Feelings and Emotion-Based Learning

Book excerpt: This book explores academic learning theories in relation to modern cognitive research. It suggests that developing a feelings and emotion-based learning theory could improve our understanding of human learning behavior. Jennifer A. Hawkins argues that feelings are rational in individuals' own terms and should be considered—whether or not we agree with them. She examines learners' experiences and posits that feelings and emotions are logical to individuals according to their current beliefs, memories, and knowledge. This volume provides rich case studies and empirical data, and shows that acknowledging feelings during and after learning experiences helps to solve cognitive difficulties and aids motivation and self-reflection. It also demonstrates various ways to record and analyze feelings to provide useful research evidence.