Best practices and teaching & learning activities for teaching for social engagement and dealing with related student emotions

Many students suffer from feelings of existential anxiety about the future of the planet, ongoing conflicts and justice related issues about which we teach. It is not possible to ignore the existence of these crises in our education. This raises questions among lecturers, such as: How to infuse students with hope and agency, when teaching about wicked problems, the climate crisis, war, and conflict? How to deal with related (eco-)emotions, that students experience and express in the classroom? How to integrate elements of social engagement, action and reflection in our teaching? 

This special interest group (SIG) seeks to develop teaching and learning activities that support lecturers to 1) Engage with emotions students experience and express in the classroom related to global crises and 2) Contribute to students’ sense of agency and capabilities to be socially engaged. We will develop the following activities:

1. Mapping best practices of teaching for social engagement and dealing with related student emotions.
2. Composing a list of resources about teaching, emotions and transformative action.
3. Organizing focus groups with students to find out what they need.
4. Developing workshops for teachers about social action and related student emotions in teaching.
5. Providing advice to teachers dealing with cases of emotions related to the global crises such as climate crisis, ongoing conflicts, justice related issues etc., and/or wanting to include elements of social in their teaching.

You can also join our online community to ask questions or share experiences.

For questions and suggestions you can email: Elisabet.Rasch@wur.nl.