Emotional Intelligence will be the most important factor in student success in a post-ChatGPT landscape

As our students enter the exam season, what will make them successful and conversely what will make them unsuccessful in achieving their maximum potential? Is it great teaching? Is it making sure that they have the right academic curriculum for them? Is it academic ability? Is it Emotional Intelligence? Or is it all of them? Studies would suggest that Emotional Intelligence certainly seems to be an indicator of academic success (Adeyemo et al., 2007; Parker et al, 2004; Vidal et al., 2012) and in a post-Chat GPT landscape where traditional academic success will be subsumed as AI develops being able to regurgitate facts quicker and more accurately than humans. The difference between humans and computers can only be our emotions and interpersonal skills. Emotional Intelligence is crucial in a world with AI because it is what separates humans from machines. While AI can perform complex calculations and analyse vast amounts of data, it lacks the ability to understand and manage human emotions.

In a world where machines are increasingly integrated into our daily lives, individuals with high EI will be better equipped to navigate the challenges that arise from these interactions. People with strong EI can empathise with others, build relationships, and effectively communicate, which are all essential skills in a world where human connection is increasingly important.

Emotional intelligence can be said to cover six main areas: metacognition, self-awareness, emotional control, self-motivation, empathy and relationship skills.

Emotional Intelligence for our students means:

• Managing stress levels during the year, during revision, before exams and during exams?
• Making good decisions about studying, what to study, when to study and how to study
• Listening to each other
• Using their intuition about answering questions or choosing the right questions on the exam papers
• Being flexible and adaptable
• Reading the emotions of other people including their teachers and peers
• Positively influencing their friendship groups and peers to focus on their studying or relaxing if they have been studying too much
• Rarely giving in to urges not to study, or to play computer games/ watch tv/ go out with friends/ insert usual teenage activity here, instead of studying
• Being optimistic and happy about their exams
• Knowing how important sleep is to them

These are also the skills that they will need to be successful as they move forward with life. However, many students do not have these skills innately and need to be explicitly taught.

Metacognition or thinking about thinking is key. This has been called by different names throughout the years, but it boils down to the same thing: supporting students to articulate what they have learned, how they have learned and what they need to do to improve. This should be every single lesson. It helps children develop self-awareness so that they have an active understanding of how they are performing and mitigate the The Dunning-Kruger effect.

The bad news is that there is no quick fix, no magic pill and no panacea. Explicit lessons have some effect, but students tend to see these skills as being separate and not across the board. Emotional Intelligence should be at the heart of every curriculum and every lesson. How then do we teach the skills throughout the curriculum, so that our examination level students benefit?

Active listening, where students are actively engaged with the teaching and each other, should be explicitly taught from being very young and made an expectation. They should understand how to acknowledge a conversation and know how to build on it. They should be able to show empathy inside and outside of a conversation. Empathy can be built through community work, reading and seeing those who lead very different lives. Like active listening, self-regulation and impulse control is also a long-term skill to be built, especially in a world of instant gratification. These include: seeing events as an opportunity rather than a threat, helpful self-talk, reinforcing that emotional management skills are not fixed but can be developed. This takes a considerable amount of effort and patience from both the student and the teacher, as it is often a gradual process over a long period of time.

We also need to examine whether the current curricula and extra-curricula are suitable for investing in Emotional Intelligence. Individuals with high Emotional Intelligence are more likely to adapt to change, collaborate effectively, and demonstrate leadership, which are critical competencies for success in an AI-driven world. Therefore, developing Emotional Intelligence skills is vital to ensuring that we can maximise the benefits of AI while maintaining our humanity.

References

Adeyemo, D.A., 2007. Moderating influence of emotional intelligence on the link between academic self-efficacy and achievement of university students. Psychology and developing societies, 19(2), pp.199-213.

Parker, J.D., Creque Sr, R.E., Barnhart, D.L., Harris, J.I., Majeski, S.A., Wood, L.M., Bond, B.J. and Hogan, M.J., 2004. Academic achievement in high school: Does emotional intelligence matter?. Personality and individual differences, 37(7), pp.1321-1330.

Vidal Rodeiro, C.L., Emery, J.L. and Bell, J.F., 2012. Emotional intelligence and academic attainment of British secondary school children: A cross-sectional survey. Educational Studies, 38(5), pp.521-539