Cultivating Kinesthetic Empathy through teaching with play qualities: A Didactic Design for Pedagogues
Corresponding Author: Sisse Winther Oreskov
All authors: Karen Stine Egelund
Length: 90 minutes
Location:
Description:
Navigating the intricacy of corporeality in a professional pedagogical context poses a unique challenge. However, it is essential for pedagogues to reflect on their own bodily presence and derive insights from embodied experiences. The manner in which one is physically present in pedagogical practices significantly influences the provision of care, support, and the overall well-being and development of individuals under the guidance of an educator. In this session, we present a didactic design crafted by Sisse Winther Oreskov, as part of a PhD project centered on kinesthetic empathy within a pedagogical framework. The project, situated at Design School Kolding, is an integral component of the Playful Learning Research Extension.
The focal point of the project is kinesthetic empathy and how this concept can unfold in a pedagogical context through the use of dialogue cards. Furthermore, it explores how pedagogical students can actively cultivate kinesthetic empathy as an integral aspect of their professional identity. The design of the dialogue cards are developed in close collaboration with lecturers and pedagogue students. The cards integrate students’ first hand bodily experiences to contextualize experiential knowledge in an academic setting.
In the workshop, participants will explore dialogue cards designed for a pedagogical teaching approach aiming to cultivate awareness of kinesthetic empathic actions. Based on a playful and bodily first-hand experience, aesthetic forms of expression are used to identify, in a symbolic form, the most urgent or relevant theme. Examples of this could be patience, presence or fear. The process of further capturing and articulating the sensory experience, is supported by the use of the dialogue cards. Through interviews with specific reflection questions focusing on how the theme relates to the educational work. The interview will conclude in a discussion on how the new knowledge can strengthen the individual’s kinesthetic empathy and professionalism.
Participants in the workshop will have the opportunity to engage with the design. They are invited into a reflective process that illustrates how experiences from teaching with play qualities can contribute to the development of professional competency and strengthening of professional identity.
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