Facilitator: Ali Arya (Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Affairs)

We are emotional beings. When facing personal problems, we find it very taxing to engage in intellectual challenges. We feel overwhelmed with our growing to-do list. We lose motivation when we don’t get the support and recognition we deserve. We get bored during meetings, complain about unrealistic expectations and ineffective plans, and hope for work-life balance.

Our students have the same emotions and reactions. How can we see them not as learning machines but as human beings with emotional and social issues that affect their learning process and that need understanding? And how do we incorporate that understanding into our academic plans?

Join us for an informal discussion facilitated by Ali Arya, Associate Dean (Planning and Awards), Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Affairs, to share our experiences and thoughts on the subject of emotional learners. We’ll review the body of research on the subject, talk about our own practices, and consider strategies to provide a more emotionally balanced education.