The Compassion Project
Evidence from allied health fields shows that patients’ relationship with their provider is often the most therapeutic aspect of the health care encounter (Tresolini & Pew-Fetzer Task Force, 1994). I believe this is true in education as well; the student relationship (perception of care/compassion) from the instructor may be more important than the instructional method.
I created a survey for UT undergraduate students to assess how they prefer to receive compassion in the classroom. Approximately 200 individuals responded, and provided feedback. The results indicated that students believe receiving care/compassion is important (97.85% agreed; 80.65% said very to extremely important). Students felt cared for when instructors:
demonstrated concern and made all materials accessible
demonstrated concern for class’s understanding of content during lecture delivery
demonstrated flexibility for course schedule when necessary
consulted class on due date appropriateness
make classroom and communication feel open and safe
facilitate a collaborative learning experience
knew me by name
shared personal information/anecdotes to establish personal connection in a professional setting, as appropriate
addressed relevant campus occurrences that may have affected my emotional well-being
addressed non-course-content related occurrences that may have impacted my well-being
checked-in with how the class was feeling before diving into content
made office hours available and feel safe
offered to communicate about non-course-content related occurrences within a reasonable scope
valued and respected my privacy
valued and respected my needs
Additionally, 72.13% of students said they contributed SIGNIFICANT EFFORT in courses with compassionate instructors, indicating that effort was NOT diminished by compassion.