Bridging the Empathy Gap

1. Problem • Definitions • Players • Impact • Causes • Research • Findings • Practice • Vision Bridge • Foundation • Methodology • Results • Conclusion Bridging the Empathy Gap teaching & technology tools to impact bullying in schools Bonnie J. Schupp Doctor of Communications Design

2. Problem • Definitions • Players • Impact • Causes • Research • Findings • Practice • Vision Bridge • Foundation • Methodology • Results • Conclusion 1974 Olean, New York; 1978 Austin, Texas; 1978 Lanett, Alabama; 1985 Goddard, Kansas; 1986 Lewiston, Montana; 1987 DeKalb, Missouri; 1988 Virginia Beach, Virginia; 1989 Orange County, California; 1992 Olivehurst, California; 1992 Napa, California; 1992 Great Barrington, Massachusetts; 1993 Grayson, Kentucky; 1993 Wauwatosa, Wisconsin; 1994 Union, Kentucky; 1994 Greensboro, North Carolina; 1994…Manchester, Iowa; 1995 Redlands, California; 1995 Blackville, South Carolina; 1995 Lynnville, Tennessee; 1996 Moses Lake, Washington; 1996 Patterson, Missouri; 1996 Scottsdale, Georgia; 1997 Bethel, Alaska; 1997 Pearl, Mississippi; 1997 West Paducah, Kentucky; 1997 Stamps, Arkansas; 1998 Jonesboro Arkansas; 1998 Edinboro, Pennsylvania; 1998 Fayetteville, Tennessee; 1998 Springfield, Oregon; 1999 Notus, Idaho; 1999 Littleton, Colorado; 1999 Conyers, Georgia; 1999 Deming, New Mexico; 1999 Fort Gibson, Oklahoma; 2000 Lake Worth, Florida; 2003 Cold Spring, Minnesota; 2005 Red Lake, Minnesota

3. Problem • Definitions • Players • Impact • Causes • Research • Findings • Practice • Vision Bridge • Foundation • Methodology • Results • Conclusion plagen malmenances pesten treiteren mobbing slagging mobbning bullo ijime bullying

4. Problem • Definitions • Players • Impact • Causes • Research • Findings • Practice • Vision Bridge • Foundation • Methodology • Results • Conclusion FBI, AMA, SSNTAC, CDC, NEA ………………………………………….

5. Intended to harm or disturb others • Occurs repeatedly over time • Involves an imbalance of power, physical or psychological • Involves physical or psychological abuse • Problem • Definition • Players • Impact • Causes • Research • Findings • Practice • Vision Bridge • Foundation • Methodology • Results • Conclusion

6. Problem • Definition • Players • Impact • Causes • Research • Findings • Practice • Vision Bridge • Foundation • Methodology • Results • Conclusion

7. Problem • Definition • Players • Impact • Causes • Research • Findings • Practice • Vision Bridge • Foundation • Methodology • Results • Conclusion • Poor psychosocial functioning • Aggressive • Conduct problems • Dislike of school • Alcohol and tobacco use • Poor grades • Insecurity • Depression • Loneliness • Low self-esteem • Passive or active • Lack of coping strategies • Fear and/or guilt

8. Problem • Definition • Players • Impact • Causes • Research • Findings • Practice • Vision Bridge • Foundation • Methodology • Results • Conclusion 2.1 million bullies 2.7 million victims

9. Problem • Definitions • Players • Impact • Causes • Research • Findings • Practice • Vision Bridge • Foundation • Methodology • Results • Conclusion

10. Problem • Definitions • Players • Impact • Causes • Research • Findings • Practice • Vision Bridge • Foundation • Methodology • Results • Conclusion • Social change • Drugs and alcohol • Acceptance • Conformity • Code of secrecy • Competition • Lack of training • Certain practices • Unaware adults • Lack of empathy-training

11. Problem • Definitions • Players • Impact • Causes • Research • Findings • Practice • Vision Bridge • Foundation • Methodology • Results • Conclusion

12. Problem • Definitions • Players • Impact • Causes • Research • Findings • Practice • Vision Bridge • Foundation • Methodology • Results • Conclusion • Beginnings • Before 1970 - only a few isolated studies • 1973 - Dan Olweus, Aggression in the Schools: Bullies and Whipping Boys • 1987 - European conference: Bullying in School •  1987 - National School Safety Center: Schoolyard Bullying Practicum Conference • Bullying issue: as broader issue of school safety and violence. •  1993 – Olweus program reduced bullying by 50% in two years.

13. Researchers have found: • Problem • Definitions • Players • Impact • Causes • Research • Findings • Practice • Vision Bridge • Foundation • Methodology • Results • Conclusion • Less structure invites more bullying. • Teachers are generally unaware. • The peer group is reluctant to intervene. • Students seldom ask adults for help. • Bullying peaks in middle school. • Bullies lack empathy.

14. Problem • Definitions • Players • Impact • Causes • Research • Findings • Practice • Vision Bridge • Foundation • Methodology • Results • Conclusion • Simply speaking –empathy is: • Recognizing feelings in self and others • Considering others’ perspectives • Responding emotionally to others Metaphorically: - spark of human concern for others, the glue that makes social life possible Literally– a feeling in or with another’s emotions Phenomenologically – enduring another’s suffering by imaginatively entering into another’s body and becoming in some measure the same person with him Strictly speaking – vicarious response to others; an affective response appropriate to someone else’s situation rather than one’s own Broadly speaking – a biological and affectively based, cognitively mediated and socialized predisposition to connect emotionally with another What is empathy…………………………………………………?

15. Existing types of interventions: • Problem • Definitions • Players • Impact • Causes • Research • Findings • Practice • Vision Bridge • Foundation • Methodology • Results • Conclusion • Awareness-building • Classroom teaching • Community-based efforts • Family involvement • Guidance counselors • Opportunity deterrence/facilities design • School climate • School policies • Student training

16. Problem • Definitions • Players • Impact • Causes • Research • Findings • Practice • Vision Bridge • Foundation • Methodology • Results • Conclusion

17. Problem • Definitions • Players • Impact • Causes • Research • Findings • Practice • Vision Bridge • Foundation • Methodology • Results • Conclusion Social skills program PK - 8 Classroom based Separate from regular curriculum Focuses on impulse control and problem solving Teaches empathy through facial recognition

18. Problem • Definitions • Players • Impact • Causes • Research • Findings • Practice • Vision Bridge • Foundation • Methodology • Results • Conclusion Peaceful Schools

19. Problem • Definitions • Players • Impact • Causes • Research • Findings • Practice • Vision Bridge • Foundation • Methodology • Results • Conclusion

20. Problem • Definitions • Players • Impact • Causes • Research • Findings • Practice • Vision Bridge • Foundation • Methodology • Results • Conclusion

21. Problem • Definitions • Players • Impact • Causes • Research • Findings • Practice • Vision Bridge • Foundation • Methodology • Results • Conclusion “I believe the only thing that would have helped me then would have been teaching me about self-esteem and empathy and constant reinforcement of those ideals.”

22. Bottom-up Top-down School climate School security Punishment Pull-out programs Add-on curriculum Improved school climate and fewer bullying incidents Academic and behavior improvement Integration of empathy training into regular classroom curriculum • Problem • Definitions • Players • Impact • Causes • Research • Findings • Practice • Vision Bridge • Foundation • Methodology • Results • Conclusion

23. Problem • Definitions • Players • Impact • Causes • Research • Findings • Practice • Vision Bridge • Foundation • Methodology • Results • Conclusion Hypothesis: Given what we know about bullying, embedding empathy training within the classroom’s routine curriculum will increase students’ empathetic skills.

24. Problem • Definitions • Players • Impact • Causes • Research • Findings • Practice • Vision Bridge • Foundation • Methodology • Results • Conclusion

25. Problem • Definitions • Players • Impact • Causes • Research • Findings • Practice • Vision Bridge • Foundation • Methodology • Results • Conclusion Lack of empathy is a key factor in bullying and other anti-social behavior. Where does empathy-training fall in current pedagogy? • Gardner - multiple intelligences, specifically intrapersonal and interpersonal intelligence • Goleman – emotional intelligence • Constructivism – Piaget, Vygotsky, Dale • Currently accepted teaching methodology can help students to recognize human commonalities in those they believe are different from them. This will lay the groundwork for developing empathic connections.

26. Problem • Definitions • Players • Impact • Causes • Research • Findings • Practice • Vision Bridge • Foundation • Methodology • Results • Conclusion Tell me and I’ll forget. Show me and I may remember. Let me do and I’ll understand.

27. Problem • Definitions • Players • Impact • Causes • Research • Findings • Practice • Vision Bridge • Foundation • Methodology • Results • Conclusion Photography is a natural choice as a teaching tool. For middle school students who are at the concrete operational stage of cognitive development, photographs offer personal and concrete expression. • Family photo albums bridge generations. • We accept photography as an instrument for knowing things and as a medium that depicts experience. • Photographs are an instrument of social change. • Photographs elicit emotions and even empathy.

28. Problem • Definitions • Players • Impact • Causes • Research • Findings • Practice • Vision Bridge • Foundation • Methodology • Results • Conclusion

29. Problem • Definitions • Players • Impact • Causes • Research • Findings • Practice • Vision Bridge • Foundation • Methodology • Results • Conclusion More than any other medium, the Internet lends itself to widespread, instant communication that bridges culture and geography. 2,000,000 + = bullying, cultural understanding, teaching tolerance and diversity 1,000 - = teaching empathy Cyber Schoolbus, Global Schoolhouse, KidLink, Peace Corps, Tolerance

30. Problem • Definitions • Players • Impact • Causes • Research • Findings • Practice • Vision Bridge • Foundation • Methodology • Results • Conclusion • Informed consent • Pre-bullying survey • Pre-empathy survey • Lessons 1-3 • Photography assignment • Lessons 4 – 7 • Post-empathy survey • Post-bullying survey • Closing activity

31. Bullying Survey • Problem • Definitions • Players • Impact • Causes • Research • Findings • Practice • Vision Bridge • Foundation • Methodology • Results • Conclusion

32. Bullying Survey • Problem • Definitions • Players • Impact • Causes • Research • Findings • Practice • Vision Bridge • Foundation • Methodology • Results • Conclusion Interpersonal Action Survey 2004

33. Bullying Survey • Problem • Definitions • Players • Impact • Causes • Research • Findings • Practice • Vision Bridge • Foundation • Methodology • Results • Conclusion

34. Bullying Survey • Problem • Definitions • Players • Impact • Causes • Research • Findings • Practice • Vision Bridge • Foundation • Methodology • Results • Conclusion

35. Bullying Survey • Problem • Definitions • Players • Impact • Causes • Research • Findings • Practice • Vision Bridge • Foundation • Methodology • Results • Conclusion

36. Bullying Survey • Problem • Definitions • Players • Impact • Causes • Research • Findings • Practice • Vision Bridge • Foundation • Methodology • Results • Conclusion

37. Empathy Survey • Problem • Definitions • Players • Impact • Causes • Research • Findings • Practice • Vision Bridge • Foundation • Methodology • Results • Conclusion This is a survey to learn about your perceptions of Japanese people. This is not a test.

38. Empathy Survey • Problem • Definitions • Players • Impact • Causes • Research • Findings • Practice • Vision Bridge • Foundation • Methodology • Results • Conclusion

39. Empathy Survey • Problem • Definitions • Players • Impact • Causes • Research • Findings • Practice • Vision Bridge • Foundation • Methodology • Results • Conclusion What do you think is most true? (check one) _____ Japanese people are very strange. _____ Japanese people are like me in many ways. _____ Japanese people do not like Americans. _____ Japanese people are very different from us.

40. Problem • Definitions • Players • Impact • Causes • Research • Findings • Practice • Vision Bridge • Foundation • Methodology • Results • Conclusion 8th-Grade Social Studies and Language Arts During the classroom lessons, these multiple intelligences were addressed: • Linguistic (word smart) • Logical-mathematical (reasoning smart) • Spatial (picture smart) • Interpersonal (people smart) • Intrapersonal (self smart)

41. Problem • Definitions • Players • Impact • Causes • Research • Findings • Practice • Vision Bridge • Foundation • Methodology • Results • Conclusion 8th Grade Language Arts Theme: Discovery Goal:We can discover where we fit in the world by reflecting upon the discoveries characters make about themselves in real-life circumstances. 8th Grade Social Studies Outcome: Valuing Self and Others Objective:Students will demonstrate attainment of a positive self-concept and empathy toward others in order to improve interaction among individuals and groups in our democratic society. Specifically, 8th grade students should be able to examine one’s own feelings, values, and capabilities in an effort to develop a positive self-concept and acceptance of others. • Language arts and social studies skills in the 8th-grade curriculum include: • Analysis • Perspective-taking • Recognition and use of primary and secondary sources • Comprehension of cause and effect • Drawing conclusions • Writing to inform. • All of these elements were part of the Vision Bridge lessons.

42. Elements of empathy • Problem • Definitions • Players • Impact • Causes • Research • Findings • Practice • Vision Bridge • Foundation • Methodology • Results • Conclusion Lesson 1 – Primary sources and artifacts Lesson 2 – Emotions Lesson 3 – Visual literacy • Visual Literacy • Examine visual point-of-view • Analyze role of visual clues in expressing emotions • Understand the basics of photographic composition

43. Problem • Definitions • Players • Impact • Causes • Research • Findings • Practice • Vision Bridge • Foundation • Methodology • Results • Conclusion Lesson 4 – Pre-write Lesson 5 – Revision and final draft Lesson 6 – Predicting, examining, responding* Lesson 7 – Analyzing responses Closure

44. Problem • Definitions • Players • Impact • Causes • Research • Findings • Practice • Vision Bridge • Foundation • Methodology • Results • Conclusion

45. Empathy Survey • Problem • Definitions • Players • Impact • Causes • Research • Findings • Practice • Vision Bridge • Foundation • Methodology • Results • Conclusion • After empathy training: • Students were less concerned with physical appearance and more with aspects of personality. • For both girls and boys, there was a decline for the word eyes, for girls by 18% and boys by 15%. • Word choices such as short, small, small feet, chinky eyes declined.

46. Empathy Survey • Problem • Definitions • Players • Impact • Causes • Research • Findings • Practice • Vision Bridge • Foundation • Methodology • Results • Conclusion • After empathy training: • 25.8% chose relationships with other people. • There was a 25.8% positive attitude increase with both girls and boys.

47. Empathy Survey • Problem • Definitions • Players • Impact • Causes • Research • Findings • Practice • Vision Bridge • Foundation • Methodology • Results • Conclusion What do you think is most true? After empathy training: There was an increased positive attitude change of 35.5% for the entire group.

48. Empathy Survey • Problem • Definitions • Players • Impact • Causes • Research • Findings • Practice • Vision Bridge • Foundation • Methodology • Results • Conclusion It is necessary to look beyond the survey responses. When we look at the sentences of the students who wrote different, crazy, weird for words that came to mind when thinking about Japanese people, we can see that positive attitude change was achieved [sic] : •  I learned that people are the same in many different ways. • I learned about people in Japan is that they are just like me in many ways. They like the things that I like. That is what I learned about people who live in Japan. • I learned that the Japanese people are very kind and forgiving. Also they are like Americans in many ways.

49. Empathy Survey • Problem • Definitions • Players • Impact • Causes • Research • Findings • Practice • Vision Bridge • Foundation • Methodology • Results • Conclusion Students who checked Japanese people are very different from usalso wrote these sentences [sic]: • I have learned that you should treat people the way you want to be treated. Second you should try to understand other peoples feelings. Third I’v learned that you should express yourself in positive ways. Fourth I have learned that many people are the same in the inside. Last I have learned they everybody has something that makes them happy [sic]. • I learned many things when we did this Vision Bridge. I learned how Japanese people are different from us. I learned what some of the Japanese people like to do. They might look different but they are also the same on the inside. • I learned that Japness people are like use in many ways because there famely makes them happy.

50. Empathy Survey • Problem • Definitions • Players • Impact • Causes • Research • Findings • Practice • Vision Bridge • Foundation • Methodology • Results • Conclusion These are sentences from students who checked both Japanese people are very different from usand Japanese people are like me in many ways [sic]. • I have learned that a lot of people that I think are different from me are really not that different at all. • I learned that japanese people are just like us but in different way [sic].