PROCEEDINGS OF THE 23RD ANNUAL CONFERENCE ON RESEARCH IN UNDERGRADUATE MATHEMATICS EDUCATION
2020
Boston, Massachusetts
Factors that influence graduate student instructors’ pedagogical empathy
Page: 598
Interpersonal relationships are central to the teaching and learning of mathematics. One way that teachers relate to their students is by experiencing empathy for them. In this study, I explore the phenomenon of pedagogical empathy, which is defined as empathy that influences teaching practices. Specifically, I examine how graduate student instructors (GSIs) conceptualize empathy as it relates to the teaching and learning of mathematics and identify factors that influence this pedagogical empathy. The findings presented in this paper emerged from interviews with 11 GSIs in which they answered questions designed to elicit their thoughts about empathy. The participants provided complex and diverse notions of how empathy relates to teaching mathematics. Conclusions drawn from this paper may help inform professional development efforts targeted at novice and experienced instructors at the post-secondary level.