Students need to feel that the curriculum being taught is not only culturally relevant, but has connections from students' own personal experience (Holley, 2014). Teachers distribute content but students' perceptions and understanding determine how the content should be presented (Emdin, 2016). Students “with or at risk of developing emotional or behavioral disorders are given fewer opportunities to respond.
Questioning is used in classrooms to build student understanding and assess student learning (Erdogan & Campbell, 2008). Questions should also capture students' interest and attention by using content related to students' daily lives (Yang, 2020). The same study also found an increase over time in student voluntary participation in classes when higher levels of cold calling were used.
Students' self-perceptions of their academic identities can be influenced by external school-based incentives and "a teacher's encouraging dialogue appears to positively influence students' self-confidence and esteem" (Brown et al., 2013, pp. 189-190). . Observations focused on counting teacher-student interactions in the form of stop-ins (when teachers approached students to formally check in on the information being covered), praise (when teachers gave students affirmation and positive feedback about behaviors and concepts ) and questions ( when teachers asked different types of questions to assess students' understanding of concepts). The observer also noted where teachers stopped to work with individuals or small groups and the demographics of those students.
In particular, we examined students' and teachers' perceptions of their experiences with classroom culture and education, along with the differences between the two viewpoints. In both figures, the top bar chart shows the iReady results for ELL students and the bottom bar chart shows the results for the non-ELL students. Only two teachers used the strategy of calling on students, and only one of these two teachers used equity sticks (popsicle sticks with student names that were used to randomly select students to call on).
Teachers may depend on students' voluntary participation to avoid creating discomfort, but this also allows students to remain on the sidelines as passive observers, denying them the opportunity to become comfortable in the classroom and ultimately encourage active participation. Demonstrating value for students' culture promotes equality and belonging in the classroom (Shah & Al., 2019). Class discussions and questioning strategies allow teachers to guide and assess students' construction of knowledge (Erdogan & Campbell, 2008).
Observational field notes identified how school announcements included messages from the community, such as “to check in with each other.” The prevalence of positive phrasing was evident in almost all staff interactions with students. Something that conflicted with both our observational data and our interview findings was the students' cultural content feedback from the YouthTruth survey. However, students experience their relationships less positively, with an average score of 3.15, when asked about “the extent to which students feel they receive support and personal attention from their teachers.”
Within the “Relationships” section of the survey, only 31% of students felt positive about “the extent to which they feel they receive support and personal attention from their teachers” (YouthTruth Survey, 2022).
Use existing site instructional coaches and district-wide professional development (PD) supported by professional learning communities (PLCs) to reinforce and
The researcher noted that counseling seemed to be a "gentle start to the day" rather than a formal meeting between teachers and students and that it provided an opportunity for students and teachers to mingle in a more informal way. Instructional coaches and learning walks will bring increased awareness of teachers' verbal flow and word-of-mouth selective practices, empowering them to make necessary adjustments to. Incorporating learning content that resonates with students on a deeper level promotes a greater sense of belonging in the WCMS community and in turn, strengthens relationships within the school community.
In the classroom setting, we observed that teachers spent the least amount of time using culturally relevant questioning, defined as questions related to a student's life or experience. When measuring students' positive reactions to "the extent to which students perceive themselves as involved in their school and their education", the YouthTruth survey shows a steady decline over the past three years from 44% in 2020 to 31% in 2022 ( YouthTruth, 2022). In addition, teachers who are well aware of their own aptitude in the classroom environment will produce more positive outcomes.
Create additional opportunities for peer learning and support by using collaborative learning strategies and gradual release of responsibilities. Collaborative learning is an instructional strategy that promotes student engagement through shared learning and provides students with the necessary support as they build their understanding of content and complex ideas. The district has provided gradual release of responsibility training in the past (I do it, we do it, you do it).
This training helps teachers to strengthen their existing practice, while also ensuring that new teachers are skilled in the practice. An essential outcome of cooperative learning is that students learn with their peers as they develop their understanding. In this way, collaborative learning can reduce student frustrations and lead to increased engagement and reduced disruptions.
Being accountable to peers also increases the learning climate and expectations in the classroom while allowing students to adjust their understanding. Collaborative learning strategies allow students to be more interactive with their teachers and fellow students. Thoughtful grouping also allows teachers to provide differentiated support to students with greater traffic flow through the classroom. 2014) advises: “students can be more or less responsive until they eventually get used to the new way of interacting”.
Continue reinforcing the use of positive phrasing while implementing the practice of “Warm Demander.”
This study does not track unique instances of participation, nor does it match individual students' participation to their achievement scores. A limitation of our data collection was positive (praise for desirable behavior) and negative (corrections for undesirable behavior) interactions were counted (both positive and negative) by category. Separating out the score of positives and negatives within each subgroup may reveal additional patterns of teacher responses to students.
Participation did not match performance individually in the data collection process, so there was a gap in the association of participation with performance outside of broader demographic categories. Our exploration reveals patterns of classroom interactions between teachers and students that can be specifically addressed through the introduction and reinforcement of readily available instructional strategies. Strengthening confidence and reducing incidents of discipline in a diverse high school: How self-affirmation influences behavioral behavior during the transition to adolescence.
The influence of proximity between teacher and student, feedback from teachers and close peer groups on classroom involvement; An agent-based modeling approach. The teacher's invisible hand: A meta-analysis of the relevance of teacher-student relationship quality to peer relationships and the contribution of student behavior. Classroom design: advocating for the importance and impact of setting on learning and instruction.
A comparison of teacher and student responsiveness for students at high and low risk for externalizing behavior problems. Wang doesn't really care wow we're talking!”: Responsiveness in practice of an exemplary Asian American teacher. Power and relational equality in group work: A case study from a middle school mathematics classroom.” University of Pittsburgh.
In the 2022-2023 school year, school districts across the state must implement a later start time for middle and high schools. This bill, known as Senate Bill 328, does not allow middle schools to start before 8 a.m. and does not allow middle schools to start before 8:30 a.m. On May 24, 2022, the Board of Education approved the District's start times for middle and high schools.
