Marzano et al.(2003) state that teacher-student relationships are the third aspect of effective classroom management after rules and procedures and disciplinary interventions. Having these deep caring relationships with our students are the keystone factors for effective teaching, learning, and classroom management. Students will be more motivated at times to do their work because they have meaningful relationships with their teachers and their teachers want their students to be successful. “Without the foundation of a good relationship, students commonly resist rules and procedures along with the consequent disciplinary actions (Marzano et al., 2003, pg. 41).” Based on my research from Marzano et al. and Milner and Collegaues, I plan to create these caring and meaningful relationships with my future students starting on the first day of school/semeter and to continue to build these relationships throughout the school year/semester. To do this, I plan to have activities that my students will be able to express themselves with their interest and goals.
Artifact One: Question of the Day
Question of the Day is the first relationship activity I want to do in my classroom. With this activity, I will ask my students a question for the day, which they will answer if they’re going to. The Question of the Day allows my students to share their goals and interests, which will help me foster a relationship with them. Having assignments that allow my students to express themselves through their experiences, interests, and goals will allow me to “adopt persistent pratices to cultivate relationships with their students” (Milner & Colleagues, 2017, pg. 112).
This activity will happen within the first ten minutes of class and count towards attendance because everyone will answer the question. If they want to answer the question. My students do not have to answer the question. They can answer with a, “No thank you. I will be skipping the question.” This is incase students who are introverted do not have to share if they do not want to. My Question of the Day activity can be any questions from “What is your favorite movie and why?” to “What is your favorite color and why?”. I plan to tie my curriculum into this activity as well by having my students say what they enjoyed about the past unit or upcoming unit and why. I also plan to allow my students to come up with their own questions to help form a student-centered classroom community. “Classroom enviroments with a student-centered approah are designed around and with the students”(Milner & Colleagues, 2017, pg. 98).
Artifact Two: Investigate the Teacher
Milner and Colleagues state that teachers should build relationships with their students beginning the first day of school and be persistent with these practices throughout the school year (pg. 112). The second relationship building activity I want to do in my classroom is Investigating the Teacher. I plan on doing this activity on the first day of school or the first day of the semester. I believe that this activity will help my students with first-day-of-school nerves and first impressions. With this activity, my students will investigate myself and my teaching style. I will have pictures representing myself and my teaching style on the board or my students can move throughout the classroom. Allowing my students to move throughout the classroom let them explore because they will be curious and lets them get to know the lay of the land.
My students will have to work together to investigate their teacher. The assignment allows my students to learn about my experience within the classroom and, to some extent, my own life (Milner and colleagues, 2017, pg. 114). Allowing my students to know some extend of my own life allows them to see myself as a person which will make them know that I care for them as a person and not just a student.
Artifact Three: Greeting Students at the door
The last relationship-building activity I will incorporate in my classroom is greeting students at the door. And the relationship building activity can be done throughout the whole school year. I plan to stan outside of my doorway to see how my students are doing. Not only does this allow my students to speak to me if they need to, but it also allows me to see if my student is “off” that day, and I can check in as soon as possible with that student. Daily persistent practice will make my students feel more acknowledged as an integral part of the classroom community (Minler & Colleagues (2017), pg. 113). By engaging with my students daily, I can create a meaningful connection that supports developing and maintaining caring relationships, as stated by Miller and Colleagues (pg. 113). I will be able to engage with my students everyday by standing in the doorway of my classroom and saying a greeting to them and welcoming them into the classroom or asking them a question about their school activity if they are apart of one.