Strong teacher-student and student-student relationships bring joy to teaching and improve student outcomes. Such relationships support sensemaking in science, since sensemaking is not just about individual knowledge building, but collaborative knowledge building that requires commitments to classroom community-building. But building such relationships takes time, and it requires intentional strategies. In this workshop, we will focus on strategies for building relationships centered on care. We will introduce a definition of care grounded in research on how to cultivate compassionate relationships in schools. We will simulate practices for establishing and revisiting community agreements focused on honoring the dignity of each person, valuing each student's contribution, and tending to strong emotions that arise in classrooms. We will also discuss strategies for repairing relationships when agreements break down, and meeting such moments with compassion for ourselves and students.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will develop an understanding of the role of caring relationships in fostering commitment to building classroom communities that engage in science sensemaking together. In addition, they will experience practices intended to build, maintain, and address breakdowns in shared agreements.

SPEAKERS:
Ashley Potvin

Maintaining our own well-being as educators depends on our skill in regulating our own emotions. That can be hard, since our students can push our buttons and express strong emotions themselves in the classroom. In this workshop, we’ll introduce contemplative practices that can help us develop a kind attention to emotions that arise for us in difficult circumstances. We’ll also introduce practices for meeting students’ emotions with compassion, practices that can be used both in solitude and in the midst of the bustle of the classroom. Third, we’ll introduce a protocol for engaging with our own and students’ emotions when they are presented with phenomena that are upsetting but central topics in science, such as those connected to the climate crisis. We’ll discuss productive ways to respond to a range of emotions from anger to despair in hearing about its impacts, as well as emotions of joy in hearing about actions of groups to help us thrive together in a changing climate.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will develop awareness of emotions that arise within the classroom, engage in practices for meeting their own and students’ emotions with compassion, and identify productive ways to respond to emotions related to the impact of the changing climate.

SPEAKERS:
Ashley Potvin, Paolo Calvadores

One of the greatest challenges we face as educators is acknowledging when things are difficult for us in the midst of a busy school day. But pausing and acknowledging our negative emotions like frustration, anger, and fear and honoring them can contribute to our own well-being and allow us to be our best selves to others. We will introduce practices of self-compassion and share stories from educators of how these practices have benefited them. Self-compassion involves acknowledging our own feelings, recognizing that we are not alone in having these feelings, and offering ourselves warmth and kindness as if we were a friend to ourselves. We will also share practices for cultivating compassion for our colleagues, both for those with whom we get along and those who push our buttons (i.e., those we find difficult). Finally, in this session we will introduce a dialogue practice for helping us deepen our connection with others and develop appreciation for our common humanity.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will cultivate compassion for themselves and their colleagues through contemplative practices, dialogue, and listening and identify on-the-spot practices to integrate into their day-to-day routines.

SPEAKERS:
Ashley Potvin, Paolo Calvadores