Socio-Affective Competence in Virtual Learning Environments: A View from the Empathetic Subject

This article proposes an empathy perception model for virtual learning environments (VLEs), called EPM_VLE, based on the concepts of the empathetic subject and socio-affective competence. The empathetic subject is defined according to Piaget's theory, as a human condition made up of the biophysiological, affective, social, cognitive, and technological aspects, that helps us to understand the other in the virtual space. Socio-affective competence comprises the knowledge, skills, and attitudes needed to deal with socio-affective situations in online education. Hence, the socio-affective competence of empathy (SACE) includes the ability to understand the affective situation of others, validate and respect their emotional needs and opinions, as well as support and interact responsibly in diverse groups and contexts. Empathetic communication is an element of SACE that can be seen in the intentionality of the texts recorded in the VLE communication tools. To build EPM_VLE, we evaluated the social and affective indicators from the Social Map and Affective Map in the ROODA (Cooperative Learning Network) VLE tools, a distance education platform used at the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Brazil. To categorize dialogue intentionality in text, we used content analysis to identify the components of the empathetic subject and machine learning based on the BERT model to classify the messages. This work’s contribution is presenting a model based on empathic subject studies that allows the level of student´s empathic communication to be verified in a VLE. We believe this resource can help teachers build SACE in students, especially in online education.