Research shows that the teacher-student relationship is the cornerstone of building a good classroom culture. A constructive relationship facilitates learning for all students. It’s not only equitable; it’s smart. If you know your students, you can motivate them. And, if you can motivate and encourage them, learning with you becomes something they look forward to and enjoy. Engaged students display better classroom behaviors and help to build a collaborative classroom that supports all learners.
DISCUSS and LISTEN:
Taking the time to talk and listen is critical in establishing a connection with your students early on. Get your students engaged early by carving out ample one-on-one time. As an educator, this was always the most challenging part for me — finding a meaningful activity for the students and setting behavioral and academic expectations, all while allowing myself the time to spend with them individually and building our classroom community. Seek out programs that include story-based elements and a streamlined structure for students to work independently and get immediate feedback. The discussion and engagement will happen organically. Then, you can spend your energy on the kids and not on the prep or management!
EARLY SUCCESS: A powerful story or discussion also requires students to communicate with one another, which doesn’t come easily to all. In math and science, all students are learning the academic language for the first time. You also work with your multilingual learners who are learning conversational English at the same time. My most successful classrooms have been when students gain confidence in their skills early on, especially in their ability to ask and answer questions.
Have you had team members or even administrators tell you that community building should be your focus for the first few weeks? They are not wrong, but prioritizing community building doesn’t mean you have to forgo content. That tussle between the two never made sense to me.
DIFFERENT LENSES: Talking with students takes most of your time and energy during class. But the connection-building doesn’t have to stop there. All students are multifaceted and they may have hidden strengths or struggles that you don’t see right off the bat.
so choose one that meets your particular needs.
It’s also important to know how you are analyzing your data. Do you want to identify students for targeted intervention? Then pick a resource that gives you a summary of their progress at the end of each lesson. Do you want to plan your group work or differentiation based on what you see? Focus on activities that easily give you individual and class information. Are you looking at student work to have things to talk to them about the next time you see them? Use programs that build a portfolio of student work for you. Use technology to identify the patterns, so you can spend time getting to know the eager learners joining your classroom this year!
There are so many ways to build a strong community in your classroom. If any of these ideas in this article appeal to you, but you need help visualizing them for your classroom, don’t hesitate to reach out!
2022 – Category Winner of Excellence in Equity: Best Support for English Learners
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