I have built effective relationships in various classes while teaching during my personal practicum experience. One specific example was taking part in a learning activity in the Te Re Maori Department. This game was called Whiua, where everyone stands in a circle. There are various actions and voice commands that students have to use in order to pass on the challenge to another person. It is a fun interacting game with plenty of laughter enjoyment. The same students that I have seen in other classes that present themselves as staunch individuals who don’t talk much, or act in a positive way, I have seen them open up and interact positively with everyone, positive connections are being made between each student and the teacher, me and my assistant teacher took part in this activity and shared the positive experience with these students. Studies have proven that when teachers have a positive relationship with students, there learning can increase. Student relationships should be in high priority for teachers (Ministry of Education).
This learning activity also improves the relationship of student to student. My assistant teacher explained to me that she had used this learning activity to help build up a positive relationship with her students, she explained that it is always a good one to begin with but these learning activities are apart of a wider plan implemented to help create positive relationships in the classroom environment. My assistant teacher explained, the first four weeks of the year are the most important for building a positive relationship. Here a teacher creates this initial relationship, she explained to me that while I am on practical experience training, it will be very different for me, as I do not have a relationship built, she had a relationship built from the beginning of the year, a positive relationship was slowly created, to what it is now.
She told me that I should use this leaning activity and not worry so much about teaching a unit plans so quickly but spend more time to get to know students as individuals, talking to them and letting them open up and participate in certain activities with me. It takes time to build an inclusive community in your classroom and teachers should work towards this over a whole year (Shevin, 2008). Moving forward in my teaching practice I will incorporate these aspects as they confirm what my assistant teacher has said about building effective relationships and how it will take time to do so. Active social skills towards making positive connections should be implemented. A teacher should show their own ability to learn at the same time where they struggle themselves in the learning, educating students that it is accepted in this environment. Provide opportunities for students to work together in the classroom (Shevin, 2008). These aspects can all be identified in the learning activity that I was taking part in, I believe it was be a vital teaching method which I will use regularly in my teaching practice.
References
Mara Sapon-Shevin, 2008 Capelila University Education Learning In An Inclusive Community, Shaping Leaders P-12
Ministry of Education, 2017, Putting student relationships first https://nzcurriculum.tki.org.nz/Curriculum-resources/NZC-Online-blog/Putting-student-relationships-first
Teacher’s Toolbox 