Chapter 8: What will I do to establish and maintain effective relationships with students?

Relationships teachers have with students is the keystone of effective management and perhaps even the entirety of teaching. First, teacher gives students the sense that he is providing guidance and control (behavioral and academically). Second, teacher and students are a team devoted to the well-being of all participants. In the classroom It does not matter how the teacher feels on a given day, but it does matter what he does. Students interpret teachers actions. Engage behavior: meeting students at the door as they come into class, calling them by their first names, smiling, etc. Behavior communicates messages. Research and theory If the relationship between the teacher and the students is good, then everything else that occurs in the classroom seems to be enhanced. The causes of many classroom behaviors labeled and punished as rule infractions are, in fact, problems of students and teachers relating to each other interpersonally. Effective teacher-student relationship: consideration, buoyancy, and patience. Balance between appropriate amount of dominance and cooperation. Dominance is characterized by clarity of purpose and strong guidance. Cooperation: building a sense of community within the classroom A teacher who has developed emotional objectivity implements and enforces rules and procedures, executes disciplinary actions, and cultivates effective relationships with students. The need for teachers to behave in an unemotional, matter-of-fact manner. Successful teacher: realistic attitudes towards students and teacher-student relationship. Emotional objectivity: involves keeping a type of emotional distance from the ups and downs of the classroom life and not taking students outburst or even students direct acts of disobedience personally. Students listen to every behavior made by the teacher as a statement of the type of relationship the teacher desires. Strategies to help stimulate positive emotions: joke with students and smile frequently. Teacher enthusiasm: students are likely to adopt the same general stance in class. Positive effects on student engagement and achievement. Action steps Action steps that communicate an appropriate level of concern and cooperation. Action step 1. Know something about Start with those students who seem to be disfranchised. each student Obtain information with contains questions. Use part of each teacher-parent conference to ask about and listen to critical details regarding students. Be familiar with the local culture of students. Informally interview students in class. Action step 2. Engage in behaviors Meets students at the door. that indicate affection for each Greet them by name, and make positive comments student. Takes pictures of each student and place them in the bulletin board. Under each students picture are words and phrases written by the students. They can change the comment cards under their names Attend an after-school function in which the students participate. Develop a schedule that allows him to single out one or two students to talk with each day. Every student will have some personalized, positive contact with the teacher at least once during the semester or year.

Action step 3. Bring student interest into the content and personalize learning activities. Action step 4. Engage in physical behaviors that communicate interest in students. Action step 5. Use humor when appropriate Action step 6. Consistently enforce positive and negative consequences. Action step 7. Project a sense of emotional objectivity.

Metaphors. Analogies. Physical actions: indications of the teachers mood and attitude towards students. Teacher : consciously practice and engage in behaviors such as: smile, look them in the eyes, sense of concern, look interested, etc. Playful banter. Use historical and popular sayings to make a point. Action steps that communicate and appropriate level of guidance and control. If consequences are not executed consistently and fairly, their impact is negated. Teachers provide students with a consistent tone in the classroom. Recognize that emotions are natural and inevitable: A teacher can control absolutely how he or she behaves toward a student. We can be expected to behave in a way that communicates care and concern equally for every student. Monitor your thoughts and emotions: Teachers behavior affect students and teachers thoughts do not. Being more aware of the source of her negative emotions and thoughts, the teacher is better able to behave in an objective manner with the student. 1. Mentally reviews the students in her class 2. Reaction to each student 3. Who arouse negative thoughts 4. Determine the specific characteristics of the negative thoughts and emotions 5. Events that might be triggering. Reframe: explaining students behavior in terms that are not threatening or offensive to the teacher. Even though a teacher is angry, he should resist the urge to demonstrate this emotion. Assertive behaviors. Express anger in an appropriate manner.

Action step 8. Maintain a cool exterior.

Summary What will I do to establish and maintain effective relationships with students?

Teacher behavior is different from teacher thoughts

Actions to effective relationships

Behaviors that communicate and appropriate level of concern and cooperation

Behaviors that communicate an appropriate level of guidance and control