Emotional Scaffolding: The Emotional and Imaginative Dimensions of Teaching and Learning

Abstract

We suggest that teachers regularly think about how to scaffold students’ emotional response to the subject matter they teach. We further makes the case that when teachers think deeply about how students emotionally encounter their subject matter they are inevitably led to reflection on the social and cultural context of their students’ lives. Thinking about students’ emotions thus becomes one of the primary ways through which the specifics of a given subject matter and the broader sociocultural influences on student learning become intertwined in teacher thinking. This connection is illustrated with several case vignettes. In examining these cases, a second point is made: Teacher reflection on students’ emotional response to the subject matter frequently elicits emotional responses from the teachers. These emotional responses, argue, are not excessive, but are necessary components of teachers’ pedagogical content knowledge.