For students, such classrooms are life altering! “Troubled times are the best times for connection,” Sturtevant writes (226). You’ve Gotta Connect: Building Relationships That Lead to Engaged Students, Productive Classrooms, and Higher Achievement How to encourage students to learn something new in Summer holidays? I've since learned that taking time to get to know your students will better help communicate the formal aspects of your curriculum. With students who are slower to warm up, we need to put our egos aside and just keep trying. I travel the world solo, and the first thing I do when I set foot in a new country is to talk to people, create connections and in the long term, lifetime friendships evolve. The premise is, again, you have to connect with your students. I don’t know any teacher who does not have bouts of nostalgia. Do you wish you were in that other school where you taught before — where you had fewer discipline problems and struggled with fewer slackers? Studyafter studyreports that as social animals, humans need each other. It does not have to be earth shattering. The goal is to have a strong relationship as soon as possible, but accept that it may not happen until late in the game” (88-89). Sturtevant urges us to learn about students’ musical tastes, the movies and T.V. 5. Sturtevant has included dozens of hands-on tools you can use to develop and examine your own practice, like the “Environment Stealth Check” worksheet, which asks you to sit in your teacher’s lounge and tally up the number of positive comments you hear about students versus the number of negative comments you hear, or the “Anatomy of a Conflict” worksheet, where you break down the components of past conflicts and get a clearer understanding of how you might have handled them better. Can't find what you are looking for? ], I’ll never forget what one of my college professors told me when I was studying to become a teacher. Thanks. If we keep a wall between us and the students, they do not feel we care about them or how they succeed. The reason, I believe, is that we all need to feel connected. Sara Rimm-Kaufman, PhD, and Lia Sandilos, PhD, University of Virginia Improving students' relationships with teachers has important, positive and long-lasting implications for both students' academic and social development. The importance of educational tours for students can be better in various ways. Realizing the importance of connection can help us to co-create the life we want or the environment we desire by being open to the life we already have and the opportunities to create community where ever we are. Most of us went into education hoping to change the lives of our students for good, and a connection is the way we do that. They also soar when relationships blossom! I LOVE everything about this post! “These actions show you care enough to pay attention to their world, even if it pulls you a bit out of your comfort zone to do so” (86). . I completely agree with the importance of connecting with students. On educational field trips, students feel the sense of enjoyment which offers them to acquire a fresh perspective, learn new things and witness different sides of the country. Information about your device and internet connection, including your IP address, Browsing and search activity while using Verizon Media websites and apps. Make the classroom feel like home. Learn their culture. Thank you so much for sharing! That was before I started teaching. I refuse to give up hope that we can still bring magic to our classrooms, even from a distance. When I started teaching, I wondered how I was going to ever make connections and build relationships with kids who were so different than me. Growing up, I was raised in a 2-parent household that was filled with love, support, and encouragement…this is not the case with the majority of my students, unfortunately. 4. It can be remembering the teacher’s … James Sturtevant teaches social studies at Big Walnut High School in Sunbury, Ohio. It’s so important to connect and create friendships. Solely improving students' relationships with their teachers will … Categories: Book Reviews, Classroom Management, Podcast, Tags: Grades 3-5, Grades 6-8, Grades 9-12, teacher-student relationships. One big barrier to connecting with students is our nostalgia for the past, the way we constantly compare our current students with the (better) ones we used to teach. Making connections is just another way to describe learning how things are related to each other and how the physical world works. Getting to know students both academically and socially is a critical part of student success. Connection can be as simple as a smile or a kind word. Slow down and focus on connecting with your students as this new school year starts to set your classroom up for success. Iff students have an interest in learning something they are less likely to act … When I have a student acting up in class or causing distractions, I attempt to have a conversation with them. Unfortunately, trying to get this connection from others, rather than learning to connect with ourselves and others, can lead to many personal and relationship problems. There are many ways to relate your lessons and activities to the real world to increase student retention, student motivation, and interest in subject matter while maximizing learning opportunities. There are many ways to learn more about graduate programs you might be interested in: online chat groups, on-campus information sessions, class visits, and – of course – the program website itself. Relationships help keep students engaged in learning, encourage best behavior, and give them a sense of pride and belonging. Children sort and categorize objects as one way of learning how things are connected. As a final thought, connecting students across our nation and globe can serve other purposes besides purely academic. Find out more about how we use your information in our Privacy Policy and Cookie Policy. It keeps you from seeing THESE students — their needs and gifts” (52). As stated, making connections during times of trouble are just as important. When you get a lot of feedback or stories of their own, you know you have struck gold!” (202). They Might Help You More Willingly. So, it’s a challenge for all the students of our world to go with the flow of advanced technology. I kind of didn’t believe her. By showing my students that I am more interested in why they behaved the way they did, or what is going on in their life outside my classroom shows that I truly care. The school year had just begun and her class was already showing signs of chronic negative behaviors. 2. For the book by John Hattie with 138 research-backed impacts on student learning, which was referenced in the interview by Sturtevant, it is called “Visible Learning.” Here is a link to “Visible Learning for Teachers: Maximizing Impact on Learning” from Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Visible-Learning-Teachers-Maximizing-Impact/dp/0415690153/. Bring that passion to the classroom for an easy win with your class. Of this in “ Poor Kids, Rich teaching ” times goes unnoticed is the importance of educational for... Networking is a critical part of the work we do as teachers would be the relationships we built our. Work we do as teachers and search activity while using Verizon Media websites and apps the,! From a distance information and Communication Technology with each other using Verizon Media websites apps... 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