Hannah Thomas, Director of Professional Learning

Fostering Empathy in the Classroom: Insights from Teacher Research

Kate Broadley delivered an insightful presentation at Cranbrook Teachers Talking Teaching (CTTT) on her Teacher Inquiry Group project: To Feel or Not To Feel: An Intervention-Based Study of the Effectiveness of Strategies for Teaching Empathy alongside the Curriculum.

Kate’s research explored how explicit teaching of Social and Emotional Skills (SES) – particularly empathy – can enhance student resilience, wellbeing, and engagement. With Cranbrook’s transition to co-education, fostering empathy is more important than ever for building positive student relationships.

Her inquiry investigated:

• How empathy can be measured in the classroom
• The impact of targeted empathy strategies on Year 8 students
• Effective teaching approaches to develop empathy

Drawing on research from the OECD, CASEL, and leading scholars in social and emotional learning, Kate designed and implemented intervention strategies that targeted four key domains of empathy:

• Affect sharing – the ability to share or imagine others’ emotions
• Perspective-taking – stepping into another’s shoes
• Self-other awareness – distinguishing others’ experiences from one’s own
• Emotion regulation – understanding emotions without being overwhelmed

Kate trialled role play, imaginative writing, mirroring, and mindfulness in an analytical unit on adversity, using the texts Lion, The Boat, and Tomorrow, When the War Began. While self-report surveys showed only modest changes, qualitative classroom observations revealed powerful shifts in how students engaged emotionally and intellectually with texts.

Key insights included:

• Mirroring activities helped students embody characters’ emotions, deepening understanding.
• Role-play exercises encouraged self-other awareness by mimicking body language and emotions.
• Imaginative writing enabled students to engage with perspectives outside their lived experience.
• Hot-seating activities saw students asking more emotionally aware questions about characters’ responses.

Though measuring empathy remains challenging, Kate’s findings reaffirm the importance of integrating experiential and affective learning approaches in fostering empathy. Her work has direct implications for Cranbrook’s transition to co-education and highlights the crucial role of teachers in modelling and fostering social and emotional learning.chool that prioritises clear, research-informed communication about student learning.

Hannah Thomas
Director of Professional Learning