Educators aiming to teach emotional intelligence in the classroom are faced with a broad spectrum of possibilities. Should curriculum present theoretical models and definitions, or focus on practical applications? Can EI skills and concepts be infused into other course topics, or does a truly research-based treatment require exclusive focus? What sort of course structure, style, and content will best facilitate the apprehension of EI as a business tool, psychological construct, or a catalyst for personal growth?
Korrel Kanoy, Heather Lee, and Dawn Dillon have first-hand experience instructing students in EI theory and principles at Peace College in North Carolina, and have developed three distinct strategies for doing so.
1. Survey Model
Courses based on the survey model aim to impart a broad understanding of emotional intelligence (and its implications and general applications) through an exclusive focus on EI. This structure is an excellent choice for an introductory-level course in the psychology or business faculties. A survey course’s primary priority is to introduce the concept of EI in the context of its developmental history; reviewing early psychological conceptions of human intelligence and the subsequent evolution of those conceptions provides a solid foundation for a discussion of the existing models EI. Further background and support for both historical and contemporary perspectives on emotional intelligence is supplied through an examination of the scientific literature that inspired its development. The secondary priority of a survey-modeled course often involves imparting direct comprehension of modern EI assessment through the administration of a scientific assessment. In the Emotional Intelligence survey course at Peace College, each student receives an individual administration of the EQ-i, and participates in an exploration of the assessment’s 5 scales and 15 subscales with an eye towards their results. Subsequently, students develop and initiate their own personalized EI self-development plan. Grading for a survey course takes into account content mastery (reading responses, classroom discussion), EI skill building (completion of exercises and self-development plan), and a group project (working with a team to develop four EI development exercises for first-year students).
2. Infusion Model
The infusion model offers a framework for incorporating EI concepts and skills into a pre-existing course. Its aim is to provide students with an understanding of how emotional intelligence connects to a core course topic. This approach is well-suited to a number of potential classes, for example in:
- first-year experience courses: the focus may be on the link between EI and successful academic performance;
- political science or business management courses: the focus may be on the link between EI and leadership, and the perception of a leader’s efficacy;
- communications classes: the focus may be on the connection between EI skills and conflict resolution, or the management of difficult interpersonal relationships.
Although the term “emotional intelligence” may never be used in some infusion model courses, instructors at Peace College have found that comprehension improves when EI is defined and explored both as a scientific model and as a means for personal growth. During EI-infused classes at Peace College, a measure of EI is administered to each student along with a feedback report as a means of directly introducing and personalizing the concept of EI. The instructors also recommend that if any literature linking emotional intelligence with the course’s core topic exists, it should be distributed and assigned as required reading. If no such literature exists, the instructor should make sure to otherwise illuminate the connection between the two areas of study, and facilitate the exploration of the course’s core topics through the lens of emotional intelligence. Coursework/grading should include the composition of an original paper analyzing the impacts of EI strengths and weaknesses in a professional, academic, or personal field related to focus of the course. In Peace College’s political science class, students are asked to select an emotional skill (such as optimism or impulse control) and write about how it affected the career of a selected politician. They must also develop a self-improvement plan based on their own assessment results.
3. Application Model
The application model suggests a methodology for presenting emotional intelligence as a potential solution to a specific disciplinary or professional challenge. Before beginning to develop a course based on the application model, instructors should ensure that there is significant research that demonstrates the appropriacy, efficacy, and legality of employing EI solutions to a situation that falls within the purview of the course. For instance, a course in human resource management could address the use of emotional intelligence assessments as a component of employee selection and coaching processes. The first step in such a course is always to convey an understanding of the research that supports the use of EI assessments in the specified situation (likely focusing on the predictive validity of the EQ-i in such a setting). Once the efficacy of the chosen tool has been established, students should perform an analysis of the challenge or problem in order to determine the specific applicability of particular EI concepts. In the case of employee selection or promotion, this could be an attempt to determine which EI subscales are most closely associated with success or high performance in a particular professional field. Students should then be tasked with developing an EI-based solution to the problem or challenge. For instance, by creating behavioral interview questions that will elicit in employees or applicants responses indicative of their relative skill level in the EI subscales that are deemed to be relevant to success in the given position or profession. An application model course typically allows for discussion of the validity scales of an assessment (eg, Positive Impression, Negative Impression, Inconsistency Index), as they play an important role in determining the accuracy of individual results in a self-assessment.
Whether you are building an EI survey course, infusing EI concepts into a related topic, or applying an EI methodology to a specific challenge, we hope that you will share your experiences with us. Please email ceo@mhs.com to contribute your ideas to this ever-growing field of study.
For more information on this topic, and others relating emotional intelligence to higher education, please refer to the Higher Education Symposium on Emotional Intelligence proceedings.
