Emotions and Learning
Reinhard Pekrun
Introduction
The classroom is an emotional place
o E.g.: pride in their accomplishments, anxiety about failing examinations, feel ashamed
over poor grades, or be bored during lessons etc.
o social emotions play a role as well, like admiration, empathy, anger, contempt, or envy
concerning peers and teachers
o outside school events and environment also influences (stressful family)
emotions effect learning and achievement
o controls the students’ attention, influence their motivation to learn, modify the choice of
learning strategies, and affect their self-regulation of learning
emotions also effect identity & personality development, psychological health & physical health
not only important for study efficiency, but students’ emotional wellbeing should also be
regarded as an educational goal
A) The nature and diversity of students’ emotions:
1. Understanding emotions
Emotions profoundly influence learning and achievement. Therefore, pay attention to the emotions
experienced by students.
Research Findings
students experience many positive & negative, intense & frequent, academic & school
external related emotions
4 groups of academic emotions:
o Achievement emotions
Success & failure from achievement activities
enjoyment of learning; hope and pride; anxiety and shame
occur especially when high importance on achievement
o Epistemic emotions
Triggered by cognitive problems
surprise about new task; curiosity, confusion and frustration about obstacles;
delight when problem solved
important in learning with new, non-routine tasks
o Topic emotions
Reactions to topics presented in lessons
Empathy, anxiety, disgust, enjoyment
positive and negative topic emotions can trigger students’ interest in learning
material
o Social emotions
, teacher and peer relations
love, sympathy, compassion, admiration, contempt, envy, anger, social anxiety
important in teacher/student interaction and in group learning
In the classroom
teachers need to understand and deal with the emotions experienced by students
o they can use own experiences from their school days for better understanding
o talk with students about their experience (group discussions)
ethics: students don’t have to disclose their private affairs
o often the case when problems with self-esteem (shame of failing exam)
o conflict when in need to know more in order to help the student
research has shown that teachers’ judgements of students’ emotions can be very different from
students’ self-view
o by middle elementary school, students have learnt social rules and how to control the
expression of their emotions
solution:
o build up a trustful relationship
o use anonymous self-report
o ask for the judgement of others, such as the student’s parents
o a more systematic assessment can be performed by professional experts, such as school
psychologists
o keep the balance between the need to help your students and the students’ right to
keep emotions private
2. Individual and cultural differences
Consider the individual and cultural uniqueness of students’ emotions.
Research Findings
Different students can experience different emotions, even in the same situation
o differences can relate to culture, ethnicity, gender, school membership, and class
membership
o average test anxiety higher in females & students from East Asian and Arab countries
larger differences within than between cultures and genders etc.
o Most of the differences between students due to uniqueness of students’ individual
emotions
Difference in reactions too (some like math, some are bored)
o emotions experienced in dissimilar subjects (such as mathematics versus languages) can
be quite different, similar subjects (math & science) more alike
o differences between emotions in different school subjects become larger as students
progress in education
self-confidence and interests often vary across different subject
Emotional stability over time also differs between students
, In the classroom
emotions have both universal features and individual uniqueness
be aware of the fact that only a minor part of these individual differences can be explained in
terms of culture, ethnicity, gender, schools or classrooms
o avoid stereotype phrases that relate to group membership
o better pay attention to the uniqueness of each individual student’s emotions
consider that emotions can vary across school subjects and time
o amount of anxiety can substantially differ between school subjects
o it’s misleading to think of students as either being generally test anxious or not test
anxious
o make use of students’ varying emotional reactions by identifying the specific tasks and
situations that result in them enjoying lessons
o build their capacity for experiencing positive emotions by identifying their specific
emotional strengths
B) Functions, antecedents, and the regulation of emotions:
3. Positive emotions and learning
Promote students’ enjoyment of learning.
Research Findings
Positive emotions can vary in terms of the physiological and cognitive arousal
o Enjoyment, excitement, hope and pride > activating positive emotions
Arousal of heart rate
o relief and relaxation > deactivating
decrease of HR
Positive emotions influence learning by affecting…
o Attention
Emotions draw one’s attention towards the object of emotion (e.g.
accomplishment of good grade)
positive emotions can reduce performance on all kinds of tasks that need
attention, like academic learning tasks
exceptions are task-related positive emotions (enjoyment of learning)
focus attention on the learning task itself, the task becomes the object of
emotion
>> flow experience
o Motivation
PE help to recollect positive memories and to appraise the value of tasks and
one’s competence to solve them
promotes interest in learning material and intrinsic motivation
Pleasant relaxation and relief can reduce any motivation to continue making an
effort, but can reinforce motivation to begin again later
o Learning strategies
PE help to employ flexible, creative and deep learning strategies
Reinhard Pekrun
Introduction
The classroom is an emotional place
o E.g.: pride in their accomplishments, anxiety about failing examinations, feel ashamed
over poor grades, or be bored during lessons etc.
o social emotions play a role as well, like admiration, empathy, anger, contempt, or envy
concerning peers and teachers
o outside school events and environment also influences (stressful family)
emotions effect learning and achievement
o controls the students’ attention, influence their motivation to learn, modify the choice of
learning strategies, and affect their self-regulation of learning
emotions also effect identity & personality development, psychological health & physical health
not only important for study efficiency, but students’ emotional wellbeing should also be
regarded as an educational goal
A) The nature and diversity of students’ emotions:
1. Understanding emotions
Emotions profoundly influence learning and achievement. Therefore, pay attention to the emotions
experienced by students.
Research Findings
students experience many positive & negative, intense & frequent, academic & school
external related emotions
4 groups of academic emotions:
o Achievement emotions
Success & failure from achievement activities
enjoyment of learning; hope and pride; anxiety and shame
occur especially when high importance on achievement
o Epistemic emotions
Triggered by cognitive problems
surprise about new task; curiosity, confusion and frustration about obstacles;
delight when problem solved
important in learning with new, non-routine tasks
o Topic emotions
Reactions to topics presented in lessons
Empathy, anxiety, disgust, enjoyment
positive and negative topic emotions can trigger students’ interest in learning
material
o Social emotions
, teacher and peer relations
love, sympathy, compassion, admiration, contempt, envy, anger, social anxiety
important in teacher/student interaction and in group learning
In the classroom
teachers need to understand and deal with the emotions experienced by students
o they can use own experiences from their school days for better understanding
o talk with students about their experience (group discussions)
ethics: students don’t have to disclose their private affairs
o often the case when problems with self-esteem (shame of failing exam)
o conflict when in need to know more in order to help the student
research has shown that teachers’ judgements of students’ emotions can be very different from
students’ self-view
o by middle elementary school, students have learnt social rules and how to control the
expression of their emotions
solution:
o build up a trustful relationship
o use anonymous self-report
o ask for the judgement of others, such as the student’s parents
o a more systematic assessment can be performed by professional experts, such as school
psychologists
o keep the balance between the need to help your students and the students’ right to
keep emotions private
2. Individual and cultural differences
Consider the individual and cultural uniqueness of students’ emotions.
Research Findings
Different students can experience different emotions, even in the same situation
o differences can relate to culture, ethnicity, gender, school membership, and class
membership
o average test anxiety higher in females & students from East Asian and Arab countries
larger differences within than between cultures and genders etc.
o Most of the differences between students due to uniqueness of students’ individual
emotions
Difference in reactions too (some like math, some are bored)
o emotions experienced in dissimilar subjects (such as mathematics versus languages) can
be quite different, similar subjects (math & science) more alike
o differences between emotions in different school subjects become larger as students
progress in education
self-confidence and interests often vary across different subject
Emotional stability over time also differs between students
, In the classroom
emotions have both universal features and individual uniqueness
be aware of the fact that only a minor part of these individual differences can be explained in
terms of culture, ethnicity, gender, schools or classrooms
o avoid stereotype phrases that relate to group membership
o better pay attention to the uniqueness of each individual student’s emotions
consider that emotions can vary across school subjects and time
o amount of anxiety can substantially differ between school subjects
o it’s misleading to think of students as either being generally test anxious or not test
anxious
o make use of students’ varying emotional reactions by identifying the specific tasks and
situations that result in them enjoying lessons
o build their capacity for experiencing positive emotions by identifying their specific
emotional strengths
B) Functions, antecedents, and the regulation of emotions:
3. Positive emotions and learning
Promote students’ enjoyment of learning.
Research Findings
Positive emotions can vary in terms of the physiological and cognitive arousal
o Enjoyment, excitement, hope and pride > activating positive emotions
Arousal of heart rate
o relief and relaxation > deactivating
decrease of HR
Positive emotions influence learning by affecting…
o Attention
Emotions draw one’s attention towards the object of emotion (e.g.
accomplishment of good grade)
positive emotions can reduce performance on all kinds of tasks that need
attention, like academic learning tasks
exceptions are task-related positive emotions (enjoyment of learning)
focus attention on the learning task itself, the task becomes the object of
emotion
>> flow experience
o Motivation
PE help to recollect positive memories and to appraise the value of tasks and
one’s competence to solve them
promotes interest in learning material and intrinsic motivation
Pleasant relaxation and relief can reduce any motivation to continue making an
effort, but can reinforce motivation to begin again later
o Learning strategies
PE help to employ flexible, creative and deep learning strategies
