Teaching With Empathy

Joe Casabona gives his top tips for ensuring your students come away from your lessons with a new skill

Imagine an infant that’s learning how to walk. This child is trying to learn something that you’ve done your whole life, minus a few years. How would you react? Most would offer encouragement and excitement. This infant is taking a big step (ha!) in their development. But imagine someone reacting like this: “Come on! It’s easy. Obviously you just move your legs back and forth!”

That sounds pretty ridiculous, right? That would be discouraging the child by making it seem like they should already know how to walk.

Now think about the last time you taught someone how to use WordPress or write JavaScript. Think about the last tutorial that you read.

I’ve been using WordPress for 14 years; a lot of its functions and terminology are second nature to me. But for people who have never seen WordPress before, learning it can feel like learning to walk. The same is true for learning anything. The last thing you want to do is discourage someone who’s learning.

It’s important for us as teachers to have empathy for our students. Whether we are writing a tutorial or teaching a course, our approach and actions matter. Here are some tips for connecting and empathising with your students, no matter how or what you teach.