Synchronization: a framework for examining emotional climate in classes

Efrat Eilam

doi:10.1057/s41599-019-0356-0

Abstract

This conceptual paper stems from a growing body of research examining the roles and functions of emotional climate (EC)—the collective state of students’ shared emotions—in classrooms. It suggests that EC in classrooms can be analyzed as a synchronization phenomenon. Synchronization is a natural phenomenon, in which autonomous objects that produce periodic rhythms adjust these rhythms to one another. The purpose of this article is thus twofold: to position the concept of EC within the broader context of synchronization theory; and to propose a new definition for EC that captures synchronization aspects. This paper first explains the theory of synchronization. It then critically discusses several sociological and biological theories regarding emotions, and the implications of these theories for teaching and learning. It subsequently delves into current conceptualizations of EC, and the descriptors used to characterize EC in classrooms. On the backdrop of this theoretical review, an argument is developed that humans’ produced emotions can be viewed as autonomous rhythmic oscillators that have the capacity to synchronize with one another, and that, consequently, EC can be studied as a form of synchronization within an ensemble of oscillators. Finally, a new definition of EC is proposed that integrates essential synchronization features. Overall, this paper suggests that synchronization theory can provide a framework of analysis of EC as a holistic phenomenon, not reduced to discrete emotional events. This approach may contribute to enhancing explanatory and predictive capacities in the study of EC.

Highlights

This conceptual paper proposes a new framework of analysis for examining the roles and functions of emotional climate (EC) in classrooms
The usefulness of synchronization theory in EC research will be determined by its capacity to provide deeper understanding regarding the bi-directional relationships between classroom EC as a synchronous behavior and students’ individual learning processes
For example: What are the impacts of various frequencies and phases measured in EC on learning retention? How do various environmental signals in the form of learning activities impact the frequencyrhythms expressed in the EC state? How does the timing of appearance of EC within the learning sequence impact learning and retention? What types of emotions are likely to contribute to the development of ECs of particular characteristics?

Summary

Introduction

This conceptual paper proposes a new framework of analysis for examining the roles and functions of emotional climate (EC) in classrooms. Examples include an audience at a concert clapping their hands rhythmically when applauding the performers, or a group of physically remote people sharing emotions of grief (e.g., through online or various media channels) in response to an unexpected and subjectively perceived negative experience, such as a terrorist attack, the unexpected election of a disliked candidate, or the sudden death of a beloved public figure These examples entail the emergence of shared emotions that may be regarded as states of EC, yet neither example presents the full scope of processes and outcomes described by Bellocchi et al (2014). This definition captures both aspects of classroom EC: the contagion (the input stages) and the attunement (the output stages), and allows their study within the framework of synchronization

Conclusions

Neuropsychobiology 22:150–169