Creating a Compassionate Classroom
It’s the environment where students reap the most educational and social-emotional benefits, write Hannah L. Schacter, Shanique G. Brown, Ana M. Daugherty, Susanne Brummelte and Emily Grekin.
Specifically, we propose that compassionate pedagogy and student learning and achievement are not at odds with one another—rather, they can be synergized to create an ideal learning environment for both the student and the instructor. We also stress the importance of a proactive, not reactive, approach to compassionate pedagogy and suggest the following specific strategies for developing and implementing courses that ensure mutual respect, flexibility and understanding between students and instructors from day one.