MAY 4 - 8

CÓMO ESTUDIAR PARA UN EXAMEN UN DÍA ANTES

Creado por Wilfredo Rodriguez, Oscar Avila, Chris Hadley

¿Es la noche antes del examen y tú ni siquiera has empezado a estudiar? Todos nos hemos visto en esta situación alguna vez. Aunque estudiar para un examen el día de antes no hará que saques un 10, probablemente te ayudará a no sacar un 0. Sigue estas sugerencias y prepárate, porque la noche será muy larga.

PARTE 1 DE 2: LA NOCHE ANTES DEL EXAMEN

1.

·         Toma buenas notas. Si tienes poco tiempo para estudiar para un examen, hacer unas buenas anotaciones y resúmenes es vital para aprovechar bien la noche.

·         Escoge lo que de verdad necesitas estudiar. Si tu profesor realiza sesiones de repaso antes del examen, aprovéchala para saber qué temas considera más importantes. Además, puedes plantear preguntas (aunque si no has empezado a estudiar, probablemente tengas demasiadas preguntas). Muchos profesores realizan esquemas para estudiar lo más importante. Aprovéchalos bien. Aunque no contengan toda la información que se abarca en el examen, al menos podrás concentrarte en los puntos principales.

·         Usa tus notas de clase. Si has asistido a clases regularmente, deberías tener notas para repasar. Si no tienes ninguna, intenta conseguir las de algún compañero. Las notas que se hacen en clase son un tesoro, porque contienen lo que el profesor considera más importante de cada tema.

2.

·         Identifica los conceptos más importantes. A medida que repasas tus notas, localiza los conceptos clave, las definiciones y las fórmulas. Si no te los sabes de memoria, escríbelos aparte en otra hoja, o en tarjetas. Esto te ayudará a identificar los puntos principales a recordar, y las tarjetas pueden ayudarte a repasarlos.

·         El acto de reescribir el material puede ayudarte a memorizarlo. Si tienes buena memoria visual, esta técnica te ayudará mucho. Si tienes buena memoria auditiva, recita las palabras a medida que las vas escribiendo.

·         Si tienes suficiente tiempo, puedes escribir las notas varias veces para memorizarlas. Puede parecer un trabajo tedioso, pero si estás tratando de memorizar historia o información general, te resultará muy útil. Si tratas de aprender fórmulas quizá no sea tan eficaz.

3.

·         Estudia de manera eficiente. Como no tienes tiempo de estudiar todo el material que abarca el examen, debes concentrarte en lo que es más probable que aparezca en la prueba y concentrarte en aprender los conceptos más importantes.

·         Identifica los puntos principales. Repasa la guía de estudio y tus notas y localiza los temas más importantes y que se encuentran también en el libro de texto. Busca las secciones más importantes del texto y escribe la información que te parezca realmente importante. La idea no es escribirlo todo, sino encontrar las explicaciones más importantes, y las fórmulas que sea más probable que aparezcan en el examen. Concéntrate en estos pocos puntos principales.

·         Busca en el comienzo y el final de los capítulos del libro. La primera página suele contener los puntos clave y te ayudará a comprender la idea general del material. En la última página, normalmente, encontrarás un resumen del capítulo, o un esquema, y una lista de las fórmulas más importantes en el caso de las matemáticas o la física.

·         Piensa en qué tipo de preguntas de redacción podría haber en el examen, y cómo las responderías. A estas alturas, ya deberías tener una idea general de la información. Piensa en un esquema general con algunos conceptos clave que usarías para redactar un texto sobre el tema.

4.

·         Haz un repaso rápido de la información. Aquí es cuando empieza el estudio en serio. Trata de absorber toda la información que has organizado, hazte preguntas para comprobar que lo has memorizado, y evalúa rápidamente qué tal lo has hecho. Esto te ayudará a comprobar en que áreas de la información debes concentrarte.

·         Repasa las tarjetas de preguntas o las notas de estudio primero. Lee los puntos principales rápidamente. Si crees que ya has memorizado, y que comprendes bien, una parte de la información, táchala de la lista o aparta la tarjeta. Si tienes dudas sobre un tema, busca la respuesta en tus notas o en el libro.

·         Ponte a prueba. Si tu profesor te ha tomado un examen de prueba, hazlo. Si no, haz tú mismo un examen de prueba, o repasa las preguntas al final del capítulo en el libro. Haz únicamente las preguntas que estén relacionadas con el tema principal. No dediques demasiado tiempo a cada pregunta. Si te quedas atascado en una, anótala y revísala más tarde.

·         Ponte una nota. Sé honrado con la calificación que te pones a ti mismo. Si no eres honrado, esto te desanimará cuando llegue el examen real. Comprueba las respuestas incorrectas y rectifícalas usando tus notas, o las tarjetas de repaso. Quizá tengas que hacer algunas tarjetas nuevas, o repasar algún concepto que pensabas que ya habías memorizado.

5.

·         Si no eres capaz de memorizar la información, y la sesión de estudio no está funcionando como debería, prueba algunas técnicas de memorización. El cerebro nunca olvida. Olvidar cierta información puede deberse a que no se ha almacenado correctamente, no se puede recuperar adecuadamente, o quizá que almacenamos la información donde no la podemos encontrar.^[1] Practica algunas técnicas de memorización. Quizá sea lo que necesitas para tu sesión de estudio de última hora.

·         Prueba a usar una mnemotecnia. Esta palabra simplemente significa “técnica de memorización”, así que es una manera sencilla de recordar algo. ¿Te enseñó tu profesora cuando eras pequeño las letras RNAVAAV para recordar los colores del arcoíris? Usar la primera letra de una lista de palabras para formar un acrónimo como este es una mnemotecnia.

·         Intenta usar palabras similares, o rimas para memorizar la información. Quizá puedas hacer una rima con alguna frase que te sea fácil de recordar, o quizá crear un historia que puedas visualizar.

·         Intenta organizar la información por temas. Por ejemplo, si estás estudiando Economía y Finanzas, intenta estudiar juntas las categorías relacionadas. Organiza las materias por conceptos.

6.

·         Recoge y duerme un poco. A veces no se tiene suficiente tiempo para dormir, pero intenta dormir todo lo que puedas antes del examen. Una buena idea sería estudiar rápidamente antes de irte a dormir, y levantarte temprano para estudiar un poco más. Si aguantas toda la noche despierto, estarás más cansado y será más fácil que cometas errores absurdos en el examen.

·         Hay estudios que indican que la falta de sueño estropea gradualmente la memoria.^[2] Y no solo esto, sino que no dormir evita el uso de la memoria a corto plazo. Así que es mejor que estudies rápidamente antes de que te entre la somnolencia, y que vayas a dormir un poco.

PARTE 2 DE 2: EL DÍA DEL EXAMEN

1- Toma un desayuno equilibrado y suave al menos una hora antes del examen. Evita comer carbohidratos únicamente. Es mejor que tomes también un poco de proteína (huevos), alimentos que contengan ácidos grasos omega-3 (como los del salmón), algo de fibra (frijoles o judías), y un poco de fruta o verdura.

Algunos alimentos son especialmente eficaces aumentando la función y la longevidad cerebral, por ejemplo los arándanos, el salmón, las nueces y otros frutos secos, el aguacate, el jugo de pomelo, el té verde o el chocolate amargo. Quizá quieras incluirlos en tu desayuno.

2- Aparta tiempo para una sesión de estudio. Puedes estudiar en el automóvil o en el autobús con un amigo. Reúnanse varios amigos antes del examen y háganse preguntas unos a otros. Lo que necesitas es que la información esté lo más fresca posible en tu mente. Eso sí, asegúrate de que una sesión de estudio no se convierta en una reunión social.

3- Repasa tus notas de estudio y tus tarjetas una vez más. Justo antes del examen, revisa cada una de las tarjetas y de las hojas de estudio que hiciste, aunque pienses que ya las has memorizado. El objetivo es tener la materia fresca en la mente a la hora del examen. Si tienes problemas para memorizar cierta definición, o una fórmula matemática, escríbela seis o siete veces seguidas. Esto debería grabarla en tu memoria por suficiente tiempo.

4- Identifica una determinada pieza de información que sea más importante para la prueba y que realmente necesitas recordar. Asegúrate de no memorizarte información de más de tres o cuatro palabras o una fórmula a la vez. Mira fijamente la pieza más importante de información por lo menos durante 1 a 2 minutos. Concéntrate bien. Verifica qué se te quedo escribiéndola una vez más al final.

5- Llega pronto a la sala del examen y acude al lavabo. Procura estar frente a la sala del examen al menos 5 minutos antes, y asegúrate de visitar el inodoro antes de sentarte a realizar el examen. No te gustaría sentir la llamada de la naturaleza mientras haces el examen. Después de eso, siéntate, relájate, respira hondo y trata de visualizarte aprobando el exame

CONSEJOS

·         Elimina todas las distracciones que puedas. Si puedes estudiar sin tu computadora, hazlo. Si debes estudiar frente a la computadora, desconecta el internet temporalmente antes de empezar a estudiar. Si necesitas buscar información en el internet deberás tener mucho autocontrol.

·         Lee en voz alta. La memoria auditiva es más útil que la simple lectura si quieres memorizar algo rápido.

·         Descansa un poco regularmente. Descansar te ayudará a mantenerte despierto, y también pueden evitar que te agobies. Descansa de 5 a 10 minutos cada hora.

·         Justo antes del examen, haz algo de ejercicio. Sube y baja unas escaleras o haz unas flexiones. El ejercicio hace circular la sangre y te relajará. Además, te hará estar bien despierto.

·         Quizá te resulte más fácil repasar si estás con un compañero de estudios. Puedes hacerte preguntas mientras estudias. Algunas personas, sin embargo, tienden a distraerse, así que decide sabiamente.

Tomado de: http://es.wikihow.com/estudiar-para-un-examen-un-d%C3%ADa-antes 

MARCH 23 - 27

Frutos dulces, raíces amargas

Por Roger Martínez  Miralda

Se atribuye a Aristóteles una antigua sentencia que señala que la educación es una planta que tiene raíces amargas pero frutos dulces. Es decir, que para que un proceso formativo produzca el resultado deseado (una persona mejor, con valores bien asumidos y hábitos éticos firmes, por lo menos), hay que llevar a cabo una labor que muchas veces será poco placentera, que implicará exigencia y que no siempre será bien percibida y comprendida por el sujeto que está siendo modelado. Y esto vale tanto para la educación sistemática, para la escuela en sus distintos niveles y modalidades, como para la educación familiar, para la crianza de los hijos.

Una escuela, un colegio, una universidad o unos docentes que como se dice, de manera chusca en el argot popular, son un “barco” que apenas lleva a los alumnos “de una orilla a la otra”, porque las instituciones o los individuos prefieren no exigir y facilitan la promoción, ganar clases o grados, pero no el aprendizaje y esto causa un enorme daño. Un padre o una madre de familia que, con tal de mantener a la prole contenta, no genera un marco de disciplina en la convivencia familiar, destruye el fututo de los hijos y aporta elementos nocivos a la sociedad.

La inconciencia o la comodidad, que no creo que lo hagan por maldad, de padres y profesores que excluyen la disciplina y la exigencia, el rigor en la búsqueda de la verdad y el bien, terminan por dar vuelta a la máxima para aconsejar raíces dulces mientras olvidan que obtendrán, entonces, frutos amargos. Porque de exigir uno nunca se arrepiente pero de dejar de exigir se arrepiente muchas veces.

El vago, el parásito social, el hombre o la mujer carentes de carácter, de personalidad, nunca fueron exigidos; el indolente, el perezoso, el “vivo” que medra del trabajo de otros, creció sin conocer la responsabilidad, la rendición de cuentas, los correctivos que siguieran a la faltas cometidas.

Educar, formar, requiere esfuerzo sostenido, perseverancia, sacrificio. Un hombre o una mujer que no estén dispuestos a pasarla mal alguna vez, a ser testigos de reacciones adversas, a “bailar con la fea”, no pueden educar a nadie, no deben guiar procesos de mejora personal de ninguna manera. Aquel que quiera cosechar frutos apetecibles, que quiera enorgullecerse de su labor al contemplar los resultados de su esfuerzo diligente, debe tener claro que antes deberá padecer. La sonrisa de un hijo que va alcanzando cuotas de éxito personal o profesional es la metamorfosis de unas caras largas, de bastantes noches de desvelo, de tentaciones de desánimo. Pero, al final, podrá experimentar por sí mismo que todo lo bueno cuesta y que vale la pena.

Tomado de:  http://www.laprensa.hn/opinion/columnas/816842-412/frutos-dulces-ra%C3%ADces-amargas 

MARCH 2 - 6

Teaching Students the ABCs of Resilience

From natural disasters to economic meltdowns, from wars abroad to tragic shootings close to home, this year brought to light the increasing complexity of the world in which we raise kids. Our natural instinct as teachers, parents and caretakers is to protect children from hardship, yet we know walking between the raindrops of adversity is not possible. Instead of sidestepping challenge, we can teach kids to cope positively, to learn and grow from adversity. We can arm our youth with skills of resilience, and these lessons can begin in the classroom.

Understanding the Roots of Resilience

Have you ever wondered why one student may be more resilient than another? Let's say Lisa and Jenny are students in the same eighth grade math class. They both struggle during the quarter and, in the end, they both receive low final grades. Upon hearing the news, Lisa and Jenny share myriad negative emotions: disappointment, anger, fear and sadness. However, after a few days, they diverge in their coping strategies. Lisa picks herself up; she finds a tutor and commits to making a greater effort in math going forward. Meanwhile, Jenny tumbles into a downward spiral of negativity; she sulks and starts performing poorly in all of her subjects. Lisa and Jenny faced the same adversity, so why did one bounce back while the other did not?

You may guess the difference lies in their genetic disposition or family circumstance. Maybe Lisa was born a "stronger" person, or maybe Lisa's parents are more supportive than Jenny's parents. While this may all be true, one factor supersedes the influences of genes, childhood experiences, and opportunity or wealth when it comes to resilience. In fact, according to decades of research, the biggest influence on resilience is something within our control. The biggest influence is our cognitive style -- the way we think.

The ABCs of Resilience

Students can adjust their own cognitive style by learning about the ABCs of resilience. This model was first proposed by psychologist Albert Ellis back in 1962, and it is still used as a foundational lesson in resilience. Let's learn about the ABCs by going back to our example.

If you asked Lisa or Jenny why she was unhappy upon receiving low math grades, she would probably look at you quizzically. It's obvious, isn't it? She was upset because she received a low grade. This seems to be the correct answer, but it's not. Many people mistakenly believe that facing an adversity like receiving a low grade leads to a consequence like feeling unhappy.

Myth: Adversity Leads to Consequence

If a particular adversity led to a particular consequence, then Lisa and Jenny would have shared the same enduring reaction to their poor grades. In fact, everyone would have the same reaction to every adversity in life, and we know this is not the case. People react differently to the same exact challenges, because between A (adversity) and C (consequence) lies the crucial letter B. Here is the more accurate model: every adversity one faces triggers beliefs about that situation, which in turn causes a reaction or consequence.

Reality: Adversity Leads to Beliefs Leads to Consequence

The ABC model explains why Lisa and Jenny coped differently with the same challenge. Lisa knew she received a low grade, but she believed she would improve by making a greater effort; she also felt that one bad grade wasn't the end of the world. Lisa's beliefs led her to acquire a tutor. Jenny, on the other hand, believed that doing poorly in math had spoiled her chances of getting into a good college. Jenny thereby decided there was no point in trying at all in school and began skipping her classes and neglecting her studies.

Lisa's optimistic and more realistic beliefs contributed to her high resilience in an adverse situation. Jenny's pessimistic and unrealistic beliefs contributed to low resilience in the same adverse situation. Optimistic and realistic belief systems combine to create a cornerstone of resilient mindsets. The great news is that once students learn the ABC model, they can hone in on their beliefs and begin fine-tuning them for greater optimism and accuracy.

The ABC model is a simple yet power tool in cultivating self-awareness -- a crucial element of resilient mindsets. Do you think it's a model you would teach in your classroom?

Renee Jain - Renee Jain is the founder and Chief Storyteller at GoStrengths, an organization dedicated to improving the lives of young people by delivering social and emotional learning programs (SEL) to the K-12 education community. Renee is a former tech-entrepreneur turned positive psychology practitioner and holds a Masters of Applied Positive Psychology from the University of Pennsylvania. Renee's passion lies in teaching research-based life skills to children via engaging mediums such as digital animation. Learn more about her programs at www.gostrengths.com and www.gozen.com.

Taken from: http://www.edutopia.org/blog/teaching-the-abcs-of-resilience-renee-jain

JANUARY 5- 9

NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTIONS FOR HIGH SCHOOL PARENTS – AND THEIR COLLEGE BOUND STUDENTS

New Year’s is often a time of new beginnings.  For parents of high school students who may be headed off to college in the fall, this year will bring significant changes.  You may, or may not, be prepared for those changes, but you know that they are still several months away.  We’d like to offer some New Year’s resolutions to help you, and your college bound high school student, begin to prepare now.  We hope that you find them helpful – and that you pass some of these on to your student.

For high school parents 

1)      Resolve that your student’s college choice, or the application process, or acceptance letters, will not be the first thing you talk about when you meet other parents. 

2)      Resolve that you will not ask your student what she has decided to major in.  Try to steer others away from asking her as well.  Encourage her to keep an open mind.

3)      Resolve to begin practicing some important communication skills with your high school student.  Remember that your role in his life will be changing next year.  Try to listen more, keep open and honest lines of communication going.  It won’t happen automatically next year if you’re not building the foundation this year.

4)      Resolve to keep the college process in perspective.  Getting into college – and deciding where to go to school – is important, but it is only one part of your student’s life this year.  Remember that where your student goes to school is less important that what she does when she gets there.  She will create her success wherever she ends up.

5)      Resolve to model de-stressing about the college decision process for your student.  Try to relax – especially while waiting for acceptance letters.

6)      Resolve to let your student make the final college choice. Remember that your student is the one going off to college.  He will be better able to adapt to difficult times if he is the one who made the final choice of college. 

7)      Resolve to read at least one book about the “letting go” process.

8)      Resolve to accept the natural tendency of teenagers to begin the distancing process.  Use this year as a time to begin to step back.

9)      Resolve to begin the “letting go” process now.  Buy your student a good alarm clock and don’t wake him up in the morning.  Make sure she knows how to do her own laundry.  Encourage him to be responsible for his own finances.

10)  Resolve to remember that the college transition process happens to both your student and to you.  Remember that you will be undergoing changes as well.  Don’t forget to nurture yourself.

For high school students 

1)      Resolve that you will not let your guard down this spring and become a victim of senioritis.  Remember that colleges will look at your final grades.

2)      Resolve that once your applications are in you will relax and try not to worry about admissions.  Focus on senior year and enjoying this time before you need to make a final decision.

3)      Resolve to find somewhere to invest the energy and time you have now that the college application process is completed.  Take up a new hobby.  Do some community service. 

4)      Resolve to spend some time this spring investigating scholarships.  There are many hidden ones available.  Keep searching online and checking with your guidance office.

5)      Resolve to meet all spring deadlines.  File the FAFSA early.  Watch scholarship deadlines.  Make your college deposit and housing deposits on time.

6)      Resolve to spend some time thinking about your life goals.  You don’t need answers, and you certainly don’t need to plan your life, but think about your goals for college.  Don’t just see it as a next step without knowing where you want it to take you and how you want to spend the next four years.

7)      Resolve to talk to your parents.  Remember they are nervous about you starting college too. Work at keeping lines of communication open.  Let them know what you are thinking.  Listen to some of their advice – whether or not you plan to take it.

8)      Resolve to keep an open mind about where you go to school.  What you do at college is going to be much more important than where you go to school.  Remember that the final decision will need to be your decision, based on your feelings and goals.  Don’t choose a school because someone else tells you that you should – or because someone you know is going there. 

9)      Resolve to begin to take on more responsibility in your life in preparation for being on your own next year.  Prove to yourself and to your parents that you can be responsible and independent.  Get yourself up in the morning, budget your money, clean up after yourself, keep your curfews and behave responsibly.  Your parents will be more comfortable about you heading off next year.

10)  Resolve to take some time to thank all of the people who helped you get where you are.  Think about family members, friends, teachers, counselors, and others who may have gone out of their way to help you.  Take time to let them know that you appreciate it.

This is a big year ahead for high school seniors and their parents.  Start now to think about what you can do to make the transition to college a smooth and successful one.

Happy New Year!

Taken from: http://www.collegeparents.org/members/resources/articles/new-year%E2%80%99s-resolutions-high-school-parents-%E2%80%93-and-their-college-bound-stud

DECEMBER 8 - 12

Teaching Empathy: Evidence-based tips for fostering empathy in children

© 2009 - 2014 Gwen Dewar, Ph.D., all rights reserved

Teaching empathy? This might sound strange if you think of empathy as a talent--something we either have or lack.

But research also suggests that empathy is a complex phenomenon involving several component skills:

• A sense of self-awareness and the ability to distinguish one’s own feelings from the feelings of others.

• Taking another person’s perspective (or, alternatively, “putting oneself in another person’s shoes”).

• Being able to regulate one’s own emotional responses.

These skills might seem like standard-issue, grown-up social skills, and indeed they are.

However, even adults can have trouble with these abilities. For instance, some adults would shrink from offering a wounded person first aid, not because they are callous but because they have trouble coping with their own emotional reactions to the other person’s plight.

So I don’t think of empathy as something you either have or lack. There are degrees of empathy, and, with practice and an understanding of psychology, we can probably develop stronger empathic skills.

Here are some tips for teaching empathy--tips inspired by scientific research.

Teaching empathy tip #1: Address your child’s own needs, and teach him how to “bounce back” from distress

Studies suggest that kids are more likely to develop a strong sense of empathy when their own emotional needs are being met at home (Barnett 1987).

When kids have secure attachment relationships (so that they know they can count on their caregivers for emotional and physical support) they are more likely to show sympathy and offer help to other kids in distress (Waters et al 1979; Kestenbaum et al 1989).

Other research indicates that kids are more likely to show empathic concern for others if they have parents who help them cope with negative emotions in a sympathetic, problem-solving-oriented way. For references, see this article on the case for teaching empathy.

Teaching empathy tip #2: Be a “mind-minded” parent

Treat your child as an individual with a mind of her own, and talk to her about the ways that our feelings influence our behavior.

Observational studies reveal a link between parenting and “theory of mind”—i.e., what kids understand about the goals, desires, and beliefs of other people.

Parents who are “mind-minded” treat their offspring (no matter how young) as individuals with minds of their own. They also talk to their children about emotional and mental states, and discuss the ways that our beliefs, desires, and emotions motivate behavior. For more information about these studies—and an experiment illustrating the importance of “mental state talk”—see this article on mind-mindedness.

Teaching empathy tip #3: Seize everyday opportunities to model—and induce—sympathetic feelings for other people

By modeling empathic behavior--and pointing out situations that call for empathy—parents can generate sympathetic responses in their kids. For example, if you and your child see someone being victimized (in real life, on TV, or in a book), talk with your child about how that person must feel (Pizarro and Salovey 2002).

Teaching empathy tip #4: Help kids discover what they have in common with other people

Experiments suggest that kids are more likely to feel empathy for individuals who are familiar and/or similar to them (e.g., Zahn-Waxler et al 1984; Smith 1988). Kids may also find it easier to empathize with people who they’ve shared unpleasant experiences with (Murphy 1937).

So it’s probably helpful to make kids aware of the similarities they may share with other people. The more we can humanize the victims of distress or tragedy, the better kids will be able to respond with empathy.

Teaching empathy tip #5: Teach kids about the hot-cold empathy gap

Have you ever noticed how hard it is to appreciate the power of a food craving when you aren’t hungry? This is what researchers call the “hot-cold empathy gap,” and it appears to be a universal problem. When people are feeling cool and collected, they underestimate how compelling emotionally or physiologically “hot” states—like hunger—can be.

Conversely, people in the grip of “hot” states often underestimate how much their current perceptions are influenced by their situation.

The hot-cold empathy gap leads to mistakes in judgment and failures of empathy. But once we understand how the hot-cold empathy gap works, we can use it to teach empathy.

For example, we can use moments of discomfort as opportunities to induce empathy for others:

• Did your child get the brush-off from the school snob? You might start a conversation about the experiences of other victims…and note how these episodes can help us avoid acting like snobs ourselves.

• Coping with a miserable family car trip? Ask kids to imagine how their ancestors felt during arduous, dusty, treks in horse-powered carts and wagons.

We might also help kids teaching them about the hot-cold empathy gap.

For instance, kids may have unrealistic attitudes about their ability to control their urges and emotions—and keep making mistakes as a result.

Research on the empathy gap suggests that trying to resist temptation may be less effective than simply avoiding situations that give rise to temptation.

So some kids need to learn that self-control isn’t just about being strong. It’s also about being smart. If you need to get your homework done, keep distractions—like that cell phone—out of sight. If your peers are pressuring you act to uncharitably towards “uncool” kids, maybe you should spend your time with other, more pleasant, people.

Teaching empathy tip #6: Help kids explore other roles and perspectives

As noted in the introduction, empathy involves perspective-taking. What is the world like when experienced from another person’s point of view?

Stories—from books or television—are opportunities for kids to practice perspective-taking skills. What do the characters think, believe, want, or feel?

And how do we know it?

When families discuss these questions, kids may learn a lot about the way other people’s minds work (Dunn et al 2001). In one experimental study, 110 school kids (aged 7 years) were enrolled in a program of reading. Some students were randomly assigned to engage in conversations about the emotional content of the stories they read. Others were asked only to produce drawings about the stories. After two months, the kids in the conversation group showed greater advances in emotion comprehension, theory of mind, and empathy, and the positive outcomes "remained stable for 6 months" (Ornaghi et al 2014).

Other research suggests you don't even have to talk to boost your empathic skills, not if the material you read is sufficiently stimulating. When David Kidd and Emanuele Castano (2013) assigned young adults to read literary fiction -- novels that challenged readers to analyze the psychology of characters -- participants showed temporary improvements in their ability to "read" the minds of others.

And don’t dismiss the usefulness of role-playing games. In an elaborate role-playing trial, researchers asked young, healthy medical students to simulate the difficulties of old age. For example, students wore goggles covered with transparent tape to simulate the effects of cataracts, and heavy rubber gloves to experience poor motor control. After the experiment, the students showed greater empathy towards the elderly (Varkey et al 2006).

Teaching empathy tip #7: Show kids how to “make a face” while they try to imagine how someone else feels.

Suppose I tell you to make a sad face. It’s just play acting, right?

Not really.

Experiments show that simply “going through the motions” of making a facial expression can make us experience the associated emotion.

And it’s not “just our imagination” (whatever that phrase means). When researchers have asked people to imitate certain facial expressions, they have detected changes in brain activity that are characteristic of the corresponding emotions. People also experience changes in heart rate, skin conductance, body temperature (for a concise summary, see Decety and Jackson 2004).

So it seems likely that we can “boost” our empathic powers by imitating the facial expressions of people we want to empathize with.

Pretty cool, huh? And it’s not a new idea. As neuroscientists Jean Decety and Philip L. Jackson point out, this method was suggested by Edgar Allen Poe in his short story the Purloined Letter.

Teaching empathy tip #8: Help kids develop a sense of morality that depends on internal self-control, not on rewards or punishments

Kids are capable of being spontaneously helpful and sympathetic. But experimental studies have shown that kids become less likely to help others if they are given material rewards for doing so.

Other research has shown that kids are more likely to develop an internal sense of right and wrong if they are raised with authoritative , inductive discipline--an approach that emphasizes rational explanations and moral consequences, not arbitrary rules and heavy-handed punishments.

For instance, kids are more likely to internalize moral principles when their parents talk to them about how wrong-doing affects other people--inducing empathy and feelings of guilt (Hoffman and Saltzein 1967).

Teaching empathy tip #9: Teach (older) kids about mechanisms of moral disengagement

Research has demonstrated that average, well-adjusted people can be persuaded to harm others—even torture them—as long as they are provided with the right rationale.

In a famous series of experiments developed by Stanley Milgram of Yale University, subjects were told that they were participating in a “learning experiment” that required them to administer painful electric shocks to another person (Milgram 1963).

The “experiment” was a fake—dressed up with plausible props and an actor who pretended to be in pain after the study participants pressed a button. But the participants were fooled and—urged on by an authoritative man in a white lab coat—they dutifully administered shocks to the screaming “victim.” In fact, almost 65% of participants continued to press the button even after the “victim” had appeared to fall unconscious (Milgram 1963).

These people weren’t psychopaths. They were ordinary people exposed to social pressure from a plausible authority figure. With the right rationalizations, otherwise decent people can disengage their moral responses. And it’s not just an adult phenomenon. Kids can do it, too.

I think it’s a good idea for older kids to learn about Milgram’s research and about the kinds of rationalizations that people use to excuse callous or cruel behavior. For more information, check out this article on mechanisms of moral disengagement.

Teaching empathy tip #10: Inspire good feelings (and boost oxytocin levels) through pleasant social interactions and physical affection

An interesting experiment suggests that higher levels of oxytocin can help people better “decode” the emotional meanings of facial expressions. Researchers had 30 young adult males inhale oxytocin (the “cuddle” hormone) and then examine photographs of other people’s eyes. Compared to men given a placebo, the oxytocin men were better at interpreting the emotions of the people in the photographs (Domes et al 2006).

So perhaps kids will find it easier to understand the emotional signals of others if they are well-supplied with their own, naturally-produced oxytocin. Oxytocin is released when people experience pleasant touching (like hugs and massage). It’s also produced when people engage in pleasant social interactions (Uvnäs-Moberg 2003).

Taken from:  http://www.parentingscience.com/teaching-empathy-tips.html#sthash.EPrp75TH.dpuf