The Humanistic Psychology Movement and the Teaching of Chemistry Rubin Battino Wright State University, Dayton, OH 45435 The humanistic . nsvcholoev over the . -" movement has grown . past twenty or so years until it has touched most aspects of our culture. The movement ranaes from encounter groups to EST, from Esaleu to nondirective therapy, from gestalt therapy to bioenergetics, from body work like sensitivity massage and hot pools to yoga and Feldenkrais and Alexander and Rolfing and neo-Reichian approaches, and from popular psychology to the sophisticated behavior modeling of neurolinguistic programming. (Behavior modification, psychoanalysis, Adlerian therapy, and rational emotive therapy are usually considered to he outside the movement; as is psychiatry.) What do these "touchy-feely" "energy flow," "vibrations," and "here and now" approaches have to do with the teaching of chemistry.?' This Daper will describe how some notions from humanistic psychoio& can he applied to college level chemistry in particular and teaching- in general. This paper will touch on many areas and present many ideas. It is meant to he broad and introductory and impressional and even superficial in parts. References are supplied for those interested in delving deeper. We start with "confluent education." Confluent Education in Chemistry Chemistrv is an exaeriential science-at least, the practice of chemistr; is experiential. Yet, the teaching of chemistry tends to be done via the extravicarious routes of talkindis~~-~~~~ tening and writinglseeing. Occasionally students have the vicarious exnerience of watchine- demonstrations (live or on film or on video monitors). In principle, laboratories are experiential. Here, at last, is where students can actually work with real chemicals. These can be observed, mixed, and smelled, but rarely tasted or felt. How much do students really observe? Most labs are future-oriented, i.e., observations are made to he recorded but not to he incorporated, assimilated, or really felt. Information is transcribed and its residence time in the conscious awareness of the student is perforce limited. The data are for a report which will he written at a later time. In addition, a significant part of the student's consciousness may be involvedwith daydreaming, planning, future or past events, or all the distractions inherent in classrooms. Hereand-now present awareness is the key to real experiential learning, and this is what confluent education is all about. ~~
The cold, hard, stubhorn reality is that whenever one learns intellectually, there is an inseparable accompanying emotional dimension. The relationship between intellect and affect is indestructibly symbiotic. And instead of trying to deny this, it is time we made goad use of the relationship. Indeed, the purest, highest form of ahstract thinking is coupled with congruent feelings on the part of the thinker, even in the grossest sense of pleasure, boredom, ar pain. Or, as Michael Polanyi has observed, it is the passion of the scholar that makes for truly great scholarship ( 1 ) .
' Some oersonal backoround mav~.~~~ be of interest. I have been trained ~
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gesta t therapy, oioenergeric analysis. an0 nedol ng.. sl c programnting hold a master s aegree in menral healln co.nselling (19781, have a small private practice and have experienced in one way or another most of the aspects of the movement described above n
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Journal of Chemical Education
If we add an emotional dimension to learning, the learner will become personally involved and, as a consequence, there will be a change in the learner's behavior (2).
The term "confluent education" was used for a Ford FoundationlEsalen project which is described in two hooks hv George I. Brown ( I . 3). The basic idea in confluent edu, . . I I I O ~ IS I U ; ~ ~ i i t t l g , t ~the n a ~~ eu ; i i i t i v ( ~ I ;~iiw!ive I rlmaitis ~ pritt1~ri.ytIirou,$ t111. in cduc,~tiu~t, nnd t h i i.. l ~ r u u r h.11r,l11 appl~catiot~ oi certain prin~iplt.. ;.ltd pra,.ti~vs ~ljpli, 5 to c r t rive c a t q w l t i %>i rr;i;rnot.e and >hu~~lil ~tmhr v ~ ~ m u d , ~ t ~ g r t l ithe tr c w n i t ~ ~ t ~ uith " C , I I ~ ~ ~ U I ~dI .I tI r a ~ i m . " l3ringitix nncl....--.i l i ~ c ' t t~i w d~~~-~~~~ ~ t i i a i lhas i ~ L I I 11 IIIIICII di:,.un4. \\'hitt is n w here is the use of gestalt therapy practices and the application of all this to college level science teaching. What are the connections between all of these things and are thev nractical for teachine? More learnina does so on when the affeitive domain is engaged. The cold, detached, flat, ohiective. uerhaas even "scientific" deliverv has its virtues, hui making a lasting impression is not one of them. The genuine sharine of a nersonal involvement, enaaaement, or excitement in'the subject of a lecture is involvingand engaging and excitine. If vou show no interest in your work, then neither will your s k d e k s . What is gained hihiding feelings? After all, showing excitement about the structure of atoms or molecules does not alter the facts about them. But it can certainly change the students feelings about chemistry, the world around them, and ultimately, themselves. If you have feelings for your subject, should you feel more foolish for showmg those feelings or hiding them? More to the point is the fact that the only way to communicate attitudes is by example or modelling. Great lecturers so obviously enjoy chemistry and the teaching of chemistry that their students perforce perceive this. Passion, if you will, has its place in the teaching of science. But this is only part of what confluent education is about. ~
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experiment in observation could involve the following components. The lab would he set up with several stations, each orovidine sensual innuts. One visual station might have large I a r i ~r s d d i 1 1 e r e i i l i 1 1sh:lpe!. A s t h c z l l l dtnt lwks cat wch dlia in t m i he .hv I > ~~l:rrut.~rd ICILU~I)II~~~. the sentence: "Now fsee . . ."to himlherself. Another &a1 station mieht have color modified by texture as on different surfaces, materials, and fabrics. A third visual station might he a series of test tubes, beakers, Erlenmeyers, etc., containing colored solutions and precipitates of different colors and textures. The internal "Now I see . . ."sentence holds for all these visual observations. A hearing station is a place where the student can sit or stand quietly with eyes closed and after four or five slow and deep cleansing breaths complete the sentence "Now I hear . . . ." A touchlfeeling station would textures. Heat. cold. and moisture can also he added here to .
a variety of common and uncommon odors, including some
that are mixtures. This for "Now I can smell. . . ."Finally, the taste station would he a lazy Susan with small paper cups each containing something to taste. Tasting can he done with eyes onen or closed and the nose ouen or pinched closed. 'The "sense" experiment described above would he an excellent choice for the first lahoratory. I t enlarges the senses, establishes a fun and interest atomosphere for the lahoratory room, requires no report (it is all bere-and-now),and prepares the students for participation in subsequent laboratories and life outside of the classroom. (It also makes sense!) Internally acknowledged sensual experiences are fine for starters, hut science also requires accurately recorded observat,ions. next sten~ mieht to ask students to work in . ~ A~ - he ~ ~the ~ groups of four and at each station to pick one experience which they all try, and then immediately describe in a written record. When they have tried all the stations this way, they share their recorded observations within the small groups. No observation is "wrong."They will not be graded on the "accuracy" of their ohservations. The idea is to share and get some sense of the variety of ways in which "ohjective" reality can be perceived. We routinelv" begin - our lower-level chemistry squence with the "senses" experiment with generally very positive results. Of course, i t is important for the lab instructors to he in the spirit and fun of the proceedings. Awareness experiments done in an atmosphere of "this is required," and dull routine will have little chance of fully involving the students. This means that TAs should be thoroughly trained and this includes going through - the sensual exueriment experience themselves. Enthusiasm engages; routine requirements repel. What are some other ways that confluent education can be used in the lahoratory? Many years ago I described an approach I labelled "Laboratory by Discussion" (4). This is a present-oriented procedure wherein a problem is posed to a class (of any size) and via a discussion led by the instructor the group devises a method to solve the problem or answer the question or obtain the desired information. Then they proceed to the lahoratory and use their method rather than the one in some manual. This procedure entails a high level of involvement and engagement. In any of these procedures, of course, some students particioate more fullv than others. As wart of uresent awareness ~
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from any given experience (or life, for that matter). As another asuect. let me uoint out here that everv class and classroom has its own atmosphere and mood. a he feeling in the room may he light and happy, heavy and dull, soporific, frivolous, giddy, boring, etc. The individual (including the teacher) have similar moods. One way of enhancing or changing this atmosphere is simply to call the students' attention to the atmosphere. This will focus attention on their current state. Once they are aware, then they have choices: "Do I want to stay bored? sleepy? dull? excited?" I t takes hut and the awareness generated moments to focus on the is worth the time. The lecture has its own set of procedures starting with the establishment on the first day of class of an attitude toward the room and the course that is uositive and warm. I have
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that student; arrive with an expectation that this is a place where good things are going to happen. Students can he given time (and instructions) to meet and greet their neighbors thus turning a room of strangers into one of acquaintances. (I've done this to good effect.) What would happen if a student shared a feeling that the room felt dull today? or listless? or boring? This is education in personal responsibility. We only live once, so why not share the responsibility of what that time together is going to be like? Another approach is to use demonstrations, particularly participating ones ( 6 ) or ones that incorporate a high degree of involvement. Skits (7) can he
used. Guided design ( 8 ) can also he used so that the class is mobilized into small prows, . . each workine on a urohlem. Direct involvement is generally more gratif;ing than listening to a "straight" lecture. After demonstrations are performed or after a topic (or a portion of a topic) is covered, the class can be organized into small groups . . of 3 to 5 students to discuss theirbbservations, understandings, and problems. In fact, prohlems can be posed to these small groups to work on collectively. The trick is to engage the feelings as well as the mind. Paying attention to the affective domain can enhance learning. Give yourself permission to try it. Neurolinguistic Programming Neurolinguistic programming (NLP) is concerned with interpersonal communication and with the modelling of human behaviors. It has been used for psychotherapy, learning disabilities, sales training, management decision training, and in imurovine communication skills. Manv of its models can be applied ticollege level teaching to enhance communication between teacher and student. This introduction to NLP will necessarily he a brief one, touching on those areas which have some immediate practicality for chemistry teachers. One of the principles of NLP is that our model of the universe and our perceptions are limited and even restricted by the language we use. By just working with a careful analysis of the language a person uses it is possible to enlarge his or her vocabulary, perceptions, and the choices he or she has. The more choices we have, the freer we are. For example, a person living in a culture where there are only three words for color in the language is necessarily restricted in his choices and perceptions. We will begin our exploration of NLP via a discussion of representational systems. Representational Systems (RS) We interact with the world via our senses: touch. taste. smell, hearing, and seeing. Of these five senses the ones of taste and smell are used the least. Thev are sienificant urimarilv in the process of eating. Of the thiee remaining seises, most oeonle have a most-valued reuresentational svstem which we iahil as kinesthetic (touch, feeling, physical contact), auditory (hearing, listening), and visual (seeing, observing, visualizing). I t is an established principle of NLP that people sharing the same representational system can communicate more easily with each other than if their primary representational systems are different. People are then "in tune" or "in contact" or "see eye-to-eye." This particular principle has been put to effective use by Satir, Bandler, and Grinder (9) in working with couples and families where conflicts are frequently due to attempts a t communication between mismatched systems. The idea of communicating between representational systems can be applied readily to one-on-one contacts or small erouns such as families. But. how can it he annlied to a lecture class'of several hundred &dents? The firststep is to assess the R S distribution in vour class. This can he done bv the following paper-and-pencil approach which we have tried. On the second day of class, we hand out randomly prepared sheets with a place for the student's name or ID number and the words "See," "Feel," (bodily responses) and "Hear." The students are then told to take a 10-15 min period to write down all the things they see, feel, and hear in the lecture hall. The hypothesis (which has been borne out by our tests) is that a visual student will write more items under "See" than under "Feel" or "Hear." This can be checked by running one-on-one evaluations of RS on a random sample of the class members and using a series of questions suchas those suggested by L. C. Bandler (10).The student names are required to test this correlation. What do you do with the results of an RS survey? Let us assume an even distribution with one-third of the class in each RS. The first step in using the survey information is to find out what your own primary RS is. If you stick with your own Volume 60 Number 3
March 1983
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RS in communicating with the class, then you will be communicating RS to RS with only one-third of the class! The
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visualize, observe, and visually oriented aids; auditory RS the words are hear, listen, sound(s), and verhal communications; and for kinesthetic RS use: feel, sense, contact, touch, and provide exweriences where nbvsical interactions are inedge to communfcate with them.2 Anchoring Anchoring is basically a form of conditioned response. A person is asked to visualizelrecalllsense a certain state of awareness. When this has been achieved the person signals you (although the observer can usually pick subtle body cues that the state has been entered) and you then "anchor" this in the person by touching them on the shoulder, arm, or leg. Retouching the same spot at a later time will recall the state of awareness to the person. Sometimes the anchoring needs to he reinforced. Anchoring can also be done via voice cues (such as tone shading, pitch, cadence, volume, etc.) and visual cues (specific body or facial movements or the use of objects). The touch cue is easier to use in one-on-one circumstances. The touch cue also works experientially in anchoring students to the laboratory equipment they work with. .. .....
How can the concept of anchoring be used in college classrooms? Obviously physically touching every student in a large lecture ball is not uossihle. So. the ancborine cues to use in classrooms are auditory and visual. The first thing that I want to establish in a course has to do with the atmosihere of the lecture hall or classroom. I want students to enter that space with positive, warm, relaxed attitudes about the room, the course, and me. And these attitudes, this anchoring, should be done on the first day of class. The old adage about "starting off on the right foot" is perfect here. (I've written elsewhere about the importance of the opening lecture (51.1 This first exposure should he relaxed, open, fun, participatory if possible, social, and involve a good shared experience. The syllabus and course requirements do not have to he discussed until the second lecture. There is no practical point in turning students off the first day with a list of requirements, procedures, assignments, and restrictions. Learning can be fun even when it requires lots of work. Just be sure to anchor your course in an effectively affective way. Whatever anchors you use will undoubtedly have to be reinforced at later times. The primary visual and auditory anchoring cues that you give students is you, and I am not suggesting just dress or manner here. Your voice and wresence anchor the uositive a client tdtake a relaxed position and then to ask himdo recall a positive, warm, happy experience. This could probably work in any size class by asking students to close their eyes and access that good experience. This takes hut a few minutes and
An intriguing speculation with regard to RS is that. in Piagetian terms, concrete operational people are primarily kinesthetic and that formal operational people are primarily visual. Perhaps the transition from one operational stage to another is via a change in RS. If this is the case, then these changes can be enhanced via the use of NLP. To investigate this it will be necessary to determine RS distributions as a function of age and (Piagetian)operational stage. Does RS change as a function of growing older? If so, in what ways?
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Journal of Chemical Education
their memory trip. A number of years ago I unconsciously anchored students by winding my pocket watch a t the heeinnine of everv neriod. Rifflinenotes. emntvine vour briefmindof this room being a good place to be (and a good place to learn). ~ n c h o r i n gcan also be done in the laboratory. The first experiment should he designed to involve some socialization so that the students get to know each other and the instructor. The lab is then not an impersonal place. There are various kinds of group-communication-encounter type activities that can he adapted to this end. One is to have the students divide themselves into groups of four, combining with three other weowle they would like to know. Sometimes they are asked to pick people they do not know, hut this procedure may be threatening. The divisionlaggregation process involves a certain amount of milling around and should not he rushed. The groups are then instructed to share their names and two things about themselves. If the class is small enough (about sixteen or less), then the small group members take turns introducing each other to the entire class. The instructor should he part of some group. The socialization exercise described above can be followed by rap sessions within each group with the theme of what they exoect to pet out of the laboratorv. exnerience. After each . groull hds rwched ti c . t m w t l w > , a >pok~q)erbm i ~6 rw h dr1,up I htw -11;ire-t h e ~ i&i< r a i r l r t h t WIII,IP rruull. ' l ' l i ~in-trucl
