Some Thoughts on the affective domain in Bloom's Taxonomy, learning styles, and mansplaining

One afternoon in my drab office yet again, Jasmin was somehow engaged and answering some questions but I was talking more than she.

I talk about writing “Learning Objectives” and how important it is in organizing community projects. I use a PowerPoint presentation so we both stare into the laptop.

I am probably "mansplaining" again. She is yawning, again.

Let me mansplain mansplaining to you: it's to explain something in a manner that is condescending or patronizing to the recipient. Get it? Simple right? Is that condescending enough for you?

All kidding aside, not only is mansplaining condescending, it is also boring.

Not only is mansplaining condescending,

it is also boring

At the end, though, Jasmin remarks that she wants to try writing objectives as I instruct. This points out to me that rather than merely reading and listening, she might be more of a learning-by-doing type of person.

So I decide to talk about something that she might find more relevant to her. I talk about her shyness, her symptoms, her manifestations of shyness, what induces it. She talked about this before and even wrote it in her “expectations” of the course. However now, she begins to open up more. She begins to talk more. Words begin to float inside my small office.

Words begin to float

inside my small office

She is explaining more. Her eyes are engaged. She is looking at me. Laughing at some of her examples. It would seem that she is more engaged in the affective side of conversations rather than the cognitive side. I shut down my laptop.

Although, I think that both the affective and the cognitive domain are important, the question is why is she engaged more in the shyness topic? How can I also produce more engagement in the "learning objectives" topic?

Maybe, it’s not the topic but the approach to teaching that’s the problem. Perhaps I could still teach about “learning objectives” using a more affective approach, for example, use methods like debate, commitment-setting, journaling, etc.

I give her an assignment with shyness. She will visit the, Mayor's office and write a journal about how she interacted with the institution.  How she coped with shyness. She seems excited and very willing to try it.

To tell you the truth, although this is in the curriculum, I am not sure about what I am doing. Who knows how this will turn out? Now I’m just waiting for either a caterpillar to grow into a butterfly or an upsurge from a timed bomb!

What do you think of the affective domain? What are the teaching techniques that focus on the affective domain?

What do you think of learning styles? How do we encourage students to learn even if they have different learning styles?

What can you say about mansplaining? As teachers, how do we know if we are doing it? How do we avoid it?

Click here to read about learning styles:

Click here to read about mansplaining.

Photos from pixabay.com

How about the heart? Talking about the Affective Domain in Bloom's Taxonomy

Introversion

"I prefer to keep to myself. It's hard for me to mingle because I'm too conscious of myself." she writes.

Kari hands a list of expectations about our coursework written in a scratch paper.

"Honestly, this was also one consideration in selecting a field area for you, especially because you will enter the poor community on your own, without any teammates," I replied nonchalantly.

"Uh-huh."

"I already talked to two other professors about it," I reiterated.

"One advised against it since, as you also mentioned, your disposition might not positively assist you in a new and confusing environment. A different community might put tremendous stress on you."

"Yet, another professor told me that this could be exactly what you need. Maybe this is what we, as an educational institution, have not taught you."

One Wednesday afternoon in my office, at the back of my mind, I was asking, "Being introverted myself, how do I tackle Kari's issues about introversion?"

Bloom's Taxonomy

I search my laptop for documents and readings about Bloom's taxonomy: the three domains. I think, rather than the cognitive and the psychomotor domain, what Kari is asking from me is to improve her affective domain. Which I believe is highly neglected among many educational institutions.

It seems that "knoweldge" or the cognitive aspect doesn't help very much in this circumstance because it doesn't feel relevant to her. She's longing for someone or something to help her on the affective domain that might have been underdeveloped simply because, as I said, it's neglected.

In my classes, I have tried to address this issue yet it remains just an extra or a minor addition compared to the cognitive domain. My students stare blankly at the blinding blue light from the projector.

The affective domain is the area that focuses on emotions like values and attitudes.

"In schools, we always say improve the mind,

but how about the heart?"

This diagram demonstrates the aspects of the Affective Domain namely: Receive, Respond, Value, Organize, and Internalize.

What are the teaching techniques and approaches specific to the affective domain? How do we form values and attitudes? How do we facilitate emotional maturity among our students?

Remember the marshmallow test? It's EQ, not IQ, that determined the success of those kids as they grew up.

For this reason, I decided to talk about "introversion" on my next meeting with Kari. I plan to use Philip Zimbardo's book "Shyness: What is it? What to do about it?"

Thinking about it, this endeavor will confront my shyness too. It will help nurture an outgoing personality for both me and Kari during times we need it. It's not going to completely change us because there is nothing wrong with being introverted, rather it will help us grow. The projector's blinding blue light slowly starts to show moving pictures. It is starting to make sense.

In schools, we always say improve the mind, but how about the heart?

*Picture from https://spatkinson.files.wordpress.com/2015/03/atkinson-taxonomy-circles-march-2015.jpeg

Click here to read "Shyness: What is it? What to do about it?" by Philip Zimbardo

What's the big deal with social concern and awareness?

Seemed like an ordinary afternoon when Kari, a student, visited my office.

"We cannot save the entire community," I reminded her.

"But that's what I'm hoping for," she remarks.

Left arrow key button made the powerpoint presentation move to the next slide. We both stare at the laptop screen.

Like a taxi driver with nowhere to go, no passenger, no purpose, no change, no affirmation, and no accomplishments, students now need this too. To find their life's purpose. Even though we are different generations, direction is important.

I remember when I was Kari's age, didn't know what I wanted to become. The path before me seemed unlit and confusing and my life had no meaning. I did not even like the college course I put in my UPCAT application. I was looking for a purpose. I needed to see the bigger world and see my role in it. I wanted to know my contribution.

We just fell asleep and woke up disappointed in a tiny and dreary room. I was in high school and I took rat poison with two of my classmates. Hopeless. Sad / melancholic, even suicidal.

It's an emotion, a positive emotion. It feels good to help others. Social concern and awareness, unlike what most people think, I believe, is a positive emotion.

I thought all I knew was hopelessness. If you put a coin near your eye, it would seem larger than everything else. I was too focused on myself. I needed to know that life was bigger than I am. That there was the idea of others, of the world. That my story is the same as other people's story. And that together, we can change our stories. When I focused on others, everything made sense.