LAUSR

While student emotions influence student learning and engagement, there is a notable gap in our understanding of student emotions regarding science learning, particularly within the context of postsecondary science education and inquiry. The study investigated the types of emotions experienced by a female college student and their effects on her learning and engagement in an inquiry-based physics class. Student emotions were categorized into four types using the control-value theory. The findings revealed that empathy and praise, particularly concerning the learning process, were important in promoting positive activating emotions. On the contrary, negative emotional support from teachers could arouse the student’s negative deactivating emotions, subsequently leading her to withdraw her engagement in learning activities. When emotions were associated with activation, either positive or negative, they had a positive effect on student learning, while deactivation emotions, particularly negative deactivating emotions, impeded student learning. The study emphasized the importance of empathy in learning, highlighting its capacity to convert negative emotions into positive ones.