their understanding of one or more aspect of oppression to understand the broader connections and societal implications

5.3.2. most students were unfamiliar with the term resistance

5.3.2.1. space for asset based pedagogies: using hope as a step to take to dismantle oppressive power structures