NARST Round Table by Mutiara Syifa and Natalie Shaheen, Illinois State University
Goal for this round table
- To discuss future possibilities to extend this line of inquiry and publication venues.
- To explore approaches for analyzing our data to identify shifts in teachers’ reflection, particularly when comparing their initial and final empathy maps and the accessible lessons they design, and to examine the extent of which we can observe the development of epistemic empathy in their teaching.
What we’ve found so far
In the initial findings (2/3 of the way to the conclusion of the PD), we noted that while teachers expressed empathy, their responses have not yet demonstrated epistemic empathy as defined by Jaber et al. (2024)—that is, attunement to and appreciation of the emotions and sensemaking process in constructing, communicating, and critiquing knowledge.
In our current analysis (after the PD concluded), there are shifts in how teachers expressed what they’ve observed, which indicate their developing epistemic empathy—that is, beyond the emotional aspect. Teachers started to attune to and appreciate BLV students’ ways of sensemaking.
How teachers show their epistemic empathy
1. Realized how SEL needs (i.e., interactions amongst students) play a critical role in BLV students’ sensemaking process
Excerpt example:
“Mutia (25:22): And to follow up with the maps as well. Any example in math classes, the math class when you observe her that demonstrate the needs of the SEL that you were thinking before the observation.
Lila (25:37): Yeah, I think it was just watching her work with her partner. They all had partners. And just watching her work with her partner and the partner being understanding of how um the student had to gain the information. And knowing, oh, you’re going to read this a different way than I’m going to read it. But once we’ve both read it our own way, we can work together to solve it. And that she’s created a relationship with that student that understands that that’s how she has to learn, I think was an important part for them being able to work together.” (Lila, Interview 3)
2. Enabled science sense-making moments through available resources
Excerpt example:
“So I was teaching them how there are molecules that if you put a lot of them together, they create this really large molecule that we call polymers, but they can also split apart into smaller pieces as well. And we call those monomers. So the difference between polymers and monomers. And so then I had her bring pieces to the interview. I think she brought dominoes, if I remember correctly. I asked for Legos, but she didn’t have any, so she brought dominoes instead. And so I told her to put all of those dominoes together and then told her to just split them in half using your hands. And I was like, your hands are the enzyme that’s breaking them down and the dominoes are the individual monomers. And so the aha moment that she had was when I said, okay, after you’ve split them up and they’re now two separate dominoes, would you be able to put them back together again? Or would they be destroyed and not usable ever again? And she was like, oh yeah, I could put them back. And I was like, that’s just like monomers. They might break apart and then come back together again and then break apart and come back together again.” (Lila, Interview 3)
3. Acknowledged the diverse ways of sensemaking
Excerpt example:
“Yeah, I think it’s changed my perspective on, I think before I had this misconception that they just might not be able to understand the full picture of a concept and that their learning might be more surface level. But I feel like that that’s changed now through this PD. That I, and especially even through teaching my own BLV student my mind, she has shifted my mind to understand that she can get the same understanding as the rest of the students just through a different way.” (Lila, Interview 3)
Current Analysis Status
Authors are still analyzing the data, and this shift needs to be further analyzed and triangulated with secondary data such as teachers’ exit ticket reflections and individual journals.
Guiding Questions
- Ideas to extend this line of inquiry?
- Publication venues and strategies for this work?
- How do you use secondary data that shared different level of insights? And what if you cannot find supporting evidence from your secondary data?
- How to anticipate challenges when we want to iterate this PD for a larger group of teachers?
Additional considerations from teachers
- Teachers want to work closely with a mentor (possibly a blind person or a TBS)
- Teachers want to use readily available resources that are born accessible and proven to work
References
Jaber, L. Z., Davidson, S. G., & Metcalf, A. (2024). “I Loved Seeing How Their Brains Worked!”—Examining the Role of Epistemic Empathy in Responsive Teaching. Journal of Teacher Education, 75(2), 141–154. https://doi.org/10.1177/00224871231187313