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Faculty members play a crucial role as change agents in promoting cultural transformation within academic environments and empathy, a fundamental component of effective teaching, mentoring, and collegiality, is essential for fostering a student-centered and holistic approach. We present a theoretical model for empathy development and navigation in physics faculty as they engage with students and colleagues. Two pathways—cognitive and affective—are connected with previous work and explored. Cognitive empathy, a slower, intellectual process, is mediated through reflective witnessing, whereas affective empathy, a faster, emotional process, builds on shared or adjacent lived experiences. Understanding the nuances associated with the different pathways can inform efforts to increase participation and foster an inclusive environment, which often presumes a meaningful understanding of what best supports individual students. Published by the American Physical Society2024
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This content will become publicly available on January 1, 2026
By TYC physics/astronomy faculty for TYC physics/astronomy faculty: The Organization for Physics at Two-Year Colleges (OPTYCs)
- Award ID(s):
- 2212807
- PAR ID:
- 10616425
- Publisher / Repository:
- American Institute of Physics
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- The Physics Teacher
- Volume:
- 63
- Issue:
- 1
- ISSN:
- 0031-921X
- Page Range / eLocation ID:
- 73 to 73
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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