Empathy & Mindfulness for Higher Education Practitioners (asynchronous)
The course will introduce empathy and explore mindfulness and meditation as tools to develop empathy. Learners will explore the relevance and importance of empathy for educators, explore barriers and obstacles to self-compassion and empathy, practice perspective-taking, identify one’s positionality, and be introduced to mindfulness and meditation as a tool to foster and develop empathy. Over six modules, learners will develop a personal mindfulness practice, read and reflect on empathy and perspective-taking with a community of learners, and make connections between empathy and working in education through discussion boards and small-group conversations.
Course Texts:
Radical Compassion by Tara Brach
Real Happiness at Work: Meditations for Accomplishment, Achievement, and Peace by Sharon Salzberg
Learning Objectives
By the conclusion of the course, students will be able to:
- define empathy and mindfulness;
- understand the relationship between empathy and mindfulness;
- identify barriers and obstacles to empathy;
- develop strategies to overcome barrier to empathy; and,
- develop or foster a meditation and mindfulness practice.
Topical Outline:
The course will be delivered asynchronously via LearnDash (online).
Organized by learning objectives, the course will cover the following topics:
Week 1: Defining empathy and mindfulness (2 hours)
Week 2: Understanding the relationship between mindfulness and empathy (3 hours)
Week 3: Identifying barriers and obstacles to empathy and their impact(s) on education practitioners (3 hours)
Week 4: Developing strategies to overcome barriers to empathy (3 hours)
Week 5: Developing a regular mindfulness practice (3 hours)
Week 6: Final reflection (1 hour)
Course Requirements:
- Weekly Discussion Board Posts & Peer Responses (5)
- Weekly Meditation Reflections (Written or Recorded) (6)
Meditation and this course are not substitutes for mental health treatment. Please consult with your mental health care professional before beginning any meditation practice and at any time throughout this course when you need support.
Copyright: Materials used in connection with this course may be subject to copyright protection. Materials may include, but are not limited to: documents, slides, images, audio, and video. Materials in this course are only for the use of students enrolled in this course, for purposes associated with this course. Unauthorized retention, duplication, distribution, or modification of copyrighted materials is strictly prohibited by law. For more information, visit Copyright.gov.