At Teachstone, we spend so much time focused on early childhood that it's easy to lose track of all the great work being done in the upper grades. For this reason, my colleague, Joe Pierce, and Jessica, our blog moderator, asked me to review some of the research on interactions in upper elementary and secondary classrooms. There are recent findings that point to the importance of teacher-student interactions, even for students in high school. Here are some key points, along with links to articles in case you want to dig deeper.
Emotional support:
- Students were on higher achievement trajectories in reading and math when their teachers were more emotionally supportive
- Students in more emotionally-supportive classrooms were more engaged in learning, which in turn led to better grades
- Students in classrooms with a more positive climate and higher regard for student perspectives scored higher on end-of-year standardized achievement tests
Instructional support:
- Students in classrooms with stronger instructional support scored higher on end-of-year standardized achievement tests
Overall CLASS scores:
- Results from the Gates Foundation Measures of Effective Teaching study found significant associations between CLASS scores and math and English language arts assessment results
Teacher professional development:
- MyTeachingPartner (MTP) coaching at the secondary level significantly improved teacher-student interactions
- Students who took classes with teachers in the MTP program were more behaviorally engaged in learning and had higher achievement scores
- Teachers participating in the RULER program, a social/emotional learning program, made significant gains in emotional support
More articles are being published all the time. Let me know if you have questions or thoughts in the comments section.
