The Influence of Perspective Taking and Empathy on Students Using the Cultural Approach to History
Challenges to teaching history have precipitated a number of teaching strategies whereby teachers have achieved mixed success. The Cultural Approach to History (CAH) has been shown to be an effective teaching strategy from its inception in the late 1960s. Advances in neuroscience revealing how the brain functions in the learning process have been proven to show that stimulating affect in students during instruction may result in a greater long-term learning outcomes than if students underwent traditional lecture-based instruction. Students using the CAH have the opportunity to take the perspective of others in addition to their engaging cognitive capabilities thus leading to stronger learning outcomes. This researcher will investigate the relationship in empathetic responses between students who have or have not been taught by teachers who employ the cultural approach. Two research questions are posed. Is there a statistically significant difference in self-reported affect between students who have been taught by teachers using the Cultural Approach and those who have not? Also, what do the data reveal about students who learn history using the Cultural Approach?
Perspective taking, Empathy, Cultural Approach, History Education, Bilingual, Multilingual, and Multicultural Education, Educational Leadership, Liberal Studies
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