Abstract | This chapter draws upon a small-scale qualitative study, funded by the UK Society for Research into Higher Education (SRHE), which addressed the question: What does compassionate learning and teaching look like when viewed through students’ eyes? The research team included six undergraduate psychology students as co-researchers working with academics as equal thinking partners. The COVID-19 pandemic interrupted and disrupted the research, requiring a compassionate response, and divergence from the initial research proposal for focused ethnography and short-term field work. This resulted in a shift towards a more practice-based approach and methodology of ‘un-knowing’. Nancy Kline’s thinking environment approach and core concepts of equality, attention, ease, and appreciation were incorporated into the design, methodology, practice, and reporting of the research. The study was framed by theoretical principles drawn from critical compassion and critical pedagogy. The chapter illustrates insights from arts-based experiential workshops which used: (i) play-based pedagogical approaches; and (ii) film as a medium for better understanding compassion in the classroom and places/spaces where learning occurs. It concludes with a working definition of compassionate pedagogy co-created with students that combines theoretical concepts, critical thinking, and day-to-day lived experience. |
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