Empathy Matters: A Core Skill for K-12 and Beyond (prev course #: EDU-X797O)

Course Available
3 Units
Online Self-Paced

Course Description

Develop Your and Your Students' Capacity to Understand the Thoughts, Feelings, and Experiences of Others

Empathy is a key skill that supports human development, aids emotional regulations, helps build and maintain healthy relationships, and contributes to one’s ability to flourish as a global citizen in the quickening pace of technology and changes that define our 21st century culture. This course examines what it means to be empathetic and why empathy matters for teachers' well-being and their students' success in school and success after high school--college, careers, and engagement within their community.  Connect research to pedagogical best practices that support the building of empathy skills with K-12 students.  Participants will reflect, and revise existing lessons to integrate emotional intelligence building skills to increase empathetic behaviors, creating an Educator's Empathy Toolkit.

Course Details

Number of Units: 3.0 graduate level extension credit(s) in semester hours

Who Should Attend: This course provides continuing education for teachers (Grades K-12)--veteran and beginning.  The course can also enhance building the emotional intelligence of empathy for parents and caregivers.

Course Materials: Text, Unselfie: Why Empathetic Kids Succeed in Our All-About-Me World, by Michele Borba, available at Amazon.com or your local bookstore.

Technical Requirements

Course Options

Course Date Units Price
EDU-X712U – 001 Start now, you have 180 days to complete this course once enrolled 3 $504

Empathy Matters: A Core Skill for K-12 and Beyond (prev course #: EDU-X797O)

Start now, you have 180 days to complete this course once enrolled
3
$504
Online Self-Paced
Patricia Meacham

Once you have enrolled in your course, log in to your account to access the course Welcome Letter, which includes directions on how to access the New Student Orientation and your online course.

What You Will Learn

  • Understand the need to develop students' emotional skills of empathy and define the difference between empathy and other emotional skills, such as compassion
  • Analyze research about the physiological effects of empathy on the developing brain and body and apply findings to create age appropriate empathy building in the daily lives of students, in and outside of the classroom
  • Create a Teacher's Empathy Toolkit specific to subject/grade level, e.g. multiple subject elementary or single subject specific
  • Demonstrate knowledge, skills, and an attitude of intentionality of teaching children empathy development by integrating into daily teaching practices
  • Communicate and collaborate with students' parents/caregivers as educational partners using the 3 I's model - invite, inform, and involve
  • Reflect on one's own thinking and teaching biases to build own knowledge, skills and attitudes about empathy in a "Teacher's Journal" of reflective writing assignments
  • Reflect on ethical issues, personal values and ways to translate values as a strength base for professional development of the skill of empathy
  • Revise an existing lesson plan to embed components for teaching empathy intentionality
  • Connect and incorporate issues of student population diversity with the need for empathy as self-awareness and social-awareness skills

Instructors

Professional development courses offered by the University of San Diego’s Division of Professional & Continuing Education are taught by faculty that possess a depth and breadth of academic and real-world professional experience.

Why USD?

The Professional and Continuing Education program nurtures key partnerships on the local, national, and international level. The goal is to better serve working professionals who seek to enhance or build their careers and help achieve their highest value and potential. Contact us today to learn more.

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Online Self-Paced

Our online self-paced courses are similar to online fixed-date courses, but are designed to give you a six-month period from time of enrollment to complete all assignments. Your instructor will provide feedback via written responses on your assignments and exams. Grades are based on completed projects, assignments and exams.

How is the self-paced course structured? Like fixed-date courses, online self-paced courses are asynchronous meaning that you can work on your assignments anytime; the difference being there are no assigned due dates in self-paced courses. The content is divided into learning modules. Each module will cover one or more topics. Within each of the learning modules, you can expect the following components:

  • Module introduction that outlines what you can expect to learn in the module.
  • Required readings (textbook, articles, journals, websites, etc.) and presentations (audio and/or video).
  • Assignments (which may include: written assignments, quizzes, blogs, etc.) based on the readings and presentations.
  • Module conclusion to review the topics and what you should have learned.
  • Typically, there is a final project, paper, or exam due in the last module that culminates all of the topics covered in each of the learning modules. You’ll find that the design of the learning modules has a rhythm to help you manage your time in the course.

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