Leaning Into the Discomfort: Using Empathic Modeling for Deeper Learning

We often lament the response we get from students when we try to get them to take their curiosity beyond the course content. “What do I have to know and do to pass?” This can be frustrating: we want our students to do well with their assessments, but we also want them to learn in a way that sparks their curiosity, imagination, and ability to make connections with the course.

Dr. Deana McDonagh (FAA, Carle and Beckman), uses what she calls the pedagogy of discomfort to help students unlearn their assumptions about what they have learned and what their abilities and the abilities of others are. To help students unlearn, Mcdonagh instructs students to participate in activities that display empathic modeling and model physical impairments.

To learn more about empathic modeling and the pedagogy of discomfort, watch the recent Art of Teaching session featuring Deana.

Facilitating Classroom Discussions with Sensitive Topics

Jordan Leising & Manny Rodriguez Rivera

In today's political and social climate, classroom conversations can feel like a forest fire waiting to ignite. Students may feel attacked, unable to be their authentic selves, or engage in fight-or-flight responses, which can undermine the inclusive and equitable environment you've worked hard to create. Sensitive topics can turn a well-running course into a war zone or a paranoid, silent mess. The best way to engage with sensitive topics and ensure productive discussions is to consider these three components:

Three key components to consider:

1. Shared Expectations and Boundaries: Establish clear expectations for class discussions, ideally created as a group. This provides students with guardrails and helps keep conversations on track. Consider rules like defining professionalism, not interrupting, and avoiding personal attacks. Involve students in setting these rules to encourage a sense of shared responsibility and accountability (Hogan and Sathy, 2022; Howard, 2019).
2. Providing Off-Ramps: Some topics, by their nature, can create an unsafe learning environment. Look for physical cues such as students shifting in their seats, avoiding eye contact, or fidgeting. These signs indicate it might be time to take an off-ramp from the current conversation. Allow students the freedom to take breaks as needed to help them self-regulate and reframe the discussion into a healthy and productive one (Hogan and Sathy, 2022).
3. Ensuring Well-Facilitated Discussions: Proper facilitation is crucial. When dealing with microaggressions, approach them with curiosity rather than judgment. Address them appropriately to show affected students that you take their concerns seriously and create a space for learning (Fleurizard, 2018; Hogan and Sathy, 2022; Kernahan, 2019).

Though we are experts in our fields, we cannot always predict how topics will interact with our students' lived experiences. Having a plan and setting up expectations beforehand is essential to handle whatever the moment throws at us.

Want to know more about inclusive course design? Join the Inclusive Course Design Workshop Series this January on Tuesdays from 9 to 9:50 a.m., where we will discuss the details and work through the mechanics of inclusive course design.  

Bookmark the CITL Event Calendar and the Training Services (formerly FAST3) Calendar to stay tuned for upcoming events, workshops, and additional training opportunities!

Building Bridges: UDL and Instructional Scaffolding

Have you ever wondered how Universal Design for Learning (UDL) and instructional scaffolding might work hand-in-hand to support your students? “Instructional scaffolding” is a process in which an instructor provides targeted support to guide and enhance students' learning, systematically building on their prior experiences and knowledge as they master new skills, with the support gradually removed as they gain competence.¹ In this context, you might think of UDL as the "architect" of an inclusive learning environment and scaffolding as the "contractor" who provides the supports needed to help students build their skills, understanding, and confidence. Together, UDL and instructional scaffolding create a learning space where students have the tools they need to succeed, regardless of their starting point.

Underpinning this synergy between UDL and scaffolding is what Russian psychologist Lev Vygotsky identified as the Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD): the idea that students learn best when working on tasks just beyond their current abilities, provided they receive appropriate guidance and support (see Figure 1). While UDL helps create the foundation for inclusion by ensuring that materials, tasks, and assessments are designed to meet diverse needs, the scaffolding connects directly to this by offering timely, responsive supports that help students navigate their ZPD and move gradually toward greater understanding and independence.

Figure 1: Vygotsky's Zone of Proximal Development²

For example, in an online sociology course, learning how to conduct field observations might involve offering tutorials in multiple formats (videos, PDFs, interactive guides, etc.) and giving students flexibility in how they present their findings (written reports, infographics, video presentations, etc.). The scaffolding can build on this framework by providing step-by-step worksheets to structure learners’ observations, modeling the process, pairing students with a peer for their first site visit, and then ultimately conducting a field observation on their own.

To give you an idea of some of the activities and tools that can serve as instructional scaffolding, here’s a list of 10:

1. Graphic Organizers – Visual tools to help organize and structure information.
2. Worksheets and Checklists – Step-by-step instructions that break down complex tasks and guide students through a process.
3. Low Stakes Learning Checks – Short quizzes or activities to help reinforce key ideas and concepts
4. Guiding Questions – Questions that direct students’ thinking and focus attention on key concepts.
5. Modeling – Demonstrating a task or process for students to observe and learn from.
6. Scaffolded Reading – Providing reading materials at varying levels of complexity with supports like annotations or glossaries.
7. Concept Maps – Visual representations of the relationships between concepts.
8. Video Tutorials – Instructional videos to visually guide students through tasks or concepts.
9. Peer Collaboration – Structured group work that encourages students to help each other.
10. Rubrics – Clear guidelines for expectations and assessment of student work.

Ultimately, combining UDL with thoughtfully constructed instructional scaffolding can go a long way in addressing learner variability, fostering greater independence, and creating expert learners. While scaffolding helps students progress within their zone of proximal development and build competence, UDL ensures these supports are designed to meet diverse needs. Throughout the process, students gain confidence, develop self-regulation, and acquire the adaptability they need to become expert learners who are purposeful, motivated, and resourceful.

If you would like more information or a consultation on this topic or any topic related to UDL, CITL’s UDL Team is here to help! You can reach us at CITL-UDLTeam@illinois.edu. 

References

1. IRIS Center. (2024). Providing instructional supports. 
2. McLeod, S. (2024, August 9). Vygotsky’s theory of cognitive development. Simply Psychology.