When the World's Turned Upside Down: Using Testimony to Help Students Cope With Life's Challenges

• In Event: Transformative Learning in the Humanities

Abstract

In an increasingly challenging world, educators are seeking ways to help students become more resilient, self-aware, and better able to get along with others. This study explores the experiences of students with an online program that features testimonies—first person accounts of lived experiences of events in history—to facilitate students’ reflections on social emotional learning topics, i.e., resilience, overcoming obstacles, gratitude, and justice. By listening to stories of how people dealt with life challenges in the past, students develop a deeper understanding of their own lives and place in the world. This study describes an accessible, online model and shows that testimony increases students’ historical empathy and helps them develop social emotional competencies to become more responsible, global citizens.

Authors

• Karen A. Kim, University of Southern California

• Claudia Ramirez Wiedeman, University of Southern California