Know Your Curriculum, Know Your Students

Drake, Reid and Kolohon (2014) present two preliminary steps for designing relevant and meaning learning experiences: know your curriculum documents and know your students. Beginning teachers are typically concerned with the content of the curriculum and overwhelmed with making sure they are following professional protocol. However, I think more emphasis first and foremost should be placed on knowing your students and building relationships with them. The curriculum should be used as a framework that outlines what to teach. The teacher holds the power of how they will teach it to make the curriculum come alive and meet the individual needs of the classroom. This is exactly why there is no specific formula or step-by-step guide for teaching. Throughout my educational experiences, I have come across teachers who use their same lesson plans and assign the same projects for a unit of study year after year. These teachers fail to take into consideration that each student that enters the classroom brings different realm of experiences, prior knowledge, interests and learning styles. “The curriculum can be relevant only when it connects to students’ interests and experiences” (Drake et al, 2014). For significant learning to occur, teachers must invest in their student’s lives and spend the time to show that they care.

“Children don’t care how much you know, until they know how much you care”

This education Ted Talk discusses the importance of building relationships with students in creating positive learning outcomes.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SFnMTHhKdkw

           Robert Marzano (2003) explains how building positive relationships with students will reduce behavioural problems and improve classroom management. A teacher’s ability to establish and maintain an environment that is suited to teaching and learning is enhanced through mutual respect. If the students feel as if they are respected, they are more inclined to respect their teacher leading to fewer rule violations and discipline problems. This article suggests an interaction of appropriate dominance and cooperation in building effective student-teacher relationships. Marzano (2003) outlines strategies to foster cooperation such as giving students choice in the classroom to accommodate their interests, providing recognition and praise for student achievement, giving each student personal attention and involving all students in classroom learning, not those who just raise their hand most frequently. Another method in promoting cooperation is to allow for constructivism in the classroom, where the teacher and students build knowledge together through classroom discussion. Allowing for discussion shows students that you are approachable and open to new ideas, as well as interested in what students have to say. Therefore, the quality of student teacher relationships acts as a foundation for effective classroom management and student learning.

                                     

In my opinion, a school day presents many opportunities for teachers to get to know their students and to build a relationship with them. My past teachers have given assignments that allow for students to share their interests and experiences. Depending on the grade level or subject area, as an example, students could create a collage or a website that relates to their interests or goals.  Also, I found that simple gestures, such as the teacher asking me about my day or by calling on me to share my opinion in class made me feel more comfortable and supported by my teacher. In particular, I developed strong relationships with the teachers who engaged in extracurricular activities and made the effort to get to know students outside of the classroom. Teachers who have acted as a referent authority have had the greatest impact on my learning and educational experiences. When a teacher has a referent authority, “students will view the teacher as a good person who is concerned about them, cares about their learning and demands a certain type of behaviour because it is in their best interests” (Levin, Nolan, Kerr, Elliot, Bajovic, 2015).

http://edu518top10.weebly.com/uploads/1/9/5/3/1953656/9647332.jpg?438x326

References

Drake, S., Kolohon, W., & Reid, J. (2014) Interweaving curriculum and classroom assessment: Engaging the 21^st Century Learner. Don Mills, ON: Oxford University Press.

Marzano, R. (2003). Educational Leadership: The key to classroom management. Retrieved from http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational-leadership/sept03/vol61/num01/The-Key-to-Classroom-Management.aspx

Levin, J., Nolan, J., Kerr, J., Elliot, A., Bajovic, M. (2015). Principles of Classroom Management: A professional decision-making model. Don Mills, ON: Pearson Canada Inc.