As education continues to evolve and grow in the 21st century, it's important to identify how it can adapt and improve to meet the needs of today's society. With the evolution of various factors like the innovation of technology and the recognition of mental health, it's important for the education system to keep up with these changes. Chapter author, Dr. Islam Ismail argues that one way the education field needs to develop is recognizing the importance of emotional experiences in learning. Dr. Ismail, along with co-author Dr. Fahad Saleh Aljabr, contributing authors of
"The Interplay of Emotion and Cognition in Adult Learning: Learning Engages Emotion Alongside Cognition" from the book,
Utilizing Emotional Experience for Best Learning Design Practices (ISBN: 9798369326633) address the importance of this emotional awareness. To gain further knowledge on this evolving topic, read insights from Dr. Ismail below.
The Importance of Emotional Learning By Dr. Islam Ismail
Historically, formal education has concentrated on delivering subject matter knowledge and technical capabilities. This chapter demonstrates that emotions are intrinsically tied to attention, encoding, retrieval, and willingness to learn. Studies show positive emotions like enjoyment optimize learning, while negative emotions like boredom or anxiety interfere with processing and memory.
The Power of Emotional Design
The chapter systematically examined research published between 1964 and 2022 that discusses how emotional engagement shapes learning outcomes. The findings reveal that learning environments without emotional support fail to develop enjoyment, interest, and curiosity to optimize cognitive processes. The chapter conclusively demonstrates that passive learning with minimal emotional engagement results in shallow understanding.
Transformative Learning Through Emotion
The evidence clearly indicates that emotion and cognition are fundamentally intertwined in adult learning. The chapter's case studies across various educational contexts show that when instructors intentionally design for emotional engagement, learners demonstrate enhanced memory retention and knowledge application. For instance, research in online courses reveals how emotions like boredom and anxiety directly influence satisfaction and information processing.
Based on the findings, the chapter proposes an "Emotional Learning Design" framework that systematically incorporates affective processes. This framework guides learning designers through four key steps: - Identifying target emotional states
- Teaching emotional skills
- Assessing affective outcomes alongside cognitive ones
We believe implementing this framework would improve learner engagement and achievement in educational settings.
About the Contributor
Islam A. Ismail, from Palestine, holds a PhD in English Language Education. Ismail does research on adopting AI in education, E-learning, integration technology into education, curriculum development, special education, and honing teachers' teaching quality in ESL classrooms. Ismail works as a copy editor, proofreader in academic English, and reviewer for several journals indexed in Scopus. He aims to find innovative and effective ways to facilitate language acquisition and proficiency.
Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not reflect the views of IGI Global Scientific Publishing.