Spence Rogers and Lisa Renard from Educational Leadership, Sept, 2000

Students engage in learning when it is meaningful—but meaningful means when the activity satisfies a deep-rooted human emotional need (Glasser 1998).

So how do we fulfill the students’ fundamental emotional need?

First the brain does not naturally separate emotions from cognition, either automatically or perceptually. When we as teachers are attending to the emotional needs of the students we are attending to their learning as well.

If learning meets their emotional needs students are more likely to engage in learning.

Teach using your own common sense about human connection:

•  treat students with respect

• care about them personally and educationally

• offer meaningful learning

• give them some choice in the learning process

• demonstrate the use , application and value of the learning

• make it fun

• talk with them one to one when ever possible.

Don’t act like a judge, jury, dictator, and enemy or display any other behavior that puts up walls between you and the students.

Principles of Relationship-Driven Teaching

1. Seek first to understand your students
   a.  what do they find motivating
   b.  what do they believe in

2. Manage the learning context, NOT the learners—establish conditions that are likely to foster intrinsic commitments to quality rather than seeking to control students—Students will seek to do what needs to be done

Standards to Meet

1. A safe classroom—safe from embarrassment and physical threat—if students see you as removing threats they will feel safe—only if they are safe will they take learning risks—teachers do not penalize themselves when they try new strategies or ideas—we just re-teach, try again until we have met out teaching goal—Students need to have dress rehearsal time as well.

2. The work students do must be of value to them
   a.  ask students to find ways the information can be used outside of the classroom—real world application
   b.  embed the content in activities that students find interesting—like field trips, hands on, simulations, role plays
   c.  Brainstorm with the students ways the learning could be more pleasant or unique
   d.  Find an audience for the students efforts—present to other classes,  people in industry, other faculty

3. Evidence of success
   a.  Have students chart their progress
   b.  Clear, meaningful feedback that requires the students do something with the feedback

4. Involvement in Learning
   a.  Give students ways they can become involved in the learning process
   b.  Give the students choice in how they can show what they know

5. Have a Caring Classroom
   a.  Smile
   b.  Use inviting language—I would like us all to…
   c.  Build community—we all do better when we help each other

6. Use Best practices
   a.         Learn how to be a better teacher—talk with colleagues—read the literature—use the teaching strategies that you have had success with—make learning active, authentic, challenging, and meaningful

7. Never attribute to malice what you can attribute to  ignorance (Vincent Ruggerio)

Faculty wanting further information about any of these topics are encouraged to contact Terry Doyle at doylet@ferris.edu



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