The role of empathy for learning in complex Science|Environment|Health contexts

Figures & data

Figure 1. The Gender-Systemising-Empathising-Motivation (GSEM) Model (adapted from Zeyer, 2012).

Figure 2. The three types of empathy (adapted from Dvash & Shamay-Tsoory, 2014).

Table 1. The ten topics in which students showed the most interest (Bybee, 2012).

OECD rank	Non-OECD	Question label	Topic (How much interest do you have in the following information?)
1	1	Fit for drinking QNc	Learning which diseases are transmitted in drinking water
2	2	Sun and health QNa	Knowing how sunlight causes skin cancer
3	5	Physical exercise QNa	Understanding better how exercise affects your muscles
4	4	Good vibrations QNa	Knowing your own hearing sensitivity by having it checked
5	3	Physical exercise QNb	Learning how your body controls your breathing rate during physical exercise
6	18	Airbags Q9Na	Knowing why airbags can be dangerous in some accidents
7	7	Good vibrations QNb	Knowing how your hearing is damaged by loud noise
8	9	Alex’s band QNa	Understanding how much can damage your hearing
9	6	Mousepox QNc	Understanding better how the body defends itself against viruses
10	11	Tobacco smoking QNc	Learning how the body recovers after stopping smoking

Table 2. Top five items boys would like to learn about science and the top five for girls (Schreiner & Sjøberg, 2004).

Boys	Girls
Explosive chemicals	Why we dream when we are sleeping and what the dreams might mean
How it feels to be weightless in space	Cancer – what we know and how we can treat it
How the atom bomb functions	How to perform first aid and use basic medical equipment
Biological and chemical weapons and what they do to the human body	How to exercise the body to keep fit and strong
Black holes, supernovae and other spectacular objects in outer space	Sexually transmitted diseases and how to be protected against them

Table 3. Conceptual framework emerging from the interview analysis (Dillon & Reid, 2016, p. 79).

Code	Explanation
Values	Underpinning assumptions and beliefs
Metaphors	Comparison between ideas seemingly unrelated
Issues	Environmental or scientific concerns
Activities	Tasks undertaken by students
Strategies	Generic pedagogical approaches
Outcomes	The end product of the activities

Zeyer, A., & Kyburz-Graber, R. (Eds.). (2012). Science|Environment|Health. Towards a renewed pedagogy for science education. Dordrecht, Boston, London: Springer Verlag. doi: 10.1007/978-90-481-3949-1

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Dvash, J., & Shamay-Tsoory, S. G. (2014). Theory of mind and empathy as multidimensional constructs. Topics in Language Disorders, 34(4), 282–295.

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Bybee, R. (2012). Scientific literacy in Environmental and Health Education. In A. Zeyer, & R. Kyburz-Graber (Eds.), Science|Environment|Health. Towards a renewed pedagogy for science education (pp. 49–67). Dordrecht: Springer.

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Schreiner, C., & Sjøberg, S. (2004). Sowing the seeds of ROSE: Background, rationale, questionnaire development and data collection for ROSE (Relevance of Science Education) – a comparative study of students’ views of science and science education. Acta Didactica, 4, 1–20.

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Dillon, J., & Reid, A. (2016). Science, the environment and citizenship: Teaching values at Minstead Study Centre. In The selected works of Justin Dillon (pp. 205–217). London: Taylor and Francis.

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