EmotiCon — Fostering emotional connection between students in university classrooms
This is an internal group project, under the guidance of Professor Pierre Tchetgen from Northeastern University (Boston).
Team Members: Yuti Vora, Preet Singh and Eunju Pak
Developing a musical prototype to engage feelings of connection in class: “They don’t have to understand my problems — it just helps to feel seen“
Abstract
The importance of emotional health and academic success is becoming more widely acknowledged in today’s educational settings. However, traditional classroom settings often lack structured mechanisms for students to express and engage with their emotions, leading to a dearth of inclusive and empathetic learning environments. This paper addresses this gap by investigating the role of emotional connection in classrooms from a Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) perspective.
We introduce EmotiCon, a novel intervention designed to enhance emotional expression and connectivity in the classroom by using music as an alternative communication tool, with a specific focus on university settings, where the emotional well-being of students often plays a secondary role in academic performance. The intervention utilizes a digital color wheel linked to musical melodies representing different emotions, allowing students to non-verbally share their emotional states. This method encourages emotional literacy, empathy, and deeper peer connections, potentially transforming the academic experience into one that prioritizes well-being alongside educational achievements. Our research, supported by a prototype tested in a controlled setting with university students, demonstrates that musical expressions and visualizations of students’ feelings can significantly enhance emotional articulation and interpersonal connections within the classroom. Our findings underscore the significance of integrating emotional literacy into educational technology design and promoting a more holistic approach to student well-being in academia. Future work will focus on refining the tool based on user feedback, extending its application to broader educational contexts, and further exploring its impact on educational outcomes.
Introduction
In many universities across the United States today, instructors and institutions have recognized the importance of the holistic well-being of students. Despite this recent shift, however, there remains a long history of prioritizing academic achievement over the emotional or personal aspects of learning. Research has shown that students’ emotions can play a critical role in shaping their academic experiences, from engaging with material to interacting with peers, to navigating the challenges of university.
Traditional classroom settings and lesson plans can lack structured ways for students to express their emotions in a meaningful and supported manner. This leads us to our problem statement: We believe that the absence of emotional expression and connection in class not only detracts from students’ personal development, but also leads to a scarcity of inclusive and empathetic learning environments. We see a pressing need for new interventions that empower students to articulate and process their emotions, develop classroom-appropriate emotional literacy, and promote a deeper understanding of oneself within an academic context. As such, we defined our research question: How might we host more effective shared experiences in classrooms to encourage emotional awareness?
Our intervention, emotiCon, seeks to fill this gap by enabling students to communicate their emotional states in a non-verbal, intuitive manner. emotiCon is an intervention that has been designed for college students to encourage classroom empathy and the building of meaningful and positive relationships. Due to high performance pressure, current academic environments can promote indifference among students in regards to how their peers are feeling. emotiCon utilizes music as a medium to non-verbally express one’s emotional state, creating a representative musical composition through individual sounds that represent the emotional state of each student.
By using a tool for non-verbal emotional communication, students can better understand and manage their own emotions, as well as those of others. By encouraging classroom emotional literacy, the classroom can help foster a sense of community and mutual understanding, improving academic experiences and classroom engagement. Ultimately, improved emotional communication can lead to a more positive and productive classroom experience for everyone.
Background: Related Work and User Research
Existing research
Current research on the topic of emotional connection in the classroom supports the idea that peer connection in the classroom can improve academic experiences and performance.
In one study, researchers explored peer relationships in college classrooms, and how those relationships affected students’ perceptions of connectedness and integration [7]. Participants consisted of 175 undergraduate students who were asked to define their peer relationships in class and complete two surveys: one survey measured connectedness among students in the university classroom, and the other survey investigated classroom acceptance of new students. Researchers found that when “students report at least one quality relationship with a classmate, they are more connected to the class as a whole.” In other words, students do not need to connect with every peer in their classroom; even forming just a singular bond can help foster feelings of connection. Overall, results indicated that students with higher-quality peer relationships experience greater feelings of connection with their classmates and are knowledgeable about the tasks they need to perform in the classroom.
In another study, researchers measured characteristics of students’ peer networks in the form of study groups [2]. A little over one hundred undergraduate students, all enrolled in the same course, were asked to list up to twenty peers, and indicate if they studied with them; researchers then measured academic achievement in the course. Researchers not only found that the quality of peer relationships improves student performance, but also that the “breadth and cohesion of students’ network positively affects student outcomes.”
Finally, research has also shown that facilitating peer connection can enhance college students’ overall well-being. A study examining the impact of The Connection Project, an “experiential, relationship-focused intervention designed to improve school belongingness and decrease symptoms of depression and loneliness among new college students,” found that experiential, peer-support prevention programming promoted well-being among students [3]. Participants were first-year and transfer students who gathered once a week for guided discussions of “open, authentic, and supportive conversations.” Compared to the control group, participants reported greater feelings of belongingness, significantly less loneliness, and significantly fewer depressive symptoms.
We hope our design can join existing research in showing that these interventions can create a sense of belonging, both in the classroom and in the university at large. When students struggle to express their emotions, it can lead to frustration, disengagement, and difficulty focusing in class. However, not all students feel comfortable expressing themselves verbally, especially when it comes to complex emotions. We hope to foster a more positive learning environment by helping students feel understood and supported by their peers, in a safe, supportive, and comfortable interaction.
Existing interventions
Existing solutions in the surrounding landscape include Soundstorming, Moodify, 7 Cups, and Meetup.
Soundstorming is a music making application that “helps musicians to connect, collaborate and share music ideas” [8]. Soundstorming helps make music collaborative and discoverable by uploading musical ideas to a global community of musicians who can then “layer ideas, melodies, and lyrics onto your original sound,” creating a new song in the process. We felt the collaborative nature of Soundstorming within a community could be a powerful idea within the classroom.
Moodify is a web-based application that allows users to create music playlists based on their current mood [6]. Users first select from a range of emotions, allowing the app to generate playlists that feature songs that match those emotions. Moodify helps codify unquantifiable experiences, like emotions, into songs that can help express those emotions nonverbally.
7 Cups is an application that allows users to have 1-on-1 communication with a listener any time of day or night [1]. Anonymous listeners can provide emotional support, and users can safely express their emotions without fear of backlash. While we are limited to specific times and environments due to class schedules, we believe there are critical design choices that can be made in crafting an experience that can be vulnerable if needed, but remain safe overall.
Finally, Meetup is a platform for hosting and organizing in-person and virtual activities, gatherings, and events for people and communities of similar interests, hobbies, and professions [5]. Meetup is an excellent example of using technology to cultivate a sense of community in a larger group, and can help form more close-knit, individual peer-to-peer connections.
A common thread in existing interventions is a simultaneous sense of both agency and community. In our intervention, we wanted to continue to preserve that balance, and promote student agency in the classroom when it comes to building emotional connection. We believe that technology fills this gap in a creative manner, and maintains student agency while fostering peer-to-peer connection.
Theoretical Framework
This project uses the theoretical framework of Activity Theory, as defined by Yrjö Engeström.
In Activity Theory, Engestrom emphasizes the importance of understanding activity systems, which are complex networks of actions, tools, and meanings. Activity Theory examines how individuals or groups interact with their environment to achieve specific objectives, emphasizing the interplay between: subject, the goal or purpose of the activity, tools and artifacts, governing rules, and division of labor. By studying these interconnected elements, Activity Theory provides insights into how activities are structured, how they evolve over time, and how they are influenced by social and cultural factors. It is a critical framework to understanding the complexities of human behavior and collaboration in various contexts.
In this project, we leverage this framework to understand the intricacies of user interactions, workflows, and the broader socio-cultural influences that shape design outcomes. In our instance, Activity Theory provided a robust framework to develop a tool for the activities and socio-cultural dynamics of the classroom.
Understanding these larger dynamics in addition to the motives and goals of our users is crucial; it allows us to design solutions that resonate with our target users’ backgrounds, experiences, and values. Within the context of activity theory, the intervention lies beyond just the interaction a user might have with a particular tool and instead ties to the space in which it would operate.
Finally, Engestrom’s definitions of a mediating artifact emphasize the importance of seeing how tools can mediate humans or guide activity and shape social interactions within systems. Rather than focusing solely on functionality, Activity Theory encourages placing intention on the larger impact of the artifact on human activity and its ability to facilitate communication and connection between people. By focusing on modeling system components and interactions in a coherent, holistic manner, our intervention can help tie together the physical space of the classroom, the activities of the classroom, and the diverse parts and users of these spaces.
User Research
To better design our intervention, we conducted interviews with a range of students. We wanted to understand profiles of students in classrooms, as well as their pain points around emotional connection in class. In total, we interviewed five students of varying fields of studies. Three participants were undergraduate students, and two participants were graduate students.
Questions probed the following themes: a sense of connection with peers in shared spaces, the effect of mood on classroom experiences, comfort expressing emotions, and benefits of expressing emotions in classroom experiences.
We conducted thematic analysis and identified six key insights.
- Importance of Emotional Connection
Participants emphasized the significance of emotional connection in academic settings, highlighting its role in fostering empathy, support, and inclusivity among peers. - Impact of Mood on Classroom Experiences
Participants recognized that mood could significantly affect classroom experience, influencing their level of engagement, participation, and overall well-being. Participants also acknowledged the importance of creating spaces where students feel comfortable expressing their emotions and seeking support. - Challenges in Emotional Expression
Participants found that expressing themselves emotionally was easier with close friends and in smaller settings, but difficult with unfamiliar peers and in larger classes. However, they still noted a desire to express oneself authentically without fear of judgment. - Value of Shared Experiences
Participants commonly felt emotionally connected with peers in academic settings through collaborative and group settings. They emphasized the role of shared experiences in building bonds and fostering a sense of belonging. - Quality and Salience of Shared Space
Participants commented that poor quality of a classroom space can detract from feeling connected to classmates and contribute to frustrations. They noted feeling more disconnected from online classmates, and feeling more disconnected with joining class online themselves. - Diversity in Students’ Perspectives and Needs
While some participants prioritize emotional connection and support, others may prioritize academic performance, independence, and task-oriented communication. Participants emphasized the need for personalized approaches to education that consider individual strengths, challenges, and preferences.
These insights helped guide our overall design and prompted a few specific design decisions. First, we decided to narrow our target audience and classroom. We began to focus on smaller classrooms of 5–15 students and interactive courses like studios and seminars that already required significant classroom interaction. We believe that these environments would benefit most from the design goals of our intervention.
Next, we made a conscious choice to include instructor interaction. Having an instructor — or an appointed conductor — to guide the interaction can take pressure off of students to participate. In our research, participants also indicated interest in professors understanding their emotional states so that they could adjust coursework accordingly.
Finally, we wanted to establish explicit agency in the extent and format of users’ participation. Users should feel comfortable participating as little or as much as they would like, without crossing peers’ emotional boundaries.
With these insights, design decisions, and design goals in mind, we began to work on our prototype and experimental development.
Method
Prototype Description
Our prototype takes shape as a digital color wheel that is subdivided into six core emotions: Fear, Anger, Sad, Surprise, Happy, and Disgust. Each core emotion is assigned a melody that expresses that emotion. Each core emotion is then further divided into four, more specific emotions, such as Disapproval, Optimistic, or Confused. Each emotion has a corresponding emoji that serves as a pictorial representation of that emotion.
Users can choose up to five emotions on the color wheel to represent their emotional state in the classroom at that time. They can choose five separate emotions, the same emotion five times, or any permutation in between. After all participating users have chosen their emotions, the application will tally up the total number of each emotion, and create a musical composition.
The musical composition consists of melodies that are attributed to the core emotion of each sub-emotion selected by the overall classroom. The more counts that a core emotion is selected, the longer the melody will be. For example, if the core emotion, Happy, is selected 8 total times, then the melody for Happy will play for 8 total beats.
The classroom will review the visualization and the musical composition together; afterwards, the course instructor will lead a discussion around the emotions the classroom is feeling collectively, and allow space for personal reflection. Instructors can choose to review weekly or monthly views of the classroom’s emotional history, and look for larger trends. In-app features also offer support to help teachers lead appropriate discussions based on the results.
Experiment Hypothesis
As a group, we continued to reflect on our research findings, identifying potential relationships between variables and predicting outcomes based on theoretical insights. In our context of exploring the impact of musical interventions in educational settings, we hypothesized that music can significantly enhance emotional expression, connection, and support in teaching practices. These hypotheses are informed by earlier findings suggesting the deep emotional resonance and communicative power of music, which may transcend conventional verbal interactions. By postulating the following hypotheses, we aim to meticulously assess the potential of music and emotional interventions in general as transformative tools in classroom environments, addressing key dynamics and gaps in the current classroom culture:
Hypothesis 1: Enhanced Emotional Expression
Research Question: Does the use of music as a modality for emotional expression enhance the authenticity and comfort of emotional sharing among university students in a classroom setting?
Hypothesis: Using music as a tool for emotional expression will enable more nuanced and genuine sharing of emotions compared to traditional verbal methods.
Prediction: Students will report a higher level of comfort and perceived authenticity when expressing their emotions through musical methods rather than solely verbal methods.
Testing Procedure: We could conduct a comparative study where one group of students expresses their emotions verbally in a circle, while another group uses the music-based device. Measure comfort and authenticity levels through pre- and post-intervention surveys that include questions about their experiences and perceived authenticity of expression.
Hypothesis 2: Increased Emotional Connection
Research Question: Can the collective creation of a musical piece that reflects the emotional state of the classroom foster stronger emotional connections among students?
Hypothesis: The joint endeavor of creating a musical composition reflecting the emotional state of the classroom will foster a stronger emotional connection among students.
Prediction: Students who participate in music-based emotional sharing will report a significant improvement in measures of empathy and emotional connection towards their peers.
Testing Procedure: After the intervention, we could use qualitative interviews and quantitative surveys to assess students’ sense of connection and empathy. Questions can focus on their feelings of empathy, understanding, and closeness to their peers before and after the session.
Hypothesis 3: Supportive Teaching
Research Question: Does the introduction of a music-based device aid educators in gauging and responding to the emotional state of the classroom?
Hypothesis: Implementing this device will be an effective tool for educators to better understand and adapt to the emotional needs of their students.
Prediction: Educators will report a better understanding of their students’ emotional states and will adapt their teaching methods to more effectively support their students’ emotional needs.
Possible Testing Procedures: To test, we could conduct surveys asking educators to rate their perceived understanding of the classroom’s emotional climate and their ability to respond to students’ emotional needs effectively, before and after the intervention period. A second procedure might involve getting feedback from students via surveys or focus groups asking about their perception of the classroom environment, the impact of the device on their emotional expression, and any noticed changes in how educators respond to the classroom’s emotional needs. And finally, we could analyze changes in academic performance, attendance records, and instances of behavioral issues before and after the intervention. This quantitative data can provide indirect evidence of a more supportive classroom environment.
Experimentation
We embarked on an experiment designed to explore the efficacy of our prototype aimed at enhancing emotional literacy and communication among students. We focused primarily on the first two hypotheses and predictions about the potential impact of the intervention on students. The experiment involved a small group of five participants (all undergraduate students in majors ranging from design to business to computer science) and was conducted in a controlled classroom-like setting to ensure a focused and relevant environment. One member of the research team took on the role of a professor, introducing the solution and facilitating the discussion.
The core of our experimental design involved an innovative method for emotional expression. Participants were provided with a color wheel on a digital collaborative whiteboard depicting various emotions. They were given five stickers and instructed to place these stickers on the wheel to represent their current emotional states. Importantly, participants had the flexibility to select the same emotion multiple times, which allowed for a more nuanced expression of their feelings without the constraint of needing to identify five distinct emotions.
After completing the activity, participants resumed their normal tasks while the research team tallied each instance of a chosen emotion. One team member created a visualization of the emotions, which was really just a pi-chart detailing the proportion of responses, while the other composed the musical composition, changing the length of each audio clip based on the number of responses for their corresponding emotion.
After participants completed their tasks, they were shown the visualization as they listened to the musical composition. The research member taking on the role of a professor then facilitated a discussion about their emotional state, as well as a discussion around feedback of the prototype.
Results & Discussion
In this particular experiment, participants selected the emotion Fear, 9 times; the emotion Sad, 3 times; the emotion Disgust, 0 times; the emotion Happy, 12 times; the emotion Anger, 1 time; and the emotion Surprise, 7 times.
From the analysis of the experimental data derived from our study, several intriguing outcomes were observed which merit further discussion and exploration. The experimental setup was designed to explore the emotional reactions and conversational dynamics elicited by a musical intervention in a classroom setting, focusing particularly on the specificity of emotional recognition and expression among participants.
Firstly, it was noted that some participants preferred to generalize their emotional responses by placing stars on larger, more encompassing emotions, even though they were instructed to do so only for the specific sub-emotions. However, most students did place them on more specific emotions, suggesting that when prompted, people are capable of distinguishing and articulating nuanced emotional states rather than broad categories.
During the course of the activity, it became apparent that the task of identifying emotions through music not only facilitated emotional expression but also acted as a catalyst for deeper interpersonal connections and discussions. Participants found themselves naturally engaging in conversations about their class experiences, which served as an easy conversation starter, revealing the potential of shared academic backgrounds to facilitate easier communication about personal experiences.
After hearing the audio clips, students engaged in trying to identify the emotions associated with each, leading to a diverse range of interpretations. For instance, rock music was primarily associated with anger, while reactions to trumpet sounds tended to lean towards surprise or excitement. After this initial discussion, participants began to disclose reasons for their choices on the emotional color wheel, covering a variety of emotions from happy and excited to scared and anxious. It became clear that the participating group had been feeling a wide variety of emotions, and were able to discuss within that broad range.
Finally, participants discussed the experience of the prototype and suggested several different points of feedback. Suggestions included providing discussion prompts based on each emotion, as well as refinding emotional categories for clearer analysis. Some participants mentioned not seeing emotions they would commonly expect, such as feeling tired. Overall however, participants received the visualization and the musical composition well, and engaged in discussion as hoped. These results suggest that the modality of the intervention might not be as critical as the function of the intervention, and the manner in which it is executed.
Conclusion
The EmotiCon project has demonstrated significant promise in harnessing music and data visualization as tools for fostering emotional expression and connectivity within university classrooms. Our prototype, featuring a digital color wheel linked to musical melodies representing various emotions, allowed students to share their emotional states non-verbally, promoting a more inclusive and empathetic learning environment. The findings from our initial experiment underscore the potential of such musical interventions to enhance interpersonal connections and support students’ emotional well-being alongside their academic pursuits.
However, the feedback gathered from the experiment highlighted several areas for improvement. Participants pointed out that the connection between sub-emotions and their primary categories was not always clear or intuitive, indicating a need for a more nuanced and flexible approach to categorizing emotions. This feedback suggests that emotions, being highly individual and complex, require a more refined classification system that can accurately reflect their varied manifestations.
Looking ahead, the project could benefit from exploring applications beyond university settings, particularly targeting younger students at critical developmental stages. Early exposure to emotional literacy and expression could provide foundational benefits that enhance lifelong emotional well-being and interpersonal skills.
Additionally, there were challenges in using audio to effectively capture and communicate the range of emotions within the classroom. Although we experimented with adjusting audio qualities like pitch and tempo, the direct linkage of these qualities to emotional states was not as perceptible as hoped. Future iterations of EmotiCon should explore more impactful methods of auditory representation, possibly through the use of distinct sound samples that better resonate with specific emotions and the proportional adjustment of these samples based on response frequencies.
In conclusion, while our prototype has laid a promising foundation for integrating emotional literacy into educational technology, it is clear that further refinement and exploration are necessary. By continuing to innovate and iterate based on user feedback and expanding our understanding of emotional expression through music, EmotiCon can significantly contribute to creating more supportive and connected educational environments.
Works Cited
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- Maes, P. J., & Leman, M. (2013). The influence of body movements on children’s perception of music with an ambiguous expressive character. PloS one, 8(1), e54682.
- MEETUP. (n.d.). https://www.meetup.com/
- MOODIFY. (n.d.). https://moodify.app/
- Sollitto, M., Johnson, Z. D., & Myers, S. A. (2013). Students’ perceptions of college classroom connectedness, assimilation, and peer relationships. Communication Education, 62(3), 318–331.
- SOUNDSTORMING. (n.d.). https://soundstorming.com/
