According to Jensen & McConchie (2020), understanding the significance of relationships in a learning environment begins with an understanding of how humans are biologically social in nature and seek connection. The absence of such connection is quite costly. Modeling healthy relationships is one of the best ways we learn. Indeed, the human being is eminently social, needs bonding and interaction with peers to survive, grow, develop, and be happy. Human relationships are essential and contribute to a person’s success in various aspects of life, while the lack of them can lead to failure and social isolation. A good relationship between teachers and students is essential in the learning process.
According to Gini-Newman & Case (2018), the 5 principles for effective teaching and learning are: (1) Engaging students; (2) Sustaining inquiry; (3) Nurturing self-regulated learners; (4) Creating assessment-rich learning; and (5) Enhancing learning through digital technology.
Getting students to feel part of what they are learning is a task that can be a bit difficult due to the density of knowledge they receive. However, it is possible to create engaging activities for the students. Teachers should ask questions that promote debate and group work and evaluate the interest of the students in the proposed topics. It is also very important to use a language close to the students and apply innovative and creative methodologies. Thanks to this, academic terms are much more productive for both teachers and students.
Based on this principle and to give some ideas, educational institutions should implement a course at the beginning of their programs dedicated to self-knowledge. For example, students taking this course (which will not have grades) could take personality tests that reveal their learning style and specific traits of their personalities. Through group discussions, the teacher and the students can debate the great differences between all human beings and learn to be tolerant and complement each other.
Sustaining inquiry is very important to find answers to questions that the student does not know. In other words, these questions require a whole type of investigation on the part of the student that is very useful for learning. Teachers could hold weekly workshops where students would be asked these types of questions and would investigate a topic for the following week. These questions can be a powerful source of motivation since the answers should be applicable to almost all real-life situations.
Nurturing self-regulated learners is very important, especially in distance education, where learning depends heavily on student motivation. To be a competent learner it is necessary to be an intentional and active participant, capable of initiating and directing one’s own learning and not a reactive learner. Although self-regulated learning requires setting goals, strategies to achieve them and controlling the process through constant self-assessment, teachers should create a motivational plan that can be implemented for the individual development of each student. The originality and practical application of what is studied will lead to the achievement of goals without the need to develop additional strategies.
When creating assessment-rich learning certain things must be considered. Evaluating and learning are two processes that feed on each other. The view of evaluation as a learning process is more promising than as an assessment of the results achieved. Teachers should understand that the evaluation must cross the border of the objectives and be open to the unplanned, uncertain, unforeseen, and undetermined.
Qualitative evaluation strategies that highlight the learning process that is carried out and not merely its results should be implemented. This will foster deep learning and, moreover, the assessment strategies used will contribute to the learning process. Teachers must ensure that students have full confidence that there are an infinite number of answers to the same question. This confidence is achieved when the teacher critically analyzes students’ responses and rewards creativity.
Students should be taught how to use technology in their favor. Online education is showing that this system does work, as it is more flexible, richer, and forces both teachers and students to distance themselves from archaic processes and traditional educational models. At the same time, it makes teachers look for ways to strengthen their relationships with their students, to overcome the barriers of distance.
Some ideas to consider:
- Surveys of teachers and students on the need to apply education to real-life situations.
- Constant and comprehensive support to students from the teachers, and to teachers from the institution’s administrative staff. Brainstorming should be welcome.
- Implementation of a course at the beginning of the programs dedicated to self-knowledge.
- Weekly discussions based on real cases or simulated situations where students engage in discussion.
- Surveys at the end of each course to obtain feedback from both students and teachers on the character of their relationships.
The nature of the relationships between students and teachers alludes to a concept that admits many nuances and different levels of complexity when establishing its influence on learning and knowledge. The learning process should be a transformative experience for both students and teachers.
The influence of the teacher on the correct education of the students is reflected in their achievements and academic functions. The positive and efficient relationships of those students who maintain ties with teachers are widely associated with good performance in many subjects. The motivational figure that reflects the teacher promotes the cognitive potential of the student. Teachers are a fundamental pillar in the development of student learning, that is, teachers are the guides of their reasoning and the creation of their personal project. All this, with the pretext of stimulating certain abilities such as memory, perception, attention, reasoning, or executive functions of students.
The evolution of students is subordinated to cooperation and communication with their teachers. Building a relationship of trust and security on both sides in the teaching-learning process is essential to encourage both their knowledge and the skills to face real life. Otherwise, if the environment that is generated is based on insubstantial interaction, the education provided will not reach optimal levels.
Teachers play the role of guides and advisors in the lives of students with a view to their professional future. Currently, they not only assume the role of trainers of the minds of the future but are also involved in the well-being of their students and their job success. In this sense, the teacher supervises, establishes the goals, provides support, values, and instructs throughout the entire educational process.
The student-teacher bond is the main support on which academic knowledge is based and, as such, it will help the integral development of students, both in the social, personal, and professional spheres. Likewise, the figure of the teacher, by adopting an attitude of empathy and flexibility toward students, will impact their learning and allow them to consolidate their confidence, security, and effort. A good relationship between students and teachers is widely related to higher academic performance, students develop greater autonomy, and they are more attracted to achieve success.
References
Gini-Newman, G., & Case, R. (2018) Creating thinking classrooms: leading educational change for this century, 1st ed. Corwin.
Jensen, E. and McConchie, L. (2020) Brain-based learning: teaching the way students really learn, 3rd ed. Corwin.