Strategies to Build Culture Essays - Educational Psychology

Strategies to Build Culture Building relationships in the classroom is an essential part of any instructor's career. Having healthy teacher to student and student to student relationships is an effective way to help prevent academic failure, social conflict and quarrelsome behavior. For students to learn in an effective manner they need to feel comfortable, loved and accepted in their learning environment. Davidson and Lang (1960) reported that ?students who felt liked by their teachers had higher academic achievement and more productive classroom behavior than did students who felt their teachers held them in lower regard? (p.30). Students prefer teachers who are warm and friendly. More important, positive teacher-student relationships, in which teachers uses strategies that are associated with more positive student responses to school and with increased academic achievement. Truax and Tatum (1966) found that ?children adjusted more positively to school, teachers, and peers when teachers displayed empathy and positive regard for children? (p.457). Teachers must build strong and successful teacher student relationships based on their student?s personalities and instructional strategies. Incorporating a positive environment, encouraging students, and having an open, honest communication line and teacher student interaction, showing mutual respect between teacher and students is so vital on so many levels. Showing interest and caring for students will create a trusting and genuine bond with them and in most cases they will reciprocate, establishing a win-win situation for both student and teacher. Strategies Get to know your students. Each of your students has separate personalities, which is why it is important for you to know them as individuals. A unique way to know more about your students is to have them keep a personal journal that is meant for only you to read, unless otherwise instructed. Also, have several minutes set aside once a week at the beginning of class to allow your students to read a journal entry aloud if they are willing to volunteer. The journals will give you a good sense of each of your student's personalities, and if journal entries are read aloud it will also give other students in the classroom a chance to better understand one another. Show appropriate manners, and expect to receive the same. When students and teachers feel that they are respected and not treated unfairly, the relationships in the classroom will grow at a positive rate. Simple courtesy such as saying "thank you," "please" and "you're welcome" will show each of your students that you respect and appreciate them, and it will encourage them to treat you with the same courtesy. Activities Create group activities. Students love to have fun in the classroom regardless of age. Having group activities in the classroom every other week, give or take is very beneficial to students. Not only do they give you a chance to connect with your students, they also help build student-to-student relationships. For instance, play the ?Name Chain? so the students can learn each other?s names, and begin getting acquainted. Create a ?Student Directory? in which all students along with their skills and interests are listed. The directory point students in the right direction when they need special assistance on a topic, and instruct students to rely on each other. Have students create ?Wanted Posters? in which they describe what makes himself or herself a good friend. The posters will be hung in the hallway or around the room. Finally, involve the student?s parents. If the students are not of adult age, their parents should be involved in their education. Reminding the parents of upcoming events, tests and assignments that are due is an effective way for your students to succeed. Also, if there is a concern or any good news, it is important to pass this information on to the parents in order for them to issue praise or properly resolve the concern. This strategy will help you build relationships with the student?s parents as well as the students. References Davidson, H., & Lang, G. (1960). Children Perception of Their Teacher's Feelings Towards Them. Journal of Experimental Education, 18-50. Tatum, C. R., & Truax, C. B. (1966). An extension from the effective pyschotherapeutic modle to constructive personality change in preschool children. Childhood Education , 42, 456-462.