Developing Teacher Empathy - A Journey of Three Engineering Faculty Members Implementing Empathetic Actions in their Classroom

In higher education, teacher empathy is a term that refers to the empathetic skills of teachers and has been researched since the 1980s. Multiple studies in fields such as medicine, nursing and psychology have shown that teacher empathy has reduced teacher burnout, improved teacher satisfaction and student performance. Within engineering education, there is increased research on empathy in recent years, but primarily aimed at introducing and improving empathetic skills of engineering students. There is little research on teacher empathy within engineering education. In my current study, I explored the potential longitudinal impact in perception of teacher empathy among three engineering faculty members as they utilized empathetic actions while teaching a second-year engineering course. I also explored the motivations and challenges that could arise in teacher empathy implementation. I used the Model of Empathy Framework developed by Walther and colleagues to define the complex attributes of empathy in an engineering context. I chose Teacher Action Research (TAR) methodology to provide agency to my three participants and research with them instead of on them. TAR allowed the participants to choose the empathetic actions they want to implement and to iterate when they feel appropriate. I found that all three participants had positive outcomes in their classrooms. Reduced teacher burnout, improved teacher satisfaction, and better student performance were some of the major benefits of teacher empathy that aligned with prior research. Improved confidence in their empathetic skills was observed for two participants as they showed positive evolution of their perception about teacher empathy. The other participant did not have any significant longitudinal impact in perception but was able to increase the number of empathetic approaches he could use in his classroom. External situations such as classroom technology malfunctions, having meetings or classes immediately before a class and balancing between being empathetic and being tough were some of the major challenges. Findings indicate that similar positive benefits as found in other disciplines can be realized within engineering education. The outcome of this study could be used by Learning and Teaching Centers Department Heads and University Deans to expand the implementation of teacher empathy within a college or university setting.