Reciprocal cognitive and emotional interaction in STEMM university learning and teaching

Area of Science:

• Educational Psychology
• Social Psychology
• STEM Education

Background:

• University learning involves complex emotional experiences, even in objective fields like Science and Engineering.
• Emotions, while individually felt, are socially constructed, particularly in group-based learning settings common in higher education.
• Emotion socialization is a key concept for understanding how individuals and groups manage learning challenges.

Purpose of the Study:

• To apply the concept of emotion socialization to understand how students and teachers cope in challenging cognitive and emotional learning environments within STEMM disciplines.
• To explore the reciprocal influences between cognition and emotion in university learning settings.
• To identify practical implications for enhancing learning and well-being through emotion socialization.

Main Methods:

• Qualitative data collection across six university STEMM departments.
• In-situ questionnaires administered to 280 students.
• Group and follow-up interviews conducted with 20 teachers.

Main Results:

• Student and teacher differences in knowledge-related goals and relationships with knowledge significantly influenced cognition and emotion.
• Peer comparisons of academic progress strongly impacted students' emotional experiences, both positively and negatively.
• Emotion socialization processes were identified as crucial for navigating cognitively and emotionally demanding learning situations.

Conclusions:

• Emotion socialization plays a vital role in student and teacher success within challenging university learning environments.
• Understanding the interplay between individual goals, peer comparisons, and social emotional processes is key to improving learning outcomes.
• Interventions can leverage and enhance emotion socialization to support cognitive and emotional well-being in higher education.