UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Three participants in a Penn State professional learning program for K-12 educators recently presented their learning at Virginia’s Old Dominion University.
Danielle Greene, Sherry Kendra and Jeremy Lutz — who teach at 10th and Penn Elementary School in Reading and participate in a yearlong Hammel Family Human Rights Initiative program — remotely discussed integrating empathy development into language arts with Old Dominion education students.
“Sharing experiences with other educators helps us understand different perspectives and foster empathy in students,” said Lutz, a reading specialist and third-year participant in the initiative’s program.
Lutz and his colleagues, who presented at Old Dominion assistant professor Seongryeong Yu’s course focused on developing instructional strategies, provided practical examples of cultivating empathy, giving future educators tools to support children development. They included some of their takeaways from the initiative's yearlong program, a partnership with the Reading School District.
“We learn just as much from our participants as they learn from us,” said the initiative’s founding director, Boaz Dvir, an associate professor of journalism in the Donald P. Bellisario College of Communications at Penn State. “It’s inspiring to watch them share their learning with others across the country.”
Lutz, Kendra and Greene are some of the latest initiative participants to share their program learning with college students. Bill Watkins, a second-year participant and counselor at Absegami High School in New Jersey, spoke earlier this year via Zoom with graduate students at Seattle University. He provided future guidance counselors with a firsthand look at the realities of this role.
“They had great questions and wanted to understand what the job is like beyond theory,” Watkins said. "Counseling often involves navigating the gray areas — it’s about balancing the human element with the structured framework of theory.”
Facilitated by the initiative’s assistant research professor, Yun-Chen Yen, Watkins spoke to Seattle University assistant clinical professor Poa-Yin Huang’s class of child and adolescent counseling students. He said his participation in the initiative’s program has deepened his connections with colleagues and enriched his ability to support students by drawing on diverse perspectives.
Earlier this month, initiative program participant Jane Larsen, a French teacher in the Aspen School District, presented to teacher candidates in Penn State associate professor Amy Crosson’s methods of reaching qorld languages course.
Larsen discussed structuring the world language curriculum to help students consistently build on prior knowledge as they advance in grade levels.
“These presentations are part of the Hammel Family Human Rights Initiative’s mission to foster meaningful discussions and skills building by educators and students,” said one of the initiative’s pedagogical experts and facilitators, Kayleen Sidisky. “By sharing their expertise, participants in the initiative’s programs continue to make a significant impact not only on their students but on the next generation of teachers, counselors, and education leaders."