Students’ empathy in a mathematics design-based lesson

Empathy in mathematics plays a crucial role in education by engaging students in interesting and authentic problem-solving while also developing their social and civic skills. In this study, I implemented qualitative research methods, supported by Fila and Hess’s (2015) framework. This approach allowed me to explore how middle school students demonstrated empathy while designing a wellness space for their school when utilizing their geometry knowledge. The research question guiding the study is: How do middle school students show empathy in a mathematics design-based lesson? I developed a coding scheme for the video data to identify students’ most significant empathetic actions. Two groups were analyzed using coding templates for characterizing their empathic process. That is, I identified how they utilized empathic strategies to design a prototype for a wellness space centered on others’ needs, experiences, and feelings. I found that the students showed different kinds of empathy related to design processes while applying their geometry knowledge to build empathetic solutions. They showed empathic understanding by imagining and feeling themselves as others within the others’ context. They also showed empathic concerns by identifying familiar experiences. Then, they showed empathic knowledge by synthesizing their empathic understanding and concerns. Specifically, the students interpreted others’ needs, experiences, and feelings, relating them to the design concepts while building the solutions. Furthermore, middle school students showed empathy perception by imagining their experiences and living out their ideas within their design. The findings suggest that empathy can play an essential role in mathematics curricular design, while students develop social skills based on equity, justice, and integrity. Future studies can continue to explore the role of empathy and how this manifests in mathematics design-based lessons. Professional development can support teachers in incorporating empathy in classrooms.

Name thesis:degree_name

M.A.

Level thesis:degree_level

Thesis

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Curriculum and Instruction

Grantor

University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

Year dc:date

2025

Author dc:creator

• Ortega Betancourt, Jhonnatan Stiven

Contributors dc:contributor

• González Rivera, Gloriana
• Castillo, Nathan
• Dyer, Elizabeth

• Empathy
• Design-Based Lesson
• Empathic Strategies
• Middle School Students
• and Math Lesson.

Statement dc:rights

• Copyright 2025 Jhonnatan Ortega

Language dc:language

en, eng

Handle dc:identifier

https://hdl.handle.net/2142/129323

OAI record oai:identifier

https://www.ideals.illinois.edu/oai-pmh?verb=GetRecord&metadataPrefix=etdms&identifier=oai%3Awww.ideals.illinois.edu%3A2142%2F129323