Dos and Don'ts
Do
- Make an effort to get to know each student in your classroom. Always call them by their names and strive to understand what they need to succeed in school (Croninger & Lee, 2001).
- Make an effort to spend time individually with each student, especially those who are difficult or shy. This will help you create a more positive relationship with them (Pianta, 1999; Rudasill, Rimm-Kaufman, Justice, & Pence, 2006).
- Be aware of the explicit and implicit messages you are giving to your students (Pianta, et al., 2001; Rimm-Kaufman et al., 2002). Be careful to show your students that you want them to do well in school through both actions and words.
- Create a positive climate in your classroom by focusing not only on improving your relationships with your students, but also on enhancing the relationships among your students (Charney, 2002; Donahue, Perry & Weinstein, 2003).
Don’t
- Don’t assume that being kind and respectful to students is enough to bolster their achievement. Ideal classrooms have more than a single goal: in ideal classrooms, teachers hold their students to appropriately high standards of academic performance and offer students an opportunity for an emotional connection to their teachers, their fellow students and the school (e.g., Gregory & Weinstein, 2004; McCombs, 2001).
- Don’t give up too quickly on your efforts to develop positive relationships with difficult students. These students will benefit from a good teacher-student relationship as much or more than their easier-to-get-along-with peers (Baker, 2006; Birch & Ladd, 1998). Don’t assume that respectful and sensitive interactions are only important to elementary school students. Middle and high school students benefit from such relationships as well (Croninger & Lee, 2001; Meece, Herman, & McCombs, 2003; Wentzel, 2002).
- Don’t assume that relationships are inconsequential. Some research suggests that preschool children who have a lot of conflict with their teachers show increases in stress hormones when they interact with these teachers (Lisonbee, Mize, Payne, & Granger, 2008).
I teach the same content to my 9th graders as a College Professor at UPEP. He asked why my students were more successful then his students at understanding the material. I said that I told them all each and individually that this was going to be hard but that they are all capable of doing well and understanding the material. He seemed a little shocked and them said I usually tell my students that most of them will never get it. I explained that setting them up for failure was not a good teaching technique and that he had already sentenced them to fail. Never give up and always believe.
ReplyDeleteBuilding relationships with your students is the only way they will succeed in your class. Getting to know your students will help a teacher tailor lessons and work for that student to succeed. It will also make the students more willing to work with a teacher and do their assignments.
ReplyDeleteI agree, we must believe in the students before they will believe in themselves. When a child believes they can do anything their self-esteem and confidence drive them to be successful.
ReplyDeletei really love this, I think I could learn a lot about this topic. I could always improve on the relationships that iv'e build with my students.
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