Transformative Emotional Intelligence for Teaching and Learning Excellence

Self directed and positive change model. The lead system in healthy and positive change is the emotional system and requires both emotional and cognitive learning. Curriculum, program develop model, and EI lessons for students and learners. Experiential, comprehensive, systematic framework of professional coaching for business and the professional practice of coaching. Framework for an integrated, authentic, transformative model of leadership. Teaching and learning excellence model for student achievement and academic success. Research based skills development model for emotionally intelligent behavior. Learning Ideas to Integrate and Build Upon Emotional intelligence skills and strategies are key to teaching and learning excellence as well as career success and well being. Positive assessment is a necessary first step for person-centered learning. Intelligent self direction is the observable behavioral reflection of emotional intelligence. Basic needs leads to basic beliefs which lead to personal goals and aspirations. Motivation is internal and provides a means to building quality from within. Person-centered learning and relationship focused teaching provide pathways to excellence in education, career, and life. Learning environments free of threats and high in challenge are best for high achievement and developing our best self. Constructive and reflective thinking balance critical thinking and decision making. Emotional Learning System (ELS) provides a systematic process of learning emotional intelligence, constructive, and reflective thinking. Problematic behaviors and indicators arise from skill deficits. Teaching and Learning Assumptions Optimistic and hopeful philosophy of human nature. 69

Personal goals of learner are to be happy, healthy, and successful. Feeling, thinking, and behaving are interrelated and integrated correlates of emotional intelligence. Teaching and learning excellence are growth oriented, strength focused, and skills based. Learners are capable and desire intelligent self management and direction. People need a practical, theory based model of positive personal change. Emotional mind is the lead system in human behavior and positive change. Lifelong learning is key to personal and professional development and well being. Achieving excellence is a process of building quality from within each person. A requisite skill for excellence is reflective thinking and behavior - to reduce emotional and behavioral reactivity. Emotional intelligence is a learned ability and needs to be taught in schools, colleges, and organizations to develop and liberate human potential. Problematic Behaviors and Indicators to Identify and Correct Destructive thinking and emotional reactivity lead to ineffective behavior and outcomes. Inaccurate or lacking self awareness; not learning the essential nature of positive self assessment and its impact on learning and development. Inability to think constructively or not knowing how to think constructively. Ineffective emotional intelligence in stressful situations and transitions. Not setting or knowing how to set meaningful personal goals. Negative emotions of anger (aggression), fear (deference), and sadness that interfere with achievement and growth; dissatisfaction with skills Low or undeveloped EI skills; not knowing how to change in positive directions. Not adapting to new situations or difficulties in making effective transitions. Emotionally reactive rather than reflective. 70

Learning Goals and Outcomes to Consider for Any Course Understand and utilize the positive contributions of the emotional mind (system). Create positive, safe, and challenging teaching and learning environments. Explore, identify, understand, and develop emotional intelligence skills. Communication and interpersonal skills and patterns to build and sustain healthy, effective relationships. Synthesize and integrate skills for self and leadership development. Encourage and develop skills, behaviors, strategies for intelligent self development. Apply and model ethical behavior in teaching and learning. Demonstrate a commitment to intrapersonal growth and development. Understand, use, and continue to improve constructive and reflective thinking (break the habit of emotional reactivity). Constructive thinking to balance and strengthen critical thinking for decision making and problem solving. Understand, develop and use EI skill sets for effective team work and team building skills. Establish and manage the skills, behaviors, and strategies of personal responsibility (commitment to a personal standard of excellence). Integrate and synthesize EI skill sets for developing healthy relationships and model social responsibility skills to self and others. Identify, understand, manage, and regulate negative emotions. Apply and model emotional intelligence skills daily. EI Teaching/Learning Methods, Strategies, Techniques Establish a positive learning climate - encourage, care, respect, dialogue, challenge. Person-centered, relationship focus of teaching and learning for positive change. Healthy relationship conditions of acceptance, empathy, positive regard, genuineness, freedom from threat, belief in the person. 71

Teacher as facilitator of learning, guide, coach, mentor. Understand and learn the interaction of feeling, thinking, behaving correlates for effective growth, development, and positive personal change. Constructive, reflective thinking to balance and harmonize critical thinking. Compassionate and clear feedback for formative development. Teach and learn EI skill sets and skills and their importance to adapt, transition, manage changing situations. Emotional Learning System for developing emotional intelligence and learning how to change in positive directions. Understand that excellence is self-defined and self-directed processes. Embed and infuse EI skills (soft skills) to address self defeating and damaging behaviors and issues. Empower learners to grow and become their best self aligned to personal goals. We believe in and respect teachers and learners to use the key ideas, concepts, and methods in their quests to achieve excellence in education, career, and life. We invite you to add to and identify other means to incorporate transformative emotional intelligence into formal and informal teaching and learning formats. In 2006 Barbuto and Wheeler published a research article to clarify servant leadership relative to transformational and Leader-Member-Exchange leadership theories. In doing so, they provided a wonderful framework for fully conceptualizing all theories. Using their framework, we have conceptualized our EI theory of teaching and learning excellence in Table 3.1. Review the theory and identify components resonate with you. Are there any components that feel incongruent with your teaching/learning style or practice? 72

Table 3.1 EI-Centric Theory Teaching and Learning Excellence Nature of the theory Normative and phenomenological. Role of teacher Create healthy and challenging learning environment. Guide and facilitate to actively collaborate and engage learners to pursue a vision of teaching and learning excellence. Model emotional intelligence. Role of learner Develop a vision of excellence for achieving academic, career, and personal goal congruence. Moral Component Explicit: Person-centered. Expected Outcomes High achievement. Excellence in teaching, learning, personal outcomes, and goasl. Individual Level Focus Desire to achieve and develop wise intelligent self direction. Interpersonal Level Focus Teacher develops healthy, positive relationships with students. Students are engaged and accept personal responsibility for learning. Group Level Focus Teacher provides supportive, healthy, positive, and challenging environment. Students learn how to learn with EI skills and strategies. Organization Level Focus Teacher models emotional intelligence for students and develops engaged, motivated learners. Students learn the positive contributions of the emotional system for success in education, career, leadership, and life. Community/Societal Level Teacher guides students in learning how to think constructively Foucs and critically, the skills to make good choices and wise decisions, and how to succeed in education. Students learn positive communication/interpersonal skills, leadership skills, self management skills, intrapersonal skills, and how to manage anger, destructive emotions, and reduce problematic indicators that interfere with healthy and successful outcomes. Global Level Focus Teachers and students learn the importance and impact of transformative EI. Actively contribute to positive local and world communities. Learn and model emotionally intelligent behavior. 73

Why Emotional Intelligence is so Important Emotionally intelligent behavior is essential for personal, academic, and career success. To gain understanding of how EI skill sets and behaviors are experienced and observed by others, the following skills, EI dimensions, and their behavioral correlates are presented below. Our research and experience over the last four decades suggest that emotionally intelligent (high achieving and healthy) learners (teachers and students) operationalize EI-Centric teaching and learning excellence by behaving in the ways outlined in Table 3.2. Table 3.2. Operationalizing EI-Centric Teaching and Learning Excellence Observed Behavior EI Dimension EI Skill in Use Communicates clearly, honestly, and directly. Interpersonal Assertion Quickly establishes and matains healthy and Personal Leadership Comfort effective relationships. Accurately senses and communicates an Personal Leadership Empathy understanding of the thoughts, emotions, beliefs of others. Makes quick, creative, and effective decisions. Personal Leadership Decision Making Positively impacts and empowers others. Personal Leadership Leadership Consistently (daily) sets and achieves Self Management Drive Strength meaningful personal goals. Effectively manages self to meet accepted Self Management Time Management commitments and responsibilities on time. Completes responsibilities and commitments Self Management Commitment Ethic despite challenging difficulties, hardships, and distractions. Identifies, manages, and expresses anger Intrapersonal Anger Control and constructively and in a manner not harmful to Management self and others. Effectively manages anxiety, threats, and fear. Intrapersonal Anxiety Control and Management. Manages the demands and stressors of day-to- Intrapersonal Stress Management day living and working Table 3.2 Continues 74

Table 3.2 Continued Observed Behavior EI Dimension EI Skill in Use Identifies potential areas for increased positive Self Management Positive Personal growth (skill development) and works to change Change self-defeating and problematic behaviors. Self Esteem Values self as a person of worth and dignity and Intrapersonal sees self as able to grow, change, and develop. Acts responsible by accepting responsibility for All EI Dimensions thoughts, feelings, and behaviors (active rather than reactive). Actualizes potential (engaged and committed to All EI Dimensions personal and professional growth) EI skills, behaviors, and dimensions listed above are explored, identified, and quantified by ESAP and PEM positive assessments. People change themselves in says that they perceive as relevant, valuable, and meaningful. We help individuals and organizations liberate and actualize their potential by providing a relationship (learning environment) that is: (a) protective and safe, (b) permission giving and affirming, and (c) empowering (high in expectations and challenge). Developing EI skills is the process that guides and actualizes the potential of our human resources. We see the essential elements of emotionally intelligent behavior as developing and then modeling: (1) a coherent mind characterized by constructive and reflective thinking, (2) healthy and effective intrapersonal and interpersonal relationships, and (c) neural integration (contentment, congruence, peace of mind). Learning and developing EI requires a learning environment that encourages, respects, and nurtures positive growth, change, and skill development. The creation of a healthy learning environment focused on personal, academic, and career excellence requires an understanding and emphasis on affective as well as cognitive skills. The emotional intelligence skills of assertion, time management, goal achievement (drive strength), commitment ethic, stress management, and positive change are particularly important to academic achievement and college success. With a focus on emotional intelligence skills, learning becomes an active, engaging, challenging, and student-centered process. As new and first generation students transition from school to college, positive, healthy, and inviting learning environments are essential for students to achieve 75

their dreams of a successful college education. A major goal of innovative colleges is to create a ‘college going culture’ and a culture of college success - expectation for all students to attend (Access) college and achieve their academic and career goals (Success). Three innovative and exemplary college models are South Texas College (STC), Galveston College (GC), and McLennan Community College. STC worked hard and long to create a ‘college going culture’ for students in their geographic service region. STC and its academic community have embraced and infused our EI assessments and emotional learning systems into College Success courses and campus-wide initiatives that serve as an inspiration and EI-centric model of excellence for community colleges everywhere (Miller, 2013). Galveston College incorporated EI (soft skills) into their Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP) - Keys To College Success (2005) to improve student success and institutional effectiveness. ESAP assessment and emotional learning systems were infused into courses (primarily ENGL 1301), other courses, and student support programs to help students experience more success in college, career, and life. GC’s faculty, staff, and leadership used transformative emotional intelligence lessons and strategies to help students achieve their dreams of a college education (Gammill, 2013). In 2012, McLennan Community College (MCC) developed an exemplary model for student success with EI skill sets and skills with their Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP) - Learning Environment Adaptability Project (LEAP). MCC created an innovative, comprehensive, college-wide program to improve student effort (engagement) and course completion (retention) of first year students. MCC is building a culture of student success that pursues a model personal excellence. Orientation, learning frameworks courses in psychology and education, interdisciplinary courses and gateway faculty in multiple disciplines embedded and integrated EI skill sets and skills into the curriculum. Success Coaches were employed and trained, and other student support programs and activities have been implemented to facilitate students success and enriching MCC’s college experience (Hills, Cano, and Illich, 2013). MCC hosted the 2014 and 2015 Institutes for Emotional Intelligence with themes of “Creating Cultures of Student Success” and “Pursuing Excellence in Education and Beyond”. Accountability: A New Model Is Needed In times of increased accountability for achievement and personal responsibility, teachers must learn and apply new skills to reduce the effects of negative stress, to establish and build positive and supportive relationships, and develop 76

emotional intelligence. Healthy classroom environments minimize negative stress and contribute to more effective student learning. Educators live in a time of rapid change and increased demands. Physical and psychological problems occur when constant alarm reactions exhaust our response capacities. Stressors set off our body’s alarm responses. Stress is related to both positive and negative change, and stress is not the problem. Stress negatively impacts health and productivity when our responses to stressors are too intense and too long in duration. It is difficult for teachers to remain healthy and effective in demanding work environments unless they learn and apply positive stress management skills daily. Teaching is a stressful profession. High levels of negative stress and emotional reactivity lead to burn-out and/or negative outcomes. Research findings suggest that unrealistic expectations between teacher training and reality of teaching, a lack of clear performance standards with constructive feedback, increasing physical demands and added responsibilities, inadequate pay and resources, and physically and psychologically dangerous work environments lead to teacher dissatisfaction and attrition. While teachers cannot control issues related to salary, teaching assignment, paperwork, class size, student behavior, or support from administrators, they can learn and choose to develop skilled behaviors to deal with stressors. Emotional intelligence skills are key to managing stress and the daily pressures of life and work. Our research and experience suggests the intentional learning of emotional intelligence could improve the retention of teachers in the profession as well as students. Stated another way, the attrition of good teachers from the workforce due to stressful and emotional conditions in education could be could be addressed by incorporating transformative EI skills and curricula into teacher preparation and professional development. In a like manner, students seem to leave education (drop or stop out) due to personal and emotional issues . . . not because of capability. Much of our work has been with new and first generation students and adults returning to education. As a result of studies, teaching, and experience, we have learned that emotional intelligence is the key factor for success in college. We believe that we could help students and teachers experience more success in education by intentionally embedding and infusing EI skill sets into the curriculum. The creation of a healthy learning environment focused on personal, academic, and career excellence requires an understanding and emphasis on affective as 77

well as cognitive skills. The emotional intelligence skills of assertion, time management, goal achievement (drive strength), commitment ethic, stress management, and positive change are particularly important to academic achievement and college success. With a focus on emotional intelligence skills, learning becomes an active, engaging, challenging, and student-centered process. Accountability in education needs to have a broader view that traditionally embraced and focused on basic skills and tested performance. The challenges that many students and adults have are due to personal, relationship, and emotional contexts of life. These are the areas that could be addressed with the teaching and learning of transformative EI. New accountability measures could be expanded to include the inclusion of transformative EI into the curriculum and central education programs. The success and well being of teachers and leaners are essential outcomes for our schools, colleges, and communities. Developing emotional intelligence and modeling EI skills; the behaviors and strategies discussed here, in education, career, and life are standards of personal excellence for us all to achieve. Intentional and daily use of transformative emotional intelligence are overarching goals of teaching and learning excellence. Teaching and Learning Excellence: A Personal View To this point, we have shared our research-derived model of the emotionally intelligent teacher and identified the emotional intelligence skills essential to academic achievement, career/life success, and personal well-being (physical and mental health). As we expand our dialogue about the classroom learning environments, relationships, and specific behaviors of emotionally intelligent teachers, we would invite you to actively involve yourself in developing a view of teaching excellence that is personally meaningful and helpful to you as you work with students in your own professional setting. We invite you to join us in research to explore and describe teaching excellence. Let your colleagues and students know that you are interested in understanding and developing teaching excellence. With proper permissions given, ask colleagues and students to complete the Teaching Excellence Assessment (TEA) included as Appendix A. Involve professional colleagues who model teaching excellence as well as your students. See what respected colleagues say about teaching excellence. Read the stories written about positive and meaningful learning experiences that have impacted the lives and careers of students. 78

Begin to develop and clarify your personal theory of teaching excellence from your own experience and research. You may use (with permission) the Teaching Excellence Assessment (TEA) as a learning experience in your own classroom to engage students in dialogues about their perceptions of teaching excellence and the type of learning experiences that are most valuable to them. If you plan to formally present your research findings and expand your research of teaching excellence beyond your own classes and students, you will need to develop a research proposal that can be submitted and reviewed by the Institutional Review Board (IRB) that approves research with human subjects for your organization. Person-centered and Relationship Focused Teaching As we begin our fifth decade as professional educators, we realize that our view of learning and teaching excellence is not the majority or common view. We do not agree with the negative and pessimistic views about the quality of our educational system and our teachers. On the contrary, we are more excited and optimistic about learning and teaching than ever before because now the research is clear about how the human brain learns best and the importance of experiential learning in career/life success and personal well-being. Emotional intelligence, as we have quantified the construct in our research (Nelson and Low, 1977-2015), is the most important variable in academic achievement, teaching excellence, career/life success, and personal well-being. In our careers, we have been blessed with excellent teachers, relationships with gifted colleagues and students, and the opportunity to develop our skills and abilities through life long learning and personal development. We feel that teaching is the grandest and most important profession and that teachers have made the most important contributions to the quality of life of the world’s people. In a like manner, we see learning as the most important part of education, career, and life success. The Webster’s New World Dictionary definition of teaching is, in our minds, superficial and woefully incomplete. Read the definition of teaching that follows and see how you feel about the most common and accepted definition of teaching. syn.- teach is the basic, inclusive word for the imparting of knowledge or skills and usually connotes some individual attention to the learner. Teacher n. a person who teaches, esp. as a profession. 79

In our view, the student is the central focus of learning and teaching. Teaching for student learning and success involves emotional and experience based learning that is relevant and meaningful from the students’ perspective. Creating a relationship that provides protection, permission, and empowerment of the students’ hopes, dreams, and aspirations is a central and continuing theme of teaching and learning excellence. Link Hopefully, we have shared our transformative emotional intelligence theory and model in an open and transparent way. We know that good professionals and learners can use and improve upon our research and applications to improve the teaching and learning process. In the next chapter, we share foundations and cornerstones of our research derived learning models for teaching and learning. We emphasize some of the significant scholars and share a few of the most important to our model. We realize this certainly is not a complete listing. Please add others to make the theory and model more personally meaningful from your perspectives of teaching. learning, and change. 80

CHAPTER 4 CFohuanpdtaetrio4n:s FAondunCdoranteiorsntosnAesnodf CTroarnnseforrsmtoatniveesEomfoTtiroannalsIfnotermlligaetnivce Emotional Intelligence Introduction From the very beginning (mid-1970s) of our focused research into healthy and productive people and the importance of personal and emotional skills, we have emphasized an affirming and positive belief in the capacity of a person to learn, change, and develop self. An unwavering belief and central research finding in our person-centered learning models is that people can change to become healthier, more successful, and satisfied with their life and career. Early research in creating, researching, and developing the Personal Skills Map (PSM) has guided our professional practice in education, counseling, psychology, and business. The PSM was our first major positive assessment instrument and clearly made the important connection of personal and emotional skills to health, wellness, achievement, and career development. Philosophical and theoretical roots of our transformative EI learning models were illustrated in Chapter 1 (Exhibit 1.1). Grounded in positive psychology and focused on learning and mastering key skills and competencies, there are strong and current applications for teaching, learning, coaching, mentoring, and 81