Utilising Emotions in the Teaching of Water Management Structures III

Fortunately, the role of emotions in relation to motivation and the learning process has been increasingly taken into account lately, not only for younger pupils but for all generations of students, including university students. In the past already, the educational goals were divided into cognitive, affective and psychomotor but at universities, the emphasis has always been more on cognitive goals. University student’s motivation to learn is a complex psychic process, which is influenced, among other things, by the student’s volitional (I must) qualities and their emotions (I am interested, I enjoy). An important part of studies is also the acquisition and strengthening of social personality competences (soft skills), which are closely related to emotions and which, together with expertise, are an important part of every profession. In the research, we first found out how the emotions and motivation of university students are utilised in the teaching of the course Water Management Structures III; and which teaching methods are preferred for this purpose. Then we investigated the level of stress, fear and anxiety that students experience when presenting a seminar assignment in the given subject in front of a study group by measuring the physiological quantity of emotion – the electrodermal activity of the skin. The measured values were collated with the self-awareness of students; to what extent they were aware of their emotions, how they experienced them and worked with them. Adequate self-presentation and coping with difficult situations are closely related with the ability to work with emotions and are considered by employers as very important social and personal competencies.