According to the rules of biology, the brain evolved to be efficient. So why are emotions so powerful in our thinking? What is their role? And importantly, how can we harness them for education?

Mary-Helen Immordino-Yang, an affective neuropsychologist at the University of California, has done much research on the role of emotions in learning and in driving engagement. Her work in what she calls transcendent thinking suggests that we ought to pay more attention to the power of emotion in designing materials for the classroom.

It shouldn’t be a surprise that feelings such as indignation, compassion, admiration, and empathy are powerful drivers of interest and action. So the question becomes how. How do we leverage emotions in the classroom?

Immordino-Yang has many stories to illustrate transcendent thinking, which weaves emotion into learning. In one example from a research project, she shows a student a video in which Malala, a young Afghani woman, speaks about her desire to become a doctor and her fear of the Taliban. The student responds emotionally to the story. Then she does something interesting according to Immordino-Yang. The student talks about her own educational journey. Then she pauses and takes a step back and considers the question from a moral point of view stating that all people should be free to make decisions about their future.

According to Immordino-Yang, this movement from story to personalization to the greater world helps the student create meaning, and in fact has the potential to be transferable. In an article entitled, Weaving a Colorful Cloth, she writes, “For school-based learning to have a hope of motivating students, of producing deep understanding, or of transferring into real world skills—all hallmarks of meaningful learning, and all essential to producing informed, skilled, ethical and reflective adults—we need to find ways to leverage the emotional aspects of learning in education.”

The challenge for teachers according to Immordino-Yang is to start with a big idea, let it capture the students’ attention, and then use the pursuit of that big idea to teach the related pieces. For example, having students work with community members on financial planning could inspire them to learn more math. Or giving a student who experienced the foster care system a chance to write an op-ed might motivate that student to learn about effective paragraphing. The student wants to do it because it is personally (emotionally) meaningful.

Big ideas can emerge from different sources, but at least one potential avenue towards creating engaged readers is a fictional story. Maybe a character makes a difficult decision or responds to a problem, stands up to injustice, or simply learns a life lesson through trial and error. The story sparks an emotional reaction. The lesson then makes a place for exploring a personal connection to the story. Students are experts on their own lives in a way that tempers the authority/expertise of the teacher and invites the thinking of the student to be front and center. (An added advantage is that life stories are often captivating for both the other students and the instructor.)  Finally, students can expand outward to a broader social context (the big idea). They can read more widely (non-fiction or academic content), process information through writing and discussion, and practice critical thinking through projects that feel meaningful.

The following lesson plan is an attempt to employ transcendent thinking in a high beginner ESOL class at a community college. The lesson can be done in two to three class periods. The first part is a general overview of the lesson followed by two texts, one fiction, the other non-fiction. The lesson can be expanded to have vocabulary support, comprehension activities, point of view tasks, and other elements, but it has been paired down to focus on the progression of transcendent thinking through the three stages of emotion (through story), personalization (through reflection) and expansion (through non-fiction).

Reference: Immordino-Yang, M. H., Nasir, N. S., Cantor, P., & Yoshikawa, H. (2024). Weaving a Colorful Cloth: Centering Education on Humans’ Emergent Developmental Potentials. Review of Research in Education, 47(1), 1-45. https://doi.org/10.3102/0091732X231223516 (Original work published 2023)

1. EMOTIONAL CONNECTION

Warm up: Students are invited to share about their families and learn vocabulary for describing different activities in a household.

Read fiction: Where’s Grandpa?

The students read a story about a chaotic Saturday morning in a family household that may feel familiar. Partway through, the mother of the family realizes that grandpa went out last night but did not come home. After a desperate search, they find him on the doorstep. He was on a date. He and his girlfriend had been talking all night and then watched the sunrise together. He says he is in love. The mother reacts somewhat disapprovingly, but grandpa pushes back.

Students discuss: Is this a typical family? Are they happy? What do they think about grandpa’s date?

2. PERSONALIZATION

Group discussion and possible writing

The students use the story as a jumping point to talk about their own families, life in a chaotic but loving home, and the role their grandparents play in the household. Possible questions include the following: Who are the people in their families? How many generations live together? Where do they live?  Who are they close to? How would they describe their family life?

3. EXPANSION

Read nonfiction:  What happens when grandparents start dating?

Students preview the article with discussion questions.

1. Do you think older people are dating more or less than in the past? Why?

2. How do kids feel when their parents start dating after a death or divorce?

3. What do you think about dating at an older age?

Article: What happens when grandparents start dating?

The article includes statistics about increases in dating among seniors and gives several reasons why, including that people are living longer and have access to apps and websites for meeting. It then goes on to list some of the worries that family members may have along with suggestions about how families might address concerns about a possible new person being brought into the family.

Discussion: Students check the information in the article against their predictions and share opinions in groups or as a class.

4. Project

SPEAKING

Students roleplay a dialog drama among family members.

A. Divide students into four groups to prepare for a roleplay.

• Grandmother: You want to start dating. Prepare to explain to your sons/daughters why.
• Grandfather: You want to start dating. Prepare to explain to your sons/daughters why.
• Adult son: Your parent is dating. What are you concerned about? What do you want to tell your parent?
• Adult daughter: Your parent is dating. What are you concerned about? What do you want to tell your parent?

B. After students in same role groups have had a chance to think about their explanations/concerns and prepare language, pair them up as grandparent/parent for a roleplay. Repeat with new partners. Consider inviting pairs to roleplay in front of the class.

C. Discuss the issue as a class. How can families address concerns and move forward?

WRITING

Students respond to a reddit style forum, by responding to a question from a concerned adult child or an indignant or sensitive senior. For example:

• I’ve started dating my neighbor, and I think I am falling in love. The problem is that I’m 68 years old, and I live with my daughter. Do I need to consider my daughter’s feelings before I get too involved?

• Help! I just found out that my 63-year-old mother has a dating app on her phone. What should I do?

TEXTS

Fiction

Where’s Grandpa?

Sara skips breakfast. She just has coffee. She wants to pay some bills online before taking Josephine to soccer practice. Just then, her daughter runs downstairs in her pajamas. Josephine is shouting. “There’s a frog in the shower!”

Sara doesn’t look up from her computer. She knows her son, Finn is laughing. She can guess what happened, but she is not going to say anything. She needs to focus.

Josephine runs out the front door. Her father is next to his truck. Ray is checking the air in the tires.

“Dad. There’s a frog in the shower!” Josephine says.

“What is it doing there?” Ray says.

“I don’t know, and I don’t care,” says Josephine. “I just need it to go away. I have to take a shower.”

Ray brushes off his hands. Then he follows his daughter to the upstairs bathroom. The frog is gone. Josephine is sure it was there a minute ago.

Downstairs, Sara turns to her son. “Finn, Where is your grandfather?”

“He went out last night.” says Finn. “He was meeting someone.”

“Yes, but where is he now? His breakfast is getting cold. Go check on him, will you Finn?”

“Do I have to?”

“Yes, I’m busy” Sara picks up her phone. She gets a code for logging in to her bank. She repeats it ‘459321, 459321, 459321.” She types the code into her computer. Finn goes upstairs and knocks on his grandfather’s door. There is no answer. “Grandpa?” He opens the door.

The room is empty.

Finn comes back down. “He’s not there.”

“What?” Sara looks up from her computer. “What do you mean he’s not there?”

“Go see for yourself,” says Finn.

Sara sighs and goes upstairs. When she comes back down, she looks frightened. “Raaaayyyy?” she shouts.

“No need to shout. I’m right here!” Her husband is in the kitchen. Ray is lifting a teabag and dropping it in the sink. Sara frowns. She doesn’t like teabags in the sink. “My father is missing,” she says.

“Are you sure?” asks Ray.

“Yes, I’m sure. We need to find him. You know he’s getting forgetful. Maybe he got lost. Maybe he got hit by a car!”

“Carlos is only 65, not 90! Maybe he just went to buy a newspaper.”

Sara knows her father’s habits. Her father doesn’t buy newspapers. He reads the news on his computer. She looks out the kitchen window. A car speeds past.

Sara sends her family to look for Carlos. Finn goes left, Ray goes right, and Sara takes the next street over. No one sees him. Sara decides to call the police. But when she comes back home,  her father is sitting on the front steps. He is still wearing his best suit, and he is smiling.

Sara runs to her father, “Where were you?”

“On a date,” says the old man.”

Sara’s mouth opens. “All night?”

“Yes!” says Carlos. “With Betty Colina.” His eyes twinkle. “We talked all night. Then we went to the park and watched the sun come up.”

“I was so worried! Why didn’t you tell me!”

Carlos just smiles, “I think I’m in love.”

Sara frowns. “Is it a good idea for you to date at your age?”

“I’m your father, not your child,” says Carlos. “I can have a girlfriend if I want to!”

“Yes, but . . .” Sara sees her father’s face. Then she starts to laugh. Ray and Fin join in. Josephine comes from across the street. Her hair is wet. “What’s so funny?” she says.

“This family,” says Sara. “You teach me something new every day!”

NONFICTION

What happens when grandparents start dating?

The restaurant is busy at 5 p.m. Most customers have gray hair. Older couples sit across from each other. They share stories about their past lives, their kids, their memories. These are not long married couples. They are getting to know each other. What’s going on?

Today, more seniors (people 65 and older) are dating. In the United States, 36% of adults aged 65 and older are single. Their partners have died, or they are divorced. These single seniors can meet each other at community centers or on dating sites. In fact, about 17% of adults aged 50 and older have used a dating website or app. Also, people live longer today, so they have more time after their children grow up.

When grandmothers and grandfathers start a romantic life, their families may be surprised. They do not think about old people that way. They might worry.  For example, Carl is 74. He is dating his neighbor, Betty. Betty is a friendly woman, but Carl’s daughter, Suzie, worries. Does Betty want Carl’s money? Will Carl get hurt? And what about the memories of Suzie’s mother? Will Carl forget about her?

It is natural for children feel protective of their parents. They might also feel worried about changes in family traditions. They are afraid of losing their parents’ attention. They might even worry about the family money. Experts say this is natural. It’s important for these sons and daughters to have open conversations with their parents. Romance later in life can bring happiness. A new member of the family might add fun and even resources to the family, not take things away.

“Yes, I’m old,” says Carl, “but I can still be happy, and I hope that my daughter will be happy for me.”