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Written by Cory Behroozi | cory.behroozi@uamaker.nyc
Problem
Some students exhibit severe disengagement and rarely participate in classroom activities. In many cases, these are students that I don’t know as well as some of the more active learners. How can I develop individual, personal relationships with students to help them feel more at home in the classroom and become more engaged with learning?
Hypothesis
If… I apply promotion strategies geared toward developing personal relationships with students,
Then… students who routinely display complete disengagement from the classroom will feel more comfortable and welcome in the classroom, and engage more consistently with classwork as a result.
To measure this, I will… observe and record the frequency of target behaviors that reflect disengagement (and conversely those that demonstrate engagement).
Target group
I chose five students across five of my seven class sections who had been concerningly disengaged from classroom activities for most of the school year. These students regularly displayed behaviors like keeping their head down, sleeping in class, leaving the classroom for very long stretches of time, constant phone use, and excessive talking, joking around, or play-fighting with friends. The target behaviors differed from one student to another.
AW - Foundations Section 3
SB - Living Environment
YV - Foundation Section 4
AH - Foundations Section 5
JA - Foundations Section 2
Planning & resources
I used several articles and resources provided by Richard Cardillo from the organizations with which he works as a teaching coach/trainer, including Ramapo for Children, National School Climate Center, and Youth Development Institute. Several of those are included below. I also drew on advice and inspiration from my co-teachers - both explicit and learned through observation - especially Nicole Cojuangco.
Of the large volume of materials Richard made available to us, I chose these because of their focus on more tangible and practical strategies for intentionally and actively developing individual relationships with students. The strategies I chose to actively employ were as follows:
Tier 1 Promotion Strategies
Knowing students and making them feel known through personal check-ins
Building rapport
Exploring and validating feelings
Notice, acknowledge, and celebrate what’s going well
Promotion strategies and specific actions:
At least one 1:1 personal check-in with each target student per class period
Intervention PTC with parents of CV and JA
Encouraged parents to help students push themselves through the end of the year, acknowledging and reiterating strengths and capabilities
Conversations geared toward validation and developing trust (including life outside of school, interests, and affirmation of skills and strengths)
Specific attention to affirmation, positive reinforcement, validation of feelings
Outside of classroom, intentional about positive, friendly, and informal interactions (fist bumps/ “dapping up,” brief check-in questions, jokes)
Data collection
Data collection
Baseline data
I observed and recorded the frequency of certain behaviors (including both “problem” or target behaviors specific to each student and other behaviors that reflect classroom engagement) among each of the target students over a period of 4-5 weeks. The reliability of this data would have benefitted from recording a longer baseline sample before actively implementing promotion strategies, but in most cases the first 2-3 recorded class sessions are more or less reflective of the trends previously observed. To a certain extent, my anecdotal impressions of these students’ behavioral trends served as a baseline as well.
Measuring success
I hoped to see a decrease in the frequency of problem/target behaviors and an increase in classroom engagement and active participation in learning. Across all five students, this trend was empirically seen. There was variation among students: behavioral shifts occurred at different rates and maintained differing levels of stability. Yet in every case, a measurable increase in classroom engagement occurred alongside noticeable growth in my relationship with each student.
Of course, it’s impossible to say that these outcomes were the direct result of the relationship building strategies I employed. This was far from a controlled scientific study and there were undoubtedly a multitude of additional factors at play, but the connections that I’ve begun to build with some of these students as a result of this concerted effort are a success in and of themselves.
Arguably the clearest success came in a form I had not planned to measure: two of the students began coming for extra help sessions at lunch toward the end of the year, even requesting these sessions unprompted. This, along with conversations I had with these students, makes me think that they began to see me as an advocate - someone who believes and is invested in their success.
Overall findings & impact
As a first year teacher, I decided to use this Inquiry cycle as an opportunity to work on strengthening the foundations of my teaching practice, rather than experimenting with a new strategy. My inquiry project was intended to bring intentionality and tangible methodology to one of the fundamental aspects of teaching: relationship building. In this sense, the project was certainly a success. I unequivocally found that making a concerted effort to connect with my students improved my effectiveness (and confidence) as a teacher.
The quantitative data I collected suggest that this effort may have had an immediately positive impact on students’ classroom engagement and therefore their opportunities for learning. Anecdotally, I can report that the target students have generally shown increased positivity, apparent comfort level, and willingness to be vulnerable (e.g. by trying and failing, asking questions, etc.). The data, though limited in both scope (time) and depth (quantitative measurement relies on relatively superficial metrics, when it is a generally more qualitative phenomenon that I’m trying to measure), support this impression.
I’ve found that as I have developed more positive informal relationships with students (especially outside of the classroom) this has carried over into more productive interactions inside the classroom (i.e. students are more receptive to redirection when necessary, and 1:1 work sessions are more productive). These relationships have also been a direct benefit to me, helping to build my confidence and enthusiasm as a teacher, which has begun to establish a virtuous cycle: gaining confidence has helped me continue to interact more comfortably and positively with students, further building our individual relationships, and facilitating engagement in the classroom.
This inquiry project allowed me to investigate the efficacy of specific strategies associated with relationship-building, but more importantly it served as an opportunity for me to become far more intentional in my informal interactions with students, and to weave this intentionality into my teaching practice. I will certainly continue to actively practice these strategies in the future, and will make an effort to do so from the start of the school year. Establishing communication with family members (particularly to share positive news and affirmation of the student’s skills and ability) proved to be especially impactful, and will be a priority going forward.
Actionable steps
If you want to use this strategy in your classroom, I recommend …
Be intentional about practicing these strategies from the start of the year.
Establish early on that you are interested and invested in students and their success.
Identify students who struggle to pay attention/ stay on-task.
Establish contact with parents early on (especially to share positive words and affirmation) - this builds familiarity and connection with the student, and is also a relationship that can be leveraged to help hold the student accountable.
These strategies take time and focused attention (the time and attention themselves are part of the strategy), so this concerted effort is best applied in co-taught classrooms with manageable class sizes.
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