Techosta Where Tech Starts From
After teaching online for approximately 21 years in the university system, I have come to the conclusion that, with the exception of life, there is no single factor that is more important for student success than others. I’ve tried course corrections (Navy), endless revisions to materials (at Vol. 74), efforts in communications that have prompted the FCC to seek advice, efforts in soft skills that have made the workforce smile, and writing skills strategies that would make Edgar Allen Poe begin to “raven” over these efforts! These and other topics have numerous theoretical underpinnings. Let me put it this way: Online students on the other end of the wire have to deal with life before they have to deal with schoolwork. You might argue that this is not very applicable to helping students; until you sincerely begin to see them as they experience events in their lives. A few examples: I wonder why some students won’t communicate regularly only to find out that they are working two jobs, or have lost family, or they are afraid to ask for help (yes, even that!). As a Navy veteran myself, I know how difficult it can be to open up and share such things with your “instructor.” I have had several military graduate students with PTSD. Additionally, some students simply face difficulties balancing their personal and academic lives. Enter empathy.
Empathy theories1 investigate how we comprehend and respond to other people’s feelings and experiences. Researchers might refer to this last statement as phenomenological, or the lived experiences of individuals. I just refer to it as meeting students where they are. Being inquisitive about my students—not intrusive, invasive, or demanding—with a healthy dose of empathy goes beyond the idea of being open and accessible. The type of empathy that allows your students to open themselves up to others—namely, their instructor! Does it sound risky? Think about the other option. A military officer, who had served in a hostile environment, was an excellent writer, thinker, organizer, and student. I had noticed that his signature file contained a picture of him in uniform at the beginning of the course. I put on the empathy hat and commented on military experiences, and opened the door for him to share his own. At that point, I was introduced to an amazing tale of fear, hurt, and loss. I won’t go into detail about the reasons for these and other things; suffice it to say that my empathy for him placed me in the position of not only being an instructor for him but also a listener and a sounding board for him to open up and share what was preventing him from doing so. What did this “empathy” do for him? He realized that his life experiences were not his enemy and that the time he spent in my class—which was very important to him for his career—included appropriate discussions of those experiences, allowing him to feel comfortable sharing and letting go of many things he had protected. In other words, while he was struggling with all these life issues, empathy enabled me to help him in many ways to let go of the past, focus on his future plans, and enjoy the learning before him.
It is often amazing what we can hear from our students if we just give ourselves that extra moment to listen to them. And once we hear, we can become an empath to enable our students to overcome some of life’s issues that keep them from being able to hold together life, school, work, family, and other things.
You might ask, “Isn’t trained counselors responsible for this?” In response, I might say, “I suppose so, in the Professional sense.” But, are we as teachers not a form of counsellor? a potential empath to listen to and assist our students as best we can? Why can’t we as teachers listen significantly more deeply to our students, and actually hear what they are saying? We are able to empathize with them during those trying times in their lives when we hear their voice calling out for assistance, even in the smallest of ways. Stated differently, listen to hear what they are saying!
Some of the things I do are as follows: From the beginning, I remind my students to contact me at any time of day or night if they require assistance with anything, and to always keep me informed of issues that hinder their progress. I tell them often that I will leave no one behind, because every student is important to me. Someone in my own past classes assisted me by listening and helping, which made an incalculable mark on my life, and I will pay that debt as long as I teach.
I use email, but I also offer to call, text, use semaphore, use carrier pigeon, or do anything else necessary to reach the “Comms, 55″2 so we can talk and find solutions to their problems. If an assignment is late and the student tells me that “the dog ate my paper”, I respond, “Well, tell me all about it!” [Applied Good Empathy!] I allow, after evaluation of work submitted, students to resubmit work. This is early in the semester so that they can readily see how the work is to be submitted, i.e., APA, grammar, other details. Why? Since there are no absolute perfect outcomes in the world (my own empathy at work here), I might think about quitting teaching if I desired perfection. I allow my students to provide me with real-time feedback. What’s that? What’s the point? I can tell what I need to do to help them individually and frequently together if I allow them to tell me what’s on their minds and do so properly because I sometimes hear frustration in the learning process. Empathy at work!
And finally, unless there is a major, serious issue at work, I let my defenses down and find humorous ways to release tension, even as I am doing 1-6 above. Another way to put it is, I don’t smash the goal of “Comms, 5/5” just to get the job done. To put it another way, even though the work is important, having empathy enables me to treat my students as learners rather than as “briefcase experts!” As a result, I care about my students’ struggles just as much as the vast majority of my co-teachers and professors do. But, walking that extra mile with them, for them, and applying empathy…we can make a huge difference in their lives for the rest of their lives if we but take the time to listen, hear, and be proactive FOR them! Why teach or lead or strive to move the status quo forward in the lives of people and/or a nation? In the world of online instruction, we are only one end of the wire, but we should not forget that the other end is our purpose in teaching! Therefore, let empathy—alongside your/my credentials and experiences—help our students to release their apprehension, fears, and worries about the success in our respective classes.