{"id":80,"date":"2017-01-13T19:40:55","date_gmt":"2017-01-13T19:40:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cohort21.com\/allisonmacrae\/?p=80"},"modified":"2017-01-13T19:40:55","modified_gmt":"2017-01-13T19:40:55","slug":"building-empathy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cohort21.com\/allisonmacrae\/2017\/01\/13\/building-empathy\/","title":{"rendered":"Building Empathy"},"content":{"rendered":"

Teaching Empathy with the Equation of a Line<\/span><\/p>\n

I am currently working with Laurie Fraser, Character Program Director\u00a0at Upper Canada College.<\/p>\n

I came to her with the goal of doing a better job of teaching Character and being intentional about actually planning it into my lessons.<\/p>\n

We realized how incredibly useful, informative and clear a “line” can be in sharing information. I shared with Laurie that the equation of a line can easily be determined with 2 pieces of information:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. The starting point (y intercept)<\/li>\n
  2. The steepness of the line (slope)<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    She immediately thought of \u00a0Jessica Hagy,\u00a0an artist and writer best known for her Webby award-winning blog, Indexed (www.thisisindexed.com<\/a>).\u00a0Her\u00a0work<\/a>\u00a0has been described as \u201cdeceptively simple\u201d and \u00a0\u201cundeniably brilliant” – Just like the equation of a line! Here are some examples of her work below.<\/p>\n


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    Here is our outline for the lesson so far:<\/span><\/p>\n

    Lesson 1:\u00a0<\/span>Define Empathy<\/span><\/p>\n

    Show video (link below)<\/span><\/p>\n

    Play empathy game (blindfolded building block game)<\/span><\/p>\n

    Make a class definition of empathy<\/span><\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

    Lesson 2:<\/span><\/p>\n

    Connection video (http:\/\/gratituderevealed.com\/portfolio\/connection\/)<\/span><\/p>\n

    Create a list of questions for the designing process – what kinds of question will help you understand “other” and create empathy. \u00a0<\/span>\u201cHow to pierce the veil\u201d to find understanding and meaning. Have students create a list of words that stand out to them as they watch the video.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

    Lesson 3: Values Discovery<\/span><\/p>\n

    Values list (find your top 10 from a list of 100) (Values List<\/a>)<\/span><\/p>\n

    Blank tournament bracket (Elite 8<\/a>\u00a0) of activities that will help the students\u00a0determine their most valued\u00a0“practices”. To get the students to align their favourite behavior with their beliefs.<\/p>\n

    Share top few results as a class<\/span><\/p>\n

    Reflect- how does this help us build perspective and appreciation for each other? How might this help us understand our impact on others? Our relationships with others?<\/span><\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

    Lesson 4: Design Thinking Lesson<\/p>\n

    Teaching them to use design thinking by using the following template:<\/p>\n

    (http:\/\/dschool.stanford.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/Participant-Worksheet.pdf)<\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

    Lesson 5: Creation of the line Drawing for your partner using Design Thinking.<\/p>\n

    They will refer to the “gift” they created for their partner as the information in creating their equation of a line. Introduce them to the work of Jessica Hagy (as mentioned above) as the precursor to the concept of what they are creating for their partner.<\/p>\n

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    Once they have a final version of the function (line) that describes something about them, we will start discussing from a mathematical perspective what a line is and how it might impact or change their “personal function”. Teaching them that there are only 2 factors, once the 2 axes are set, that influence the difference between one line and another; starting point and steepness.<\/p>\n

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    This is our plan thus far, anyone have anything to add?<\/p>\n

    I will post a follow-up\/reflection once we start teaching, wish us luck!<\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n