The Trust Generators outlined by Hammond (2015, p. 79) sparked my thinking regarding how I build rapport and relationships with my students. The five Trust Generators are: Selective Vulnerability, Familiarity, Similarity of Interests, Concern, and Competence. I have used each in varying amounts to reach students and aid in the learning of science.
As few as five years ago, I made it a point not to show any weakness or vulnerability in class. I believed that showing that vulnerability would somehow indicate I did not know what I was doing and that I was an imposter. This thought process changed as I reached out to other teachers, collaborated with those teachers, and continued to read up on what makes “good teaching.” Ramsey Musallam in the book Spark Learning: 3 Keys to Embracing the Power of Student Curiosity discusses how he felt he was an imposter in his own classroom. Part of recognizing my own faults and living with them was opening up to students about them. I now freely take responsibility if I do something wrong and often use it as a teaching moment. If a lesson does not turn out the way I expect we reflect on it together. I’ll ask questions such as, “Should I try this experiment with next year’s class?” and “When we do this lesson next year, what should I change?”. Students are empowered by this and I get good feedback to improve my teaching.
Familiarity is easy in the small city school district I work in. We know each other. I know the families after having worked in the same district of 17 years. Any walk down the hall, any time of day, is met with friendly greetings. Students regularly see me at games and events as well. These interactions are important in that we can see each other as people; not just student and teacher. We can develop common bonds because we both have families and similar interests. I see a different side of students as their coach and club adviser as well. We can relate on another level that is similar but yet very different than that of teacher-student.
I always ask students about the games they play with their friends and family. Probably 90% of students play mobile games, video games, or table top games that I can talk with them about. This year I had one African American girl that did not seem to like to do anything till I had her stay after for Gaming Club and play Mario Kart. She stayed after to play several other times and I could tell it was a safe and relaxing place for her to be. Many students that struggle academically are also gamers and love talking about the games they play. Other pop culture is also a great way to relate to students. I have conversations about Anime, music, and TV shows with students. I ask for recommendations and ask them questions about their interests. I will even throw in a reference to their interests on tests or in lessons.
Remembering details about a student is a challenge for me. In the past few years I have begun to journal certain things students tell me about their interests and family so I can follow up later. This journaling can be important for other reasons (such as tracking parent contact) but is a great reference for me for rapport. Teachers can see well over 100 students in one day and hear a multitude of stories and concerns from students during that day. I have tried, especially with struggling students, to pay extra attention to their needs and concerns. Knowing what NOT to talk about is equally important. Some students have strained relationships with family members, for instance.
I believe that students come to class at the beginning of the year hoping for a teaching that is caring and knowledgeable. They want the teacher to bring passion into the classroom and get them excited about the content. Students respond well when that learning is related to their lives and interests. As a teacher you need to know your content and be able to break it down into understandable bits.
The first week of school is all about relationship building and class culture. The first day of school students arrive into class and see a piece of wax paper and container of Play-Doh at each desk. Their task: build something that represents their summer and then write about it in their journal. I purposefully spend very little time on direct instruction. The activity gives me time to circulate through the room and talk to every student about what they are building. The next day we focus on journaling and what that protocol looks like. For each student I try to link our interests somehow and find something I can ask them about again later. Students are sitting in cooperative groups. I note who they are sitting with and listen to conversations.
One of the next activities is the Fortnite Marshmallow Challenge. This is a fun gamified approach to the classic team building Marshmallow Challenge. Students can earn points as their group learns about the classroom (how to make Flipgrid, how to access Classroom). They then spend their points on power-ups for use during the design challenge. This gives me the opportunity to see group dynamics and again move about the classroom. The Fortnite theme immediately grabs student interest. By the end of the first full week of school I have spoken to every student several times, established a culture of teamwork and fun, and laid out expectations regarding group work and learning. There is at least one student by the end of the first week that realizes that nothing has been “graded” and that they have not learned any “science”. This opens the door for me to talk about the importance of teamwork in science and how learning isn’t about grades.
References
Hammond, Z., & Jackson, Y. (2015). Culturally responsive teaching and the brain: Promoting authentic engagement and rigor among culturally and linguistically diverse students. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin, a SAGE Company.
Musallam, R. (2017). Spark Learning. Dave Burgess Consulting.
No comments:
Post a Comment