Reeling in Research

            In a section of Skye Ontiveros' The Passion Project,it is suggested that genuine learning comes from empathy. The narrator of the documentary goes on to explain that the ability for a teacher to walk in a someone else's shoes is crucial to a student's ability to learn. Thus, it is important for teachers to be able to express emotions to their group of students and to form relationships with them. From infancy, children mimic voices, sounds, and facial expressions they are exposed to; this ability to transfer emotions is known as “emotional contagion.” When teachers stand in front of a classroom and express negative emotions, students will detect those emotions and may reciprocate them. This is due to mirror neurons in the brain that detect and imitate emotions we see on others. Most students learn beset in an environment they feel safe and appreciated in; the way to create such a setting relies heavily on the emotions and attitude presented by the teacher. If a teacher comes into a classroom with a warm smile and an eagerness to teach, students will mirror those feelings with a feeling of comfort and an eagerness to learn. However, it has been detected that “negative emotions are usually more infectious than positive ones.” Meaning, a teacher instructing a class with a negative attitude will weigh the class heavily with those emotions. For instance, when Jeff Bliss' teacher made a comment about her presence in the classroom was only due to her paycheck, it set off the mirror neurons in the students to feel as if they also did not want to be in the classroom either. The teacher's comment about feeling obligated to be there also made the kids feel like that particular class was a burden. The article mentions a researcher at Yale University who has “found that emotions don't just hope one person from to another; they also influence group dynamics.” This shows why an entire group of students in a classroom can be negatively affected when a teacher shows little to no desire to be instructing a group of students. But when taken advantage of, mirror neurons can help teachers alter the mood in the classroom and make a social setting in which students are not only eager to learn but also comfortable enough to share their thoughts openly with their peers.

Foltz-Gray, Dorothy. “How Contagious Are Your Emotions?” O, The Oprah Magazine. O Mag., 2004. 2 September 2013.