The Teacher-Student Connection
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Teaching is about individuals and inter-personal relationships play a substantial role in students’ success at school, affecting both motivation and engagement (Martin & Dowson, 2009).
Inter-personal relationships include relationships students have with their peers however we know that the teacher-student connection plays a central role in student motivation and that the nature and quality of the interaction between teachers and students accounts for the biggest differences in learning outcomes between students (Martin, 2011).
Hattie (2003) found that "what teachers know, do, and care about" (p. 2) accounts for about 30% of the variance in students' achievement.
The importance of positive inter-personal relationships in students' learning is not surprising because human beings seem to have a fundamental need to feel loved, respected and socially connected to other people.
Positive inter-personal relationships are important for healthy human functioning because they provide us with:
Teaching is about individuals and inter-personal relationships play a substantial role in students’ success at school, affecting both motivation and engagement (Martin & Dowson, 2009).
Inter-personal relationships include relationships students have with their peers however we know that the teacher-student connection plays a central role in student motivation and that the nature and quality of the interaction between teachers and students accounts for the biggest differences in learning outcomes between students (Martin, 2011).
Hattie (2003) found that "what teachers know, do, and care about" (p. 2) accounts for about 30% of the variance in students' achievement.
The importance of positive inter-personal relationships in students' learning is not surprising because human beings seem to have a fundamental need to feel loved, respected and socially connected to other people.
Positive inter-personal relationships are important for healthy human functioning because they provide us with:
- help with tasks and challenges;
- emotional support in our daily lives;
- companionship;
- a buffer against stress;
How Teachers Make a Difference
_Teachers make a difference to their students'
learning outcomes by consciously fostering positive academic self-concepts and by helping to motivate them.
They do this by:
Teachers also influence the development of students' relationships with their peers. This is important because children who believe that peers view them favourably generally have higher levels of academic achievement and self-esteem, fewer behavioural problems and are happier at school (McDevitt & Ormrod, 2010).
Teachers can have a positive effect on students' peer relationships by:
They do this by:
- developing warm, respectful and caring relationships with them;
- making an effort to get to know each student as an individual;
- valuing and respecting students' different cultural and social backgrounds;
- providing learning tasks that students see as interesting, achievable and relevant to them;
- having high expectations for all students;
- understanding how children develop cognitively and emotionally, in particular their need for relatedness in the classroom;
- providing extrinsic rewards when required to motivate students so that they can experience success;
Teachers also influence the development of students' relationships with their peers. This is important because children who believe that peers view them favourably generally have higher levels of academic achievement and self-esteem, fewer behavioural problems and are happier at school (McDevitt & Ormrod, 2010).
Teachers can have a positive effect on students' peer relationships by:
- incorporating an understanding of the different stages of children's emotional, cognitive, physical and social development in their interactions with students;
- modelling positive, respectful ways of speaking and relating to other people;
- thoughtfully grouping students for learning tasks;
- being sensitive to behaviours which may hinder a student's ability to interact socially with peers and providing support to help the student overcome the problem;