As a school psychologist, I am always quite
conscious when talking with teachers of the fact that I am not a
teacher,
and do not have the day-to-day experience of being
in front of a room full of 30 children or adolescents,
each with their own motives and attitudes to
learning. I am also aware that whenever I talk about the
teacher-student relationship, quite a few of my
educational colleagues grumble "not this old chestnut again",
as well as thinking "this is not a strategy I can
use in the classroom"! But I believe it is the most effective
classroom management strategy, and one which
maximises student learning and wellbeing whilst also decreasing
stress.
The teacher-student relationship is quite an
important point of continual reflection amongst teachers for one
very
important reason: learning can only occur through
the medium of a teacher-student relationship. We know that
positive relationships are good for us - they
mitigate the effects of stress, enable feelings of
connectedness,
make us feel good about ourselves, enable
communication, promote mental health and so on.
Physiologically,
when we feel safe and secure in a
relationship/environment our bodies produce less stress hormones so
that we
are more able to concentrate and learn (stress
hormones decrease our ability to learn, form memories,
concentrate
on complex cognitive tasks and so on). We also know
that good teacher-student relationships are a fundamental
aspect of the promotion of student wellbeing within
schools.
So this all makes sense of course - but how can
teachers use this knowledge to help them in the classroom?
Here are some tips:
1. Regularly reflect on and be mindful
of the relationships you have with your students: it's easy
to
blame the student as being the reason
for the bad relationship, but this doesn't help us to resolve
it.
2. When entering a classroom try to
look interested and happy to be there and express some
interest
in your students. Start with a joke, a
funny picture or something funny to lighten the mood.
3. Have a "fresh start" approach to
each lesson - no expectations about who the naughty kids are going
to be!
4. Think about the top 3-4 difficult kids in your
class - make a concerted effort to have some positive
connection with them: ask them about their weekend,
find some point of common interest, simply smile and say
hello to them.
5. If you have a poor relationship with a student -
try to think about why it is like this. Talk with a
colleague or the school counsellor to work out some
strategies to help you work with them more effectively.
6. Your own stress can have a big part to play in
your relationships with your students - when stress
goes up, relationships become more vulnerable. Make
positive efforts to manage your stress.
7. Try not to engage in power struggles with your
students - they will try to bait you into them.
8. Persist with the above strategies -
relationships won't change in a single lesson
Joseph writes about creating positive relationships in
your classroom...
As a school psychologist, I am always quite conscious when
talking with teachers of the fact that I am not a teacher, and
do not have the day-to-day experience of being in front of a room
full of 30 children or adolescents, each with their own
motives and attitudes to learning. I am also aware that whenever I
talk about the teacher-student relationship, quite a few of my
educational colleagues grumble "not this old chestnut
again", as well as thinking "this is not a strategy I can use
in the classroom"! But I believe it is the most
effective classroom management strategy, and one which
maximises student learning and wellbeing whilst also decreasing
stress.
The teacher-student relationship is quite an important point of
continual reflection amongst teachers for one very important
reason: learning can only occur through the medium of a
teacher-student relationship. We know that positive
relationships are good for us - they mitigate the effects of
stress, enable feelings of connectedness, make us feel good
about ourselves, enable communication, promote mental health and so
on. Physiologically, when we feel safe and secure in a
relationship/environment our bodies produce less stress hormones so
that we are more able to concentrate and learn (stress
hormones decrease our ability to learn, form memories,
concentrate on complex cognitive tasks and so on). We also
know that good teacher-student relationships are a
fundamental aspect of the promotion of student wellbeing
within schools.
So this all makes sense of course - but how can teachers use
this knowledge to help them in the classroom?
Here are some tips:
1. Regularly reflect on and be mindful of the
relationships you have with your students: it's easy to blame
the student as being the reason for the bad relationship, but this
doesn't help us to resolve it.
2. When entering a classroom try to look
interested and happy to be there and express some interest in your
students. Start with a joke, a funny picture or something funny to
lighten the mood.
3. Have a "fresh start" approach to each lesson
- no expectations about who the naughty kids are going to be!
4. Think about the top 3-4 difficult kids in
your class - make a concerted effort to have some
positive connection with them: ask them about their weekend,
find some point of common interest, simply smile and say hello
to them.
5. If you have a poor relationship with a
student - try to think about why it is like this. Talk with
a colleague or the school counsellor to work out some
strategies to help you work with them more effectively.
6. Your own stress can have a big part to play
in your relationships with your students - when stress goes
up, relationships become more vulnerable. Make positive efforts to
manage your stress.
7. Try not to engage in power struggles with
your students - they will try to bait you into them.
8. Persist with the above strategies -
relationships won't change in a single lesson.