This is another post in the Teach With INFOhio series "Your Weekend Playlist for Professional Growth." In this series, you're going to find podcast episodes, videos, and more that you can listen to or watch while relaxing. For some of the playlist items, you might be able to earn a certificate of attendance for professional development. Others may not earn you PD CEUs but they're worth the watch or listen. Either way, you'll be growing professionally—learning more about yourself and getting inspired to bring your "A Game" to the upcoming week.
We're approaching February and lots of elementary classrooms will be celebrating Valentine's Day with parties and card exchanges. The weeks leading up to Valentine's Day can be a great time to work on social-emotional learning and explore all kinds of healthy feelings with students. Before you dig into feelings in the classroom, spend some time reflecting on your own capacity for empathy and increasing your own emotional intelligence.
Brené Brown on Empathy—The RSA
Brené Brown is a research professor at the University of Houston who has spent her career exploring the effects of vulnerability, shame, and courage. She's a master storyteller and has written many popular books on those sensitive subjects. This animated video from the Royal Society of Arts is an excerpt from Brown's RSA talk on the Power of Vulnerability.
The King of Tears—Malcolm Gladwell, Revisionist History Podcast
Revisionist History is a podcast in which Malcolm Gladwell, the writer and speaker, revisits the past and reinterprets something that was overlooked or misunderstood. "Because sometimes the past deserves a second chance."
In this episode, Gladwell explores what makes a sad song really sad. And why are there so many sad country songs, anyway? Gladwell interviews prolific country songwriter, Bobby Braddock, to find out why some songs can make us cry and what made Bobby Braddock write so many sad songs. Grab a tissue before you click any of the audio links above because this episode is sure to make you...
The Science of Compassion—Hidden Brain Podcast
Shankar Vedantam is NPR's social science correspondent and the host of the Hidden Brain podcast. In the Hidden Brain podcast, Vedantam interviews scientists and uses elements of storytelling to "help curious people understand the world and themselves."
This episode, The Science of Compassion, explores the norm of reciprocity, the power of empathy, and one woman's personal experience with practicing kindness.
How to Fight Empathy Burnout: The Science of Empathy—SoulPancake
SoulPancake is a media and entertainment company that specializes in producing "smart, uplifting, meaningful, shareable content targeted to the Optimistic Millennial." You probably know them for their Kid President videos.
SoulPancake produced an entire series on "The Science of Empathy" but this particular video has special meaning for teachers. What can you do to fight empathy burnout? Hint: it helps to have a posse. Watch as they conduct a mini experiment on the difference between struggling as a team and going it alone.
Sesame Street with Mark Ruffalo: Empathy
Finally, here's one that you can share with your students. This video illustrates the definition of empathy in less than two and a half minutes! Share it whenever you notice that your students could use a reminder.
How will you and your students work on empathy and feelings in your classroom in the coming weeks? Share with us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram using #INFOhioWorks!
Erica Clay is the Director of INFOhio. Prior to this, she was a member of INFOhio's Instructional Team. Before joining the INFOhio team, Erica was a Library Director and a Humanities Librarian in academic libraries, a Knowledge Management Editor at a university, and taught K-8 music and PreK. She earned a BA in English and Music and a Master of Humanities from Wright State University, and a Master of Library Science from Indiana University.
