Empathy

There has been quite a bit of interest generated amongst my colleagues for a lesson plan using Avatar.  I plan on using an activity this week for the movie Avatar that will develop Dan Pink’s aptitude of empathy, so I thought I would share it with you. This lesson plan involves using Dr. Milton...
Read more »

This article highlights some interesting research into empathy and offers a strategy that may help us develop empathy towards others. According to the research, our “ability to identify with another person dramatically changes how much we can feel the pain of another and how much we’re willing to help.” The case in point is...
Read more »

There’s no better example of story, empathy, and meaning than in a great speech.  You’ll have to forgive my inner history geek here, but this collection is a truly amazing insight into human history. The collection spans political, presidential, and cultural episodes in our history, and highlights the men and women who gave a...
Read more »

This is a great site for resources on Robert Marzano’s instructional strategies. If you are familiar with Marzano, then you will find this site particularly interesting as it connects instructional technology resources with each of his strategies.  If you are not familiar with Marzano, each strategy is briefly defined so that you can implement...
Read more »

This is something that most of us would assume, but here is the data to back it up. Just providing access to the internet will not necessarily benefit students.  They must know how to use it. The study surveyed freshmen from the University of Illinois to test their “internet know-how”.  Students from lower socio-economic...
Read more »

I was asked once by a colleague to relate Dan Pink’s Right-Brain aptitudes to Bloom’s taxonomy.  To be honest I have always preferred to apply Bloom’s Taxonomy through the verbs that are usually associated with his work.  My colleague and I threw out as many verbs as we could remember, and I wrote them...
Read more »

Another great use of empathy in the classroom. History is an excellent medium for developing empathy.  And these New Jersey elementary students have taken it to the next level. In the first part of the project they research historical figures.  They look into their early life and careers, following the figures throughout all of...
Read more »

Empathy in math?  That’s the point of this pilot program in Minnetonka, Minnesota. Elementary students are using new math software that takes advantage of social networking.  The goal: Forcing kids to interact instead of working alone.  In other words, developing the aptitude of empathy from A Whole New Mind. Social networking has long been...
Read more »

It looks like this Chicago school is going to implement quite a few of Dan Pink’s right-brain aptitudes, even though they did not call them by name. The article highlights a school that is implementing a new curriculum supported by Partnership for 21st Century Skills.  They will move to a collaborative, inquiry-based learning model...
Read more »

What an interesting application of Dan Pink’s ideas from A Whole New Mind. Chris Livaccari outlines how to apply Dan Pink’s ideas in a Chinese language classroom. Although I have always held the flexibility of Dan Pink’s ideas in the highest regard, I never could have imagined applying them in a Chinese language class.
Read more »