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CBM2 – Creating Positive Classroom Relationships
Objective: Learners will mentally list adjectives describing the first impression they want to convey to their students.
In the module, This Is Us, you reflected on your past experiences with teachers. When you were asked to reflect on your ideal teacher and the qualities that set them apart, you may have mentioned that you knew they
cared—they cared about you as an individual and not just as a student.
Developing engaging lessons and having a functional classroom environment plays a significant role in becoming an effective teacher. However, it is your ability to cultivate positive classroom relationships that will increase student achievement, decrease discipline issues, and set you apart as a truly inspirational teacher.
But how do you do this?
Effective classroom management requires awareness, patience, good timing, boundaries, and instinct. There’s nothing easy about shepherding a large group of easily distractible young people with different skills and temperaments along a meaningful learning journey.
So how do master teachers do it?
Unsurprisingly, there is no silver bullet for classroom management success, but here are the most often cited approaches:
1. TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF TO TAKE CARE OF YOUR STUDENTS
As the airline safety videos say: “Put on your oxygen mask first.”
To learn effectively, your students need a healthy you. So get enough sleep, eat healthy food, and take steps to attend to your own well-being. Countless studies corroborate the idea that self-care reduces stress, which can deplete your energy and impair your judgment. While self-care is more of a habit or practice for your own well-being than an actual classroom management strategy, it offers several side benefits for the classroom. The benefits include improved executive function, greater empathy, and increased resilience—all qualities that will empower you to make better decisions when confronted with challenging classroom situations.
2. FOCUS ON BUILDING RELATIONSHIPS
Building healthy student-teacher relationships is essential to creating a thriving classroom culture, and even sets the stage for academic success.
“Rapport is huge!” Always make the time to talk to students as a whole class or one on one. Simple efforts like greeting kids outside the classroom before the start of the day pay outsized dividends.
Many educators note that a teacher’s ability to balance warmth and maintain strong boundaries is key to successful relationships—and classroom management. Be consistent but flexible. Love them unconditionally, but hold them accountable. Give them a voice but be the leader.
3. SET RULES, BOUNDARIES, AND EXPECTATIONS (AND DO IT EARLY)
Students don’t thrive amid chaos. They need some basic structure—and consistency—to feel safe and to focus.
But maintaining a culture of mutual respect doesn’t mean your goal is to “make pals.” You can’t be their friend. You can be kind, loving, and supportive, but you still have to be their teacher. Establish the code of conduct at the beginning of the year, and be sure that everyone—including the teacher—makes an effort to stay true to it. Predictability counts: Follow through with rewards and consequences. If you say it, mean it. And if you mean it, say it. Be clear, be proactive, and be consistent.
Modeling appropriate classroom behavior sets the tone for children: You make the weather, your attitude as the teacher really determines your classroom atmosphere. If you want calm and productive, project that to your kids.
Consistently enforcing rules is critical. It’s also essential to pick your battles too—especially if those confrontations are going to be public: Instead, say, “You and I will talk about this later.” That way, you can still address the issue while saving face. It completely changes the vibe in a classroom.
4. TAKE A STRENGTH-BASED APPROACH
When you connect with them, it makes everything smoother.
That’s not easy, of course. A strength-based lens means never forgetting to look beneath the surface of behavior, even when it’s inconvenient. Find the root of the problem. And don’t forget to continue to work to deepen the connection, being mindful of the context, and using language thoughtfully. Don’t sound surprised when remarking on struggling students’ successes. Instead of saying, “Wow! That was amazing,” it’s better to say, “I’m proud of you, but not surprised. I always knew you could do it.”
Finally, cultural differences can also play an unconscious role in our expectations of student success, so it’s important to reflect on any stereotypes that come up for you. Don’t look at a single one of your kids as if they are deficit and in need of ‘guidance’ to become better. Cultural difference does not equal cultural deficiency.
5. INVOLVE PARENTS AND GUARDIANS
Never forget that every student is someone’s child. Parents/guardians/caregivers want to hear that you see the good in their child. A positive home connection can often help in the classroom. The popular apps
Remind and
ClassDojo can be quick reinforcement tools.
Be sure to send home reports of both positive and negative behaviors—it’s critical to do the former, too. You can also use email and text to communicate about upcoming events, due dates, and student progress. Catch them doing good and call their parents to let them know you noticed.
Teachworthy Training support this process with a free 2-day CKH training for all candidates
You will attend a
2-day Capturing Kids Hearts training as part of your Teachworthy program. This transformational experience will provide you with the tools and skills to build healthy relationships, not only at school but in all areas of your life – personal as well as professional. Prior to that training, let us introduce a few fundamental concepts to help build and sustain healthy relationships.
First, you will want to create a safe, unified culture with high standards for behavior, and then teach your students the tools to develop and maintain this kind of culture. You will have to be intentional about this process because it will not occur on its own.
One of the things you want to be intentional about is making sure that every student feels welcomed, valued and part of a team immediately and subsequently — EVERY time they enter your room.
Educators know how important an appropriate physical connection is to human growth and development. Regardless of their age, 8 or 18, we know that all kids need appropriate touch every day, whether it be a high five, pat on the back, or a handshake.
Our way to ensure that appropriate physical touch occurs and to make sure our students feel welcome is to stand at the door at the beginning of the day in elementary and before each class period in secondary schools. Greet your students with eye contact, a smile, a firm handshake, and a warm greeting. It is also important to remember that your non-verbal cues will send as loud a message as the actual words you convey.
For example: If you cross your arms and make a mean face while greeting students, what is your body language saying?
What does it say to a kid when you stop for three seconds, look them straight in the eye and say, “Hi, I’m glad you’re here?”
Your body language and tone of voice, in addition to your actual words, need to communicate that you are a warm, welcoming person and you are so glad they are here. Will your students know if you are genuine? Absolutely!! [Note: If a handshake is not appropriate due to health concerns, body language, tone of voice, and eye contact become even more important].
In your first encounter with students, you give them a first impression and set the tone for the rest of the year. It takes about 30 seconds to form a first impression and 20 additional positive encounters with that person to correct a bad first impression. So, what do you want your first 30 seconds to convey?
Go to your text, The First Year Teacher’s Survival Guide > Review pp. 135-136 about welcoming your students.
Reflection Assignment:
Mentally list adjectives describing the first impression you want to convey to your students. This is a reflection assignment.
