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23. Embracing compassion: Nonviolent communication for transformative teaching and learning in higher education

  • Anna Troisi (author)
Chapter of: Stories of Hope: Reimagining Education(pp. 267–282)

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Metadata
Title23. Embracing compassion
SubtitleNonviolent communication for transformative teaching and learning in higher education
ContributorAnna Troisi (author)
DOIhttps://doi.org/10.11647/obp.0462.23
Landing pagehttps://www.openbookpublishers.com/books/10.11647/obp.0462/chapters/10.11647/obp.0462.23
Licensehttps://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
CopyrightAnna Troisi;
PublisherOpen Book Publishers
Published on2025-07-02
Long abstractThis chapter explores how compassion can be embedded into higher education teaching and learning environments through existing methodologies such as Nonviolent Communication (NVC) and design for change. Drawing on a case study from a Creative Computing undergraduate course, it examines the use of co-inquiry and relational feedback practices to support inclusive, dialogic learning spaces. Rather than introducing new roles or responsibilities, the approach recognises compassion as a teachable and learnable skill that shapes how feedback is communicated, how belonging is cultivated, and how decisions are co-developed. By shifting from reactive fixes to proactive and co-designed strategies, the work illustrates how relational methods can support pedagogical transformation, particularly in contexts marked by marginalisation and difference.
Page rangepp. 267–282
Print length16 pages
LanguageEnglish (Original)
Contributors

Anna Troisi

(author)
Reader in Creative Computing and Equitable Futures at the Creative Computing Institute at University of the Arts London

Anna Troisi is a Reader in Creative Computing and Equitable Futures at the Creative Computing Institute, University of the Arts London. A Principal Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (PFHEA) and recipient of a National Teaching Fellowship (2024), she is internationally recognised for her innovative use of Nonviolent Communication (NVC) to build more inclusive, dialogic, and compassionate teaching/learning environments. Her interdisciplinary work integrates the Social Model of Disability, co-design methodologies, and relational pedagogies to reimagine how curriculum and feedback can support justice, wellbeing, and belonging—particularly for students from marginalised and underrepresented backgrounds.

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