"Developing Positive Relationship with Learners is the Key for Excellence !!!".

What is teacher and student relationship?

A teacher and student who have the qualities of good communications, respect in a classroom, and show interest in teaching from the point of view of the teacher and learning from a student will establish a positive relationship in the classroom. Pick some strategies to promote your positive relationships with your students. Set some goals to build your relationships with the parents of students in your classroom. Look for opportunities to promote your students' sense of responsibility in the classroom.

Why is a good learning environment important?

Teachers can impact the learning environment in many ways, including the physical, psychological and instructional setting. Students are greatly impacted by the learning environment, and teachers play an important role in controlling the setting. Rapport is the ability to relate to others in a way that creates a level of trust and understanding. ... It is important to build rapport with your client/colleague as it gets there unconscious mind to accept and begin to process your suggestions. They are made to feel comfortable and relaxed-open to suggestions.

We all want to feel cared for and valued by the significant people in our world. Students are no different. This knowledge is a powerful tool in the arsenal available to you as you form your classroom discipline plan. As a classroom teacher, you wield a great deal of power over your students simply due to the fact that you control their destiny for up to six and a half hours each day, five days a week. When students feel that you value and care for them as individuals, they are more willing to comply with your wishes.

Think about it for just a minute. Aren't you more apt to go out of your way to please a boss who you feel values you as an individual and treats you with dignity and respect, rather than a boss who communicates a lack of respect for you? When your boss asks about your family, gives you “slack” when there is a personal emergency, or praises you for work well done, don't you develop feelings of regard for this boss and want to do your best to please him or her? Students have the same feelings. So it makes sense that developing positive teacher-student relations is one of the most effective steps you can take to establish a positive discipline climate in the classroom. It's critical to remember that when you treat students with respect, they tend to appreciate and like you. When they appreciate and like you, they are more willing to want to please you—which causes them to be more likely to behave appropriately. This is why it is so important to remember that, when it comes to student behavior, it's far more often the relationship students have with you than it is the rules themselves that encourages students to follow those rules.

A review of the research shows that authors have a lot to say about positive relationships with students. Thompson (1998) says, “The most powerful weapon available to secondary teachers who want to foster a favorable learning climate is a positive relationship with our students” (p. 6). Canter and Canter (1997) make the statement that we all can recall classes in which we did not try very hard because we didn't like our teachers. This should remind us how important it is to have strong, positive relationships with our students. Kohn (1996) goes a step further, saying, “Children are more likely to be respectful when important adults in their lives respect them. They are more likely to care about others if they know they are cared about” (p. 111). Marzano (2003) states that students will resist rules and procedures along with the consequent disciplinary actions if the foundation of a good relationship is lacking. He goes on to assert that relationships are perhaps more important at the elementary and junior high levels than at the high school level. And according to Zehm and Kottler (1993), students will never trust us or open themselves up to hear what we have to say unless they sense that we value and respect them.

strategies to develop positive teacher-student relations should be the largest portion of your discipline plan. What are some strategies that you can implement to develop strong and powerful relationships with your students? Let's look at some techniques that are easy to integrate into your everyday interactions with students: communicating positive expectations, correcting students in a constructive way, developing positive classroom pride, demonstrating caring, and preventing and reducing your own frustration and stress.

Communicating Positive Expectations

Research on teacher expectations and student achievement has shown that expectations have a dramatic impact on student academic performance (Kerman, Kimball, & Martin, 1980). Student behavioral performance is also dependent to a large degree on the expectations of significant adults in students' lives. Numerous studies indicate that the expectations teachers have for students tend to become self-fulfilling prophesies. It is therefore critically important for educators to monitor their interactions with the goal of communicating appropriately high behavioral and academic expectations to all students, not just to high achievers.

There are several techniques that can be used to achieve this goal. Monitor the way you call on students. Make sure that you give all students chances to participate in class. Try to increase the amount of time you wait between asking a student a question and moving on by either answering the question yourself or calling on another student. Give students hints and clues to help them succeed in class. Tell students directly that you believe that they have the ability to do well. Your belief in them will inspire their success.

Let's look at some of these techniques for communicating high expectations in more detail and discuss ways to implement these techniques in your classroom.

Call on All Students Equitably

When you call on students, there are several things to keep in mind. First of all, you must monitor the equitability of response opportunities. Often, teachers who keep track discover that they call on a small number of students frequently and allow few, if any, chances for students for whom they have low expectations to answer. When you fail to recognize particular students, you can communicate a low level of confidence in their abilities. Individual students may “tune out” and believe that you don't expect they will be able to answer your questions. This message is compounded when these students see others being called on regularly.

Think about what it would communicate to you if your boss always asked other teachers to participate in committee work or special projects instead of you. And how would you feel if the boss continually came to you for help on curriculum projects or input on difficult students? Just as we do, students develop feelings of self-confidence in their abilities when their teacher goes to them for the right answer. In addition, calling on all the students in your class—rather than a select few—will help keep students on task and decrease the number of behavior problems.

It is important that you monitor yourself to be certain that you are providing all of your students with response opportunities. Putting a check by the name of each student you call on during class discussions is an excellent way to quickly determine whether you are being equitable. Also, you should monitor yourself to make certain you are not calling exclusively on your high-achieving students but also on students who have a pattern of not performing well.

Keeping a simple checklist on a clipboard during classroom discussions is a great strategy you can easily implement. Figure 1.1 is an example of such a checklist. In this example, you can see that Donna and Sam are getting the majority of the response opportunities. This could be because the teacher has confidence in these students, knows that calling on them will keep the discussion moving, and wants the other students to hear the correct answers. However, it also could lead the other students to think that the teacher doesn't have confidence in them and doesn't expect them to participate, and it increases the likelihood that they will get off task. If you were the teacher, you would want to be sure that before the end of the discussion you called on all your students so as to make the discussion more equitable.

Try to make an effort to call on students who have typically been off task or who have been achieving at a low level, allowing them to respond and participate in class, and watch what happens. Over time, you will notice that these students will remain on task more often and improve academically! This change does not occur immediately, but it definitely does occur and is extremely gratifying to see.

Increase Latency Periods When Questioning Students

Increasing latency (Kerman et al., 1980) is another technique you can use to communicate that you have positive expectations for a student. Latency is the amount of time that elapses between the moment you give a student a response opportunity and the moment you terminate the response opportunity. Kerman and colleagues (1980) explain that the amount of time we give to students to answer questions is directly related to the level of expectation we have for them. We give more time to students when we have confidence in their ability to answer a question. Conversely, we give less time to students in whom we have little confidence. When you quickly give up on a student who is struggling with a response, it is clear to everyone in the classroom that you don't expect him or her to come up with the right answer. In addition, when you give up on a student who initially struggles with a response, the student realizes that all he or she needs to do to “get off the hook” is respond to your question with a confused expression or blank stare. What you will find when you make a conscious effort to extend the length of latency you allow for low-achieving students is that these students will begin to pay more attention, become more actively involved in discussions, and minimize their behavior issues. One thing you can do is ask a teaching peer to observe your instruction and chart the length of the latency periods you are giving each student from the time you ask the question until you move on to another student. It is especially interesting to find out which students get longer latency periods from you.

Give Hints and Clues to Help Students Answer Questions

You also communicate positive expectations by giving hints and clues to your students. In their work on teacher expectations, Kerman and colleagues (1980) point out that teachers usually do more “delving and rephrasing” for students for whom they have high expectations and less for students for whom they have low expectations. It is important that we communicate to all our students that we have high expectations for their success, and one way to do this is by giving more hints and clues to all students, especially the low-performing students.

Think about a reading lesson in which a student struggles to sound out a word. After waiting for an appropriate latency period, the teacher might prompt, “It sounds like ‘cat.’” In a secondary classroom, a teacher could ask, “What were the three causes of the War of 1812?” After the latency period, the teacher might say, “Think about what we learned regarding the British treatment of U.S. sailors.”

There are things to be cautious about when using this technique. If you provide too many hints and clues, you may actually give the student the answer. Also, after a number of hints, it may be that the only student who doesn't know the answer is the one being called on, which ends up being an embarrassing experience. The important point, however, is to use hints and clues with all students to communicate that you have high expectations for the entire class. This helps build positive teacher-student relations.

Tell Students They Have the Ability to Do Well

Another way to communicate positive expectations to students is by directly telling them they have the ability to do well. When you tell your students you have confidence that they can handle a difficult assignment or improve their behavior, you impart a very powerful message. Students often will work hard and behave appropriately to prove that your confidence in them is justified. Every child needs to have at least one significant adult in his or her life who believes that he or she can do well. Ideally, children would hear this from their parents, but the sad truth is that is not always the case. Teachers have the unique opportunity and privilege to communicate daily to a number of students that they believe in them. What a gift to be able to be that significant adult in even one student's life.

Using this strategy might lead a teacher to say this to a student: “Emma, I know you'll do your best on this math test. You've been working very hard on remembering to write down your thinking as you solve math problems, and I know you can transfer that skill to this test. I'll check back with you later.” This approach can be modified for any grade level or subject area. Once again, this is a positive relations strategy as well as an instructional strategy.

You can also let students know that you have positive expectations for them by referring to past successes (Kerman et al., 1980). When you tell a student that you know he will behave appropriately at recess because he was successful yesterday, you help build confidence in the student and increase his chance for success. And after a student demonstrates good behavior or academic achievement in a specific situation, telling her you knew she would be successful (Kerman et al., 1980) also instills confidence and a culture of positive expectations. Students need to know that their teachers respect them and have confidence in them. Using these different strategies to consistently communicate your positive expectations will work wonders. We challenge you to begin using one or two of these strategies today to build high expectations and positive teacher-student relations.

Correcting Students in a Constructive Way

Correcting and disciplining students for inappropriate behaviors is a necessary and important part of every teacher's job. However, it doesn't have to be a negative part of your job. In fact, you can actually build positive relationships when you correct students. If you don't believe this, think for just a minute about students you have had in the past who came back to school to visit you. Often it is the students who were the most challenging and with whom you had to spend the most time who continue to visit you over the years. This is due to the positive relationships you developed with them.

The goal in correcting students should be to have them reflect on what they did, be sorry that they disappointed you, and make a better choice in the future. It should not be that they go away thinking, “I hate my teacher. I'm going to be sure I don't get caught next time.” The difference in students' reactions to being disciplined is often related to the manner in which you correct them. If you allow students to keep their dignity, you increase the chance that they will reflect on their behavior and choose their behaviors more wisely in the future. The correction process will be counterproductive if students are corrected in a manner that communicates bitterness, sarcasm, low expectations, or disgust. The goal is to provide a quick, fair, and meaningful consequence while at the same time communicating that you care for and respect the student.

1. Review what happened
2. Identify and accept the student's feelings
3. Review alternative actions
4. Explain the building policy as it applies to the situation
5. Let the student know that all students are treated the same
6. Invoke an immediate and meaningful consequence
7. Let the student know you are disappointed that you have to invoke a consequence to his or her action
8. Communicate an expectation that the student will do better in the future

Imagine that Johnny hit Sam because Sam called his mother a name. This is how you could put these disciplinary steps in place:

1. Review what happened. Discuss the incident with Johnny. Begin with fact finding to be sure that you are appropriately correcting the student. The worst way to affect teacher-student relationships is to unfairly discipline a student.
2. Identify and accept the student's feelings. Tell Johnny that you understand why it upset him to hear somebody call his mother a name and that you, too, would be upset if someone maligned your mother. It's important to understand that this step communicates that you respect and understand his feelings but that you are not accepting his actions.
3. Review alternative actions. Go over with Johnny the different actions he could have taken, such as ignoring the remark or reporting it to a teacher.
4. Explain the building policy as it applies to the situation. Remind Johnny of the building policy of not fighting and that the rule is if anyone hits another student, he or she will be sent to the office and possibly be suspended from school.
5. Let the student know that all students are treated the same. Make sure that Johnny understands that all students must adhere to the policy and that any student who disregards the rule will suffer the consequences.
6. Invoke an immediate and meaningful consequence. Communicate with the office about what happened and send Johnny to the office.
7. Let the student know you are disappointed that you have to invoke a consequence to his or her action. Tell Johnny that you are disappointed that his actions have led to this situation.
8. Communicate an expectation that the student will do better in the future. Remind Johnny that, although you do not approve of his actions and do not like to send him or any student to the office, you like him and know that he will make a better choice next time. Also tell him that you are there to support him and work through these issues with him in the future.

In addition to your following these steps when correcting a student, it is important to keep some key philosophical precepts in mind. First of all, remember to correct the student in a private location. Although it is not always possible to remove a student from the classroom, do your best to prevent visual access by other students as you discipline. Public correction can foster feelings of anger, embarrassment, and bitterness; it can also become a sideshow for the other students. Also, when invoking a consequence, you should ask yourself, “How would I want my own children disciplined in a similar situation?” Answering this question will help you treat the student with care and respect. Finally, remember to stay calm and avoid frustration. The worst thing you can do is to invoke a consequence when you are angry or upset, as this can lead to regrettable actions on your part. If necessary, give yourself a “cooling-off period” before intervening with the student.

• Correct in a private location
• Treat students as you want your own children treated
• Stay calm
• Avoid frustration

It is also important to follow certain steps after disciplining a student.

1. Touch base with the student
2. Acknowledge postdisciplinary successes
3. Don't give up too quickly

Let's go back to the example of Johnny, in which he earned an office referral because he hit Sam. Here are some actions you could take:

1. Touch base with the student. Follow up with Johnny after the consequence, checking to see how he's doing and simply making contact with him.
2. Acknowledge postdisciplinary successes. The next time Johnny has difficulty with a student and handles the situation more appropriately, such as by verbalizing his displeasure rather than using his fists, be sure to acknowledge his behavior and praise him for making the right choice.
3. Don't give up too quickly. Finally, don't forget that some students respond negatively to positive attention. In such cases, it may appear that the student doesn't want the positive attention. What may actually be happening is a gradual change in the student's self-concept. When students are used to getting into trouble and having negative attention, it takes a while to break this cycle. Often it is just a matter of time before the student starts to show the positive effects of this attention, so don't give up!

Tip Box

Remember: Students will recall how you made them feel long after they have forgotten the consequence they earned as a result of their actions.

Developing Positive Classroom Pride

If applied effectively, pride can be an extremely powerful force in developing positive teacher-student relationships (Kerman et al., 1980). In many classrooms, students are proud of the fact that they are behaving and achieving at a high level. In other classrooms, a different type of pride develops when students see themselves as being the worst they can be. The pride students develop helps shape identities that in turn drive their behaviors. When you recognize student successes, there is a decreased likelihood of fostering negative pride and an increased likelihood of developing positive pride. As a classroom teacher, your goal should be to help students take pride in their accomplishments and positive behaviors rather than in their negative behaviors.

Display student work

Positively reinforce students verbally

Show off the class's achievements

Speak to the accomplishments of all your students

Be sincere in your pride in your students

Look for opportunities for students to be proud in all areas

Develop parental pride in student accomplishments

Develop pride in improvement in addition to pride in excellence

Displaying student work is a good way to let students know that you value the work they do and that you take pride in their work products. The displayed work does not have to be perfect and should show a significant cross section of the students you have in your class. Putting the work of students who have a history of low achievement up on a bulletin board often helps to build their self-esteem and pride and encourages them to do better work in the future. Exhibiting the work throughout the building in hallways, in the office, and in other public areas can do a great deal to develop positive levels of student pride. The impact becomes even more powerful when you let the class know that you want others to see the great work they are doing. An example of this would be to display all your students' science projects in the library and telling your class, “You all did a great job on your science projects, including stating your problem and hypothesis, clearly writing out the steps you took, and then drawing conclusions. I am so proud of all of you that I wanted the whole school to see your exemplary work. That's why I put all the projects on display in the library.”

Positively reinforce students verbally on a regular basis. Tell your students when you are pleased by their behavior. Let them know that you're not surprised when they grasp a difficult concept. This is a powerful way of developing positive pride.

Publicly asking other staff members to enter the classroom so that they can see a specific accomplishment of your class, such as the way they respond to your instructions, is an example of showing off the class's achievements. However, be careful to speak to the accomplishments of all the students when you use this strategy rather than to the accomplishments of just the top students, or the strategy could backfire on you.

There are numerous opportunities to develop pride in all areas, such as by publicly recognizing high test scores, acts of kindness, positive citizenship, and athletic accomplishments. You can also extend the pride taken in the class by developing parental pride in student accomplishments. Provide opportunities for parents to review student work in newsletters, during back-to-school events, and at parent conferences. Let parents know about high attendance rates, high test scores, and the percentage of homework or assignments completed. In this way, you are enlisting parents to be your partners in fostering this powerful positive relationship tool.

Remember that pride does not always have to involve only excellence. Pride in improvement is an important type of pride to nurture. Test scores and daily assignments that go from a D to a C and homework that starts coming in on time are examples of great opportunities for you to recognize student success and build pride.

These are just some of the ways you can work to develop student pride individually and collectively. This in turn will help you build positive relationships with your students. A key element of Kelley's success was that he was sincere in his proclamations of pride in his students. Children are intuitive regarding sincerity, and insincere comments will quickly backfire.

One caution for secondary teachers concerning pride involves a distinction between the manner in which you foster pride for different grade levels of students. What works for elementary and middle school students is not necessarily appropriate at the high school level. Sprick (1985) points out that it's more effective to use calm, quiet statements with secondary students than emotional praise, as they get embarrassed and don't like to be singled out from their peers. We believe you can and should instill positive pride with secondary students, but a more private method may be more effective.

Demonstrating Caring

Demonstrating caring is one of the most powerful ways to build positive relationships with your students (Kerman et al., 1980). When your actions and words communicate that you sincerely care for your students, they are more likely to want to perform well for you and enjoy coming to school. Caring also fosters a preventive approach to discipline, as students who feel cared for are more likely to want to please you by complying with your wishes and policies. It is a tragedy when a student mistakenly believes that his teacher does not care for or like him. In most cases, teachers do care but fail to do the things that directly communicate this valuable message.

Show an interest in your students' personal lives

Greet the students by the front door as they enter the classroom

Watch for and touch base with students who display strong emotion

Sincerely listen to students

Empathize with students

Inquiring about aspects of students' personal lives is a powerful way to communicate that the students are important and cared for. You can do this by asking about a recent trip, a hobby, or a sports activity. Some teachers make it a point to watch sporting events that their students are involved in, which is a wonderful way to show students you care about them beyond the classroom walls. The caution with this approach is to be as equitable as possible so that there is not a perception that you have “favorites.” A proactive way to do this is to have students write a journal at the beginning of the year in which they list what they did during their vacation, what pets they have, what sports they enjoy, and what hobbies they have. With this information, you can look for opportunities to ask questions or make comments to individual students using these facts. You might say to one student, “Susie, I read that you have a cocker spaniel. I have one, too. Does your dog know any tricks?”

Standing by the door and welcoming students as they enter the classroom is a quick and easy way to show students they are important and that you are glad to see them. This procedure also helps you start the day with personal contact with each and every student. This is a procedure Wong and Wong (1998) advocate as a way to begin the day and the school year on a positive note.

When you see students display strong emotions (e.g., when they are happy, excited, or angry), you have an opportunity to build positive relationships by asking how they are doing and what is going on with them. Statements such as, “Are you all right?” and “Can I help with anything?” let students know they are cared for, valued, and noticed.

Listening intently and sincerely to students is a powerful way to communicate how much you care. Maintaining eye contact and paraphrasing helps students realize that you have heard them.

In addition, when you empathize with students, they understand that they are recognized and valued. This does not mean that you have to agree with all their actions, but that you let them know that you recognize the emotions behind their actions. You can communicate empathy by telling students that even though it's wrong to hit someone, for instance, you understand the emotions behind an incident.

These are just a few ways that you can demonstrate to your students that you care about them. As indicated earlier, you must never forget the power of caring. The bottom line is that caring helps build strong positive relationships that in turn help prevent discipline problems in the future.

Preventing and Reducing Frustration and Stress

Frustration and stress, which are inevitable in the teaching profession, are the great enemies of our best intentions. Zehm and Kottler (1993) list some external causes of stress for teachers as difficult students, irate parents, and collegial backbiting. Frustration can have a devastating effect on teacher-student relationships, as it tends to cause educators to make irrational decisions. Usually you know when you are becoming frustrated and can quickly identify the signs and symptoms. As an educator, the question is not if you will become frustrated or stressed but when you will and howyou will deal with it.

Signs of frustration or stress can include nervousness, anxiety, shortness of breath, and a tendency to make irrational decisions. First, you should be able to recognize your own personal signs that frustration or stress is building so that you can de-escalate them. You should then have a plan that will help you prevent or reduce frustration when it occurs. Your frustration prevention or reduction techniques will be unique and personal to you; what works for one teacher might not necessarily be effective for you.

Play soft, relaxing music

Display posters of peaceful destinations

Modify your lesson plans

Take your students for a walk

Ask a neighboring teacher to take a difficult student for a period of time

Assign your students independent reading time

Clear off your desk

Find a validating colleague

Share staff duties

• Share frustration strategies

Playing soft, relaxing music

when feelings of frustration are approaching can have a beneficial effect for both you and your students. Some teachers proactively play soft music during independent study time.

Displaying posters

throughout the classroom of attractive destinations can help keep you calm. You might put up pictures of beautiful beaches, snowy mountains, green valleys, ski resorts, or tropical islands to give yourself—and your students—opportunities for mini mental vacations.

Most teachers have certain lessons they truly enjoy teaching. When feelings of frustration or stress are approaching, try modifying your lesson plans and teaching a lesson that not only meets the student learning goals but also brings you pleasure.

Sometimes just taking a short walk around the school can be relaxing and can head off feelings of stress or frustration. This can also help students relieve pent-up energy. For instance, there may even be a way to integrate the walk into your current curriculum by turning it into a nature walk or a service project (e.g., picking up litter).

Difficult students can be a major cause of frustration. Allow yourself to ask for help by asking a neighboring teacher to take a difficult student for a short time. This strategy is one that you should set up ahead of time, making certain that your colleague is agreeable to this arrangement. Offering to do the same for the other teacher is a good way to begin using this strategy.

Strategically assigning independent reading time to students is another way to calm the classroom down and provide you with a break when frustration raises its ugly head.

For some teachers, one source of stress or frustration is a messy desk, submerged in various unfinished tasks. If you are one of these teachers, an easy way to decrease frustration is to clear off your desk and take time to organize your work area.

Frustration and stress often disappear when a supervisor or peer lets you know they value and appreciate your work. Knowing which colleagues you should visit to help validate your work is another technique to use in lowering levels of frustration and stress. Sharing staff duties can help too, as frustration and stress often occur when a teacher feels overwhelmed and behind. You should let your colleagues know you are willing to cover some of their duties and also let them do the same for you. Also, sharing other ideas with teachers on frustration- and stress-reducing techniques is a way to increase your repertoire of strategies.

Zehm and Kottler (1993) mention additional stress- and frustration-reduction strategies, such as maintaining a healthy lifestyle with good sleeping patterns, free of alcohol and drugs. They also advocate continued training and professional growth tasks, such as varying teaching assignments, taking a sabbatical, having a faculty exchange, engaging in team teaching, supervising a student teacher, going back to school, conducting field trips, leading research projects, writing grants, and instigating technology projects. In addition, they suggest keeping a journal as a reflective strategy to help deal with stress and frustration.

Successful Classroom Management covers everything from preparing for the school year to dealing with bullying to forging relationships with administrators. Below is a list of my ten favorite insights from the book. I had the opportunity to speak with Richard Eyster recently and gain a deeper understanding of his perceptions and strategies.

Effective classroom management is based on a learnable set of skills.

New teachers, like Jennifer Longley, often buy into the myth that the ability to manage a classroom is an inherent trait. Eyster maintains that teachers can acquire the skills necessary to successfully manage a classroom.

Students are hardwired to test their teacher, but they want the teacher to pass the test, according Eyster. Successful Classroom Management offers methods for preemptively establishing order and expectations, addressing transgressions, enlisting parental support, and using the disciplinary hierarchy. Eyster’s focus on creating a positive tone and his multi-step approach to discipline are designed to avoid or resolve issues before a punishment—such as detention or suspension—is warranted.

“If the teacher has built a positive reputation for the child, and if the child senses the teacher believes in them, and then the teacher is disappointed in them, that can be jarring,” Eyster says.

Establish a positive relationship with the class.

Expect that some students will test you by misbehaving. When they do, Eyster recommends isolating the tester, not yourself. It’s important to stay united with the rest of the class.

“Often unconsciously teachers will say, ‘You kids are out of control today,’ when it may be a very small number of them are actually out of control, and a significant number of them want to get work done,” Eyster says.

“It’s so easy for beginning teachers to feel it’s us against them,” he says, noting that this attitude is the leading cause of dissatisfaction among new teachers.

Praise is a powerful tool.

Praise can be used to transform a student’s image, uplift the entire class, and reinforce the values you seek to promote in your classroom or school community.

When praising students, it’s important to be specific, Eyster says, and encourage behavior that’s repeatable. “If you praise a child for coming up with a great quote in an English paper, and you do it personally to them in writing at the bottom of the paper, or personally privately, or publicly in front of the class, that child is never going to turn in a paper again without being conscious of choosing a good quote,” Eyster says. “It creates a template for their own behavior moving forward.”

Welcome feedback from your students.

Eliciting feedback can entail asking a simple question such as, “So how was the homework last night?” Or it can involve handing out a survey posing questions such as, “What do I do well that works for you?” and “What do I need to know about your learning style to teach you more effectively?”

Requesting feedback from students can be “invaluable for professional development,” Eyster says. He suggests distributing individual, written surveys once or twice a year, and asking verbal questions about homework and tests to the entire class on a regular basis.

Create a safe learning environment.

Establish a classroom culture in which students are required to respect one another. In Successful Classroom Management, Eyster and Martin point out that a classroom is a tiny universe, adding “Show what kind of universe you would run, given the chance. Because you have been given the chance.”

Eyster says, “A respectful, safe environment is one in which kids are listening to each other and responding to each other.” He suggests posing open-ended questions that encourage a dialog among the students. Most important, teachers should never tolerate mocking, cruelty, impatience or disrespect directed at a classmate.

Variety is the key to engaging students.

In Successful Classroom Management, Eyster and Martin offer a comprehensive list of options teachers can incorporate into their lesson plans. Examples include lectures, small group projects, role-playing, journaling, fishbowl discussions, skits, partner discussions and debates.

“Variety adds pep and energy to a class. Beyond that, it also allows different children to shine,” Eyster says. Another plus: teachers who have been teaching the same subject or grade level for years can maintain their interest by varying their lesson plans and teaching tactics.

Establish the expectation that everyone must participate in class every day.

Eyster and Martin point out that speaking is a critical life skill, and it only improves with practice. Eyster recommends informing students early on that they will be expected to participate every day. Offering positive feedback about a student’s comment can encourage future participation, particularly among shy students.

“Praise that’s given to them when they do come forward with a thought can really make a transformative difference,” he says.

Assessments should look forward, not back.

The purpose of assessments should be to redirect a teacher’s energy toward the gaps in student learning that are revealed. But often teachers record a student’s grade and move on.

“Teachers have the possibility to change the way they record information in the grade book,” Eyster says. Grade book software is available that allows teachers to note specific observations about a student’s trouble spots, allowing them to address such issues going forward.

“The simplest thing to do is to require every kid on every test to correct every problem,” Eyster notes.

Parents have two main expectations of teachers:

• Are you a professional?
• Do you care about my child?

To convey professionalism, stay organized. “The disorganized teacher will say they’re going to send something home Thursday and forget, or they’ll leave off a page on the homework.”

Before interacting with parents, “Make sure you do your homework and know the child,” Eyster says. In addition, calling or writing a parent to give them positive feedback about their child demonstrates you care about their child and you’re a professional. “One of the most powerful things you can do is recognize the power of praise,” Eyster says.

Indicate to parents the potential for growth in their child.

When parents defend and excuse their child’s unacceptable behavior, express a positive view of the child. “You can change the tenor of the conversation with the parent,” Eyster says, offering the following example: “When I think of your son or daughter, I don’t think of a mean-spirited kid. I think of somebody who’s able to make people feel good about themselves.”

Get to know your students and the lives they live. This is especially important if your students are from a different cultural or socio-economic background than you. Numerous studies have shown that cultural misunderstanding between teachers and students can have a hugely negative impact on students’ educational experience. But research has also shown that teachers who visit students’ homes and spend time in their communities develop a deep awareness of students’ challenges and needs and are better able to help them. If your time is limited, then ask students to complete an “interest inventory,” which can be as simple as having students write down their five favorite things to do. Their responses will give you ideas for making the curriculum more relevant to their lives—a sure method for letting students know you care about them.

Actively listen to students. A teacher who actively listens to students is listening for the meaning behind what students are saying, then checks in with them to make sure they’ve understood properly. This affirms students’ dignity and helps develop a trusting relationship between teachers and students.

If the chaos of the classroom doesn’t allow you to give this kind of focused listening to a student who really needs it, then set a time to talk when there are fewer distractions.

Ask students for feedback. Choose any topic—it doesn’t have to be academic—and have students write down, in a couple of sentences, what confuses or concerns them most about the topic. By considering their feedback, you are showing students that you value their opinions and experiences. It also creates a classroom culture where students feel safe to ask questions and take chances, which will help them grow academically.

Reflect on your own experience with care.

Oftentimes, we unconsciously care for others the way we have been cared for—for better or worse. When one researcher interviewed four different teachers at the same school who all shared one particular student, she found that each teacher cared for the student in the way she had been cared for as a child. It didn’t even occur to the teachers to ask the parents—or the child himself—what the child’s needs might be. Instead, they made assumptions about the child’s background based on their own childhoods; as a result, the child received four different types of care—which may not necessarily have been appropriate to his/her needs.

Reflecting on how you were cared for or not cared for as a child will give you insight into the kind of care you might be extending to your students, and allow you to adjust your care to fit their needs.

As teachers, we often don’t realize how even the smallest caring gesture can have a huge impact on our students. As evidence, I’d like to share the story of Sam, a high school student from south central Los Angeles who had transferred high schools three times before being interviewed by researchers for a study.

After years of feeling uncared for in school, Sam was very surprised when he received a phone call at home from his current school’s office, wanting to know why he was absent that day. His other schools, he said, never called to check on him. A small act of caring—but here’s how Sam said it made him feel:

When they call my house if I’m not here, they’re real friendly. My auntie has an answering machine, and sometimes I’ll hear a voice start to leave a message like ‘Hi Sam. If you’re there, we’re wondering why you’re not in school today…’ If I hear that, I pick up the phone and explain why I’m not there. And they believe me. They trust me, so I trust them.

How to Develop Positive Classroom Management

Most teachers feel that educators can address even major threats to safety, such as gangs, fights, and student conflict, only by building positive relationships within the school.

Less than 45 percent of teachers said that suspensions are effective, while 80 percent said that classroom-management training, conflict resolution, guidance counseling, and mediation are effective for improving discipline.

But how do busy and often under supported teachers go about building strong relationships with students and developing positive methods of conflict resolution? In the interest of igniting a dialog about what works in classroom management, we’ve gathered the following discipline tips from educators.

As with any series of principles for a complex topic, though, this is only a starting point. The end point, to the degree it can be reached at all, lies in your classrooms. We know that even strategies that work don't work all the time, and sometimes it feels like nothing works at all.

So now we want to hear from you. Let us know what you've tried that's worked, and when and how; what you've learned; and what you're still learning. Together, we can build a vision for a peaceful and effective 21st-century classroom.

Here are some tips for starters:

Agree on Classroom Rules at the Beginning of the Year

Taking time out for this simple step can prevent a lot of misery in the long term. Experienced educators suggest engaging students actively in the process of determining a set of class rules. Taking this preventative measure creates a positive climate from the start.

Check in with Students at the Start of Class

Even three minutes can make a difference. You can do this by asking questions, such as, "What do you want to get out of class today?" Teachers can weigh in with their goals for class, too.

"This is a chance for the teacher, while still maintaining control of a classroom, to share with students at their level," says Liz Sullivan, coauthor of the "Teachers Talk" report and education program director at the National Economic and Social Rights Initiative. "Have each kid give a short answer. It's a way to communicate with them. Making them feel like a part of the process sets a positive tone."

Be Consistent About Expectations

This can be the biggest challenge for individuals to address, but it's important to keep in mind that school staff should work together as much as possible to foster consistency in expectations, and discipline methods, throughout the school.

"Sometimes, staff inadvertently set up gaps,” explains Nancy Franklin, a veteran educator with more than a decade of classroom experience who now provides training and support for the Los Angeles Unified School District's Positive Behavior Support policy. "Students may think, 'If I go to this teacher, I get this answer, but if I go to the principal, I get another answer.' It's like a kid who gets different answers from Mom and Dad."

Reinforce Appropriate Behavior

"When you are in a classroom with a teacher who reinforces positive behavior, kids calm down," says Franklin. "Think four positives to any corrective feedback."

Franklin argues that correcting students is the weakest way of teaching rules. "It's not about 'Gotcha -- you did it the wrong way; here's the right way,'" she says. "Students need to be able to trust you and feel safe. That enables them to experience emotional health and flourish."

Maintain Student Dignity

When corrections are necessary, experts suggest handling situations quietly and calmly. Don't make a big deal in front of the whole class.

"An approach to discipline that is respectful of human rights and maintains student dignity leads to a school that is inherently safe," says former teacher Sally Lee, coauthor of "Teachers Talk" and executive director of the New York City organization Teachers Unite. "A school in which students and teachers don't feel safe creates a fearful environment. And where there is a fearful environment, there are low expectations for discipline."

Be Neutral, Not Accusatory

When problems arise, don't ask, for example, "“Why did you take Sally's pencil?" This apporach often provokes defensive comebacks such as, "She was mean to me." Instead, ask what happened, opening the way for students to tell their story. Follow up with questions such as "How do you think that made Sally feel?"

Look for the Cause

It's a good idea to notice when students act out, educators advise. Does it happen only when the child is doing math or reading? Identifying when problems occur may help you recognize the reason.

Similarly, it's helpful to figure out what the underlying problem is. "If it's a skill deficit, a kid doesn't know how to behave," says Joseph Ryan, a special education researcher at Clemson University who has worked in schools for disabled children. "If it's a performance deficit, the kid knows what to do but needs motivation."

Establish a Fairness Committee

"Often, a person who is acting out wants to make amends for what they've done,” says Josh Heisler, a teacher at New York City's Vanguard High School. "They won't feel right until they fix the problem."

Heisler's school set up a fairness committee of teachers and students that promotes a restorative approach, rather than a punitive one, to righting wrongs: Instead of directing offenders to the principal's office or threatening suspensions, teachers let them tell their side of the story to the committee and, hopefully, make amends. When the committee convenes, it asks students questions ranging from "What happened?" and "Who else has been affected?" to "What do you need to do now to repair the harm?"

Indeed, teachers have the ability to positively influence a child’s personal growth. According to Eyster, “One of the most important things we can do as teachers it do develop, communicate and preserve positive reputations for our students.”

Strategies for Teachers to Develop Positive Relationships With Students

The best teachers are capable of maximizing the learning potential of every student in their class. They understand that the key to unlocking student potential is by developing positive, respectful relationships with their students beginning on the first day of the school year. Building a trusting relationship with your students can be both challenging and time-consuming. Great teachers become masters at it in time.

They will tell you that developing solid relationships with your students is paramount in fostering academic success.

It is essential that you earn your students’ trust early on in the year. A trusting classroom with mutual respect is a thriving classroom complete with active, engaging learning opportunities. Some teachers are more natural at building and sustaining positive relationships with their students than others. However, most teachers can overcome a deficiency in this area by implementing a few simple strategies into their classroom on a daily basis. Here are some strategies to try:

Provide Structure

Most kids respond positively to having structure in their classroom. It makes them feel safe and leads to increased learning. Teachers who lack structure not only lose valuable instructional time but often never gain the respect of their students. It is essential that teachers set the tone early by establishing clear expectations and practicing class procedures.

It is equally critical that students see that you follow through when boundaries are overstepped. Finally, a structured classroom is one with minimal downtime. Each day should be loaded with engaging learning activities with little to no downtime.

Teach With Enthusiasm and Passion 

Students will respond positively when a teacher is enthusiastic and passionate about the content they are teaching.

Excitement is contagious! When a teacher introduces new content enthusiastically, students will buy in. They will get just as excited as the teacher, thus translating to increased learning. Exuberance will rub off on the students in your classroom when you are passionate about the content you teach. If you are not excited, why should your students be excited?

Have a Positive Attitude

Everyone has terrible days including teachers. We all go through personal trials that can be difficult to handle. It is essential that your personal issues do not interfere with your ability to teach. Teachers should approach their class each day with a positive attitude. Positivity is transcending. If the teacher is positive, the students will generally be positive. Who likes to be around someone that is always negative? Students will in time have resentment for a teacher who is always negative. However, they will run through a wall for a teacher is positive and continuously offering praise.

Incorporate Humor into Lessons

Teaching and learning should not be boring. Most people love to laugh. Teachers should incorporate humor into their daily lessons. This may be sharing an appropriate joke related to the content you will be teaching that day.

It may be getting into character and donning a silly costume for a lesson. It may be laughing at yourself when you make a silly mistake. Humor comes in several forms and students will respond to it. They will enjoy coming to your class because they love to laugh and learn.

Make Learning Fun

Learning should be fun and exciting. Nobody wants to spend time in a classroom where lecturing and note-taking are the norms. Students love creative, engaging lessons that grab their attention and allow them to take ownership in the learning process. Students enjoy hands-on, kinesthetic learning activities where they can learn by doing. They are enthusiastic about technology-based lessons that are both active and visual. Students love teachers who incorporate creative, fun, engaging activities into their daily classroom.

Use Student Interests to Your Advantage

Every student has a passion for something. Teachers should use these interests and passions to their advantage by incorporating them into their lessons. Student surveys are a fantastic way to measure these interests. Once you know what your class is interested in, you have to find creative ways to integrate them into your lessons. Teachers who take the time to do this will see increased participation, higher involvement, and an overall increase in learning. Students will appreciate the extra effort you have made to include their interest in the learning process.

Incorporate Story Telling into Lessons 

Everyone loves a compelling story. Stories allow students to make real-life connections to the concepts that you are learning. Telling stories to introduce or reinforce concepts bring those concepts to life. It takes the monotony out of learning rote facts. It keeps students interested in learning. It is especially powerful when you can tell a personal story related to a concept being taught. A good story will allow students to make connections that they may not have made otherwise.

Show an Interest in Their Lives Outside of School

It is necessary to understand that your students have lives away from your classroom. Talk to them about their interests and extracurricular activities that they participate in. Take an interest in their interests even if you do not share the same passion. Attend a few ball games or extracurricular activities to show your support.

Encourage your students to take their passions and interests and to turn them into a career. Finally, be considerate when assigning homework. Think about the extra-curricular activities occurring on that particular day and try not to overburden your students.

Treat Them With Respect

Your students will never respect you if you do not respect them. You should never yell, use sarcasm, single a student out, or attempt to embarrass them. Those things will lead to a loss of respect from the entire class. Teachers should handle situations professionally. You should deal with problems individually, in a respectful, yet direct and authoritative manner. Teachers must treat each student the same. You cannot play favorites. The same set of rules must apply to all students. It is also vital that a teacher is fair and consistent when dealing with students.

Go the Extra Mile

Some students need teachers who will go that extra mile to ensure that they are successful. Some teachers provide extra tutoring on their own time before and/or after school for struggling students. They put together extra work packets, communicate with parents more frequently, and take a genuine interest in the well-being of the student. Going the extra mile may mean donating clothing, shoes, food, or other household goods that a family needs to survive. It may be continuing to work with a student even after they are no longer in your classroom. It is about recognizing and assisting in meeting student needs inside and outside of the classroom.

Classroom management creates a set of expectations used in an organized classroom environment. It includes routines, rules and consequences. Effective classroom management paves the way for the teacher to engage the students in learning. Classroom management refers to the wide variety of skills and techniques that teachers use to keep students organized, orderly, focused, attentive, on task, and academically productive during a class.

In summary, there are many ways you can develop positive relationships with students in your daily interactions with them. Not only does this contribute to a positive classroom environment, but it also improves the quality of school life for both you and your students.

While building positive relationships is the foundation to a strong discipline system, relationships alone are not enough. It is also critical to clearly define parameters of expected behaviors, to monitor those behaviors, and to implement consequences when necessary.