Empathetic Resolution Routine (ERR)

This innovative routine lets you see perspective and then use that to step out and resolve problems/issues creatively

One of the biggest crises of our times is the inability to see another's perspective, see the other as human, in fact. So, in our endeavour to teach empathy to children we used a modified ‘Step Inside’ thinking routine. We have also created a 'step out' tool such that it helps people step out of the others' shoes and use the perspective gained to creatively resolve emotionally charged situations.

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Overview

Information on this page is provided by the innovator and has not been evaluated by HundrED.

Web presence

2011

Established

150

Children

1

Countries

Target group

All

Updated

March 2020

Empathy is perhaps one of the greatest gifts we can give our children in today's world and perhaps, our greatest hope for a better future for humanity.

About the innovation

Sparkling Mindz

What we do?

At Sparkling Mindz our vision is "Inspiring Confident Learners". We want the children whose lives we touch to be learners for life, to be confident in their ability to learn and be agents of change who are both inspirational and constantly seeking inspiration from every moment of their life. We use a game-based methodology to deliver creative thinking, critical thinking and communication skills to children in the age range of 3-16 years. The games also extend towards empowering children with tools on empathy, ideation, inspiration-seeking and discovering values in the advanced stages.

Why we do it?

We believe that the world in which our children are living today already demands them to think differently, to solve problems, to collaborate, to be more self-aware and to learn to manage their emotions better. It implies that the children should be prepared with the necessary tools to think, be aware and communicate better. In order to achieve this, it is important that they develop a mindset of being creative changemakers who can take on the grave challenges the world is and will be presenting in front of them today and in the future.

Media

Dealing with made-up stories and beliefs

Is he disinterested, disconnected or...scared?

Implementation steps

Gather Facts

1. If you are an involved party then share things from your perspective as well as what the other person said, did etc. clearly (without distortion)

2. If you are a teacher/parent, then ask questions to gather as many facts as you can for you to get a clear picture of the involved parties and the situation

3. If you are an involved party or not, express how you are feeling and acknowledge your emotional state. This is to ensure this does not carry into your next step.

4. Also clearly state any beliefs or values you have about the issue/situation/behaviour you are dealing with so that it is easier for you and others to acknowledge this and ensure it does not affect your next step.

Step In

Step In Routine Involves the following.

I'm the other now (assume that is X). So, I'm X (I step into the situation as X and answer the following prompts):

I see:

I feel:

I care about:

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You can ensure you are not projecting at this stage by asking yourself, "Would X say that about themselves?"

Step Out

You physically step into a different space and do this part of the routine.

Step Out: Knowing what I know because of my Step In what can I do differently?

Was the "I see" objective and wide in perspective? If not, how might we see/show objectivity and a wider perspective?

Was the "I feel" resourceful? If not, how might we bring/show awareness and help shift state to something more resourceful?

Was the "I care about" expressed resourcefully? If not, how might we encourage a more resourceful way to express the care about?

Iterate

Iterate:

At this stage, you check if the solutions you had found are working or not. If yes, you have just now resolved something with empathy and creativity. Time to celebrate!

If not, you iterate back to the leverages in the "step out" stage and see if you have exhausted all your options. If not, use them. If you have, then you iterate through the "step in" stage. Maybe you missed something there. A different see, feel or care about that given this new information of what didn't work can reveal itself and you find yourself with multiple solutions again to work with.

No two situations, the underlying intentions or the resolutions are the same. The only thing that really works is remaining creative, resourceful and empathetic.