The Master Teacher Blog

We may not think much about the importance of trust in our classroom. In fact, we may even assume that it occurs naturally. Yet, trust is not something that just happens. Trust grows as the result of multiple factors, including feelings of safety, predictability, respect, confidence, and compassion. Of course, trust matters because unless students trust us, learning will be a struggle and may not occur at all.

We might think that we just need students to trust that we are there to stimulate, nurture, and extend their learning. Yet trust is often more complex and multi-dimensional than we might presume. Trust exists at various levels of strength and in response to multiple levels of experience. In fact, trust in classrooms takes on at least three distinct levels.

In its most basic level, students trust that they will be safe, they will be treated fairly, they know what is expected of them, and they will be treated with dignity and respect. When trust at this level is present, students’ attention shifts from protection and survival mode to learning mode. Routines and predictability lessen their anxiety and free their mental resources to hear and process instruction, engage in problem solving, and be creative. On the other hand, when a basic sense of safety and security are not present, students are more likely to be anxious, preoccupied, and withdrawn.

The second level of classroom trust indicates that students have confidence that we have the competence to help them succeed. Students want to feel confident that we have the knowledge and skills necessary to teach them. They want reassurance that we possess deep content knowledge and can share it with them using clear, supportive, and effective strategies. Trust at this level also extends to our preparing engaging and purposeful lessons and our readiness to adjust when students struggle. Further, students want to trust that we will provide timely, specific, actionable, and encouraging feedback to support their learning.

The third level of classroom trust rests on whether students feel that we care about them as a person. Trust at this level is personal. Students want to feel that we really “see” them. Students seek reassurance that we are willing to listen and respect their feelings and perspectives. They want us to notice their strengths, understand their challenges, and acknowledge the effort they give. Trust at this level also extends beyond the classroom to our interest in students’ lives, such as hobbies, interests, family, etc.

Obviously, the levels of trust are interdependent and build on each other. Without a basic sense of safety, trust in our instructional competence holds little value and relational trust is out of reach. When just the first two layers of trust are present, learning often takes on a transactional feel with students cooperating and complying but not taking learning risks and extending their learning beyond what is required. The door to the transformational power of learning opens when trust at all three levels is strong. Learning can occur without fear or hesitation. Students can take on difficult learning tasks, make mistakes, and explore new learning paths with the confidence that we are there to guide, support, and encourage them.

So, what behaviors can we practice if we hope to establish trust at each of these three levels? Here are examples at each level to consider:

Basic trust:

• Establish and follow clear, predictable, useful routines.
• Create and consistently enforce clear, reasonable rules and expectations.
• Protect students from ridicule, bullying, and exclusion.
• Follow through on commitments.
• Own and correct our mistakes.

Competence Trust:

• Design lessons with student readiness, interest, and learning goals in mind.
• Strive for clarity and digestibility when presenting new information and introducing new skills.
• Notice and encourage progress (even when it is small).
• Provide timely, actionable, and encouraging feedback.
• Frequently check for understanding and seek feedback to increase clarity and reduce confusion.

Relational Trust:

• Listen deeply and actively to what matters to students.
• Make personal connections with students through interest in their lives beyond the classroom.
• Share confidence in their potential, notice their strengths, and encourage their passions.
• Encourage students to take learning risks and reassure them of our support.
• Assume positive intentions and integrity.
• Show our humanity by being willing to be vulnerable and share our interests and passions.

The truth is that trust precedes learning. Unless students trust that we will make the classroom a safe place, learning will be a challenge. Unless students trust that we can teach them, they are not likely to invest and take risks. On the other hand, when students feel safe, trust our competence, and feel seen, supported, and cared for, there is no limit to what they can accomplish.

Education is serious work, but it does not have to be humorless. In fact, humor and its companion—laughter—can be powerful tools for leading a school staff, an instructional team or task force, a group of colleagues, or class of students.

What makes humor so powerful? When we laugh, we activate dopamine, a feel-good brain chemical. Dopamine can stimulate learning and extend recall. Dopamine is self-reinforcing. It leaves us wanting more; thus, it builds engagement. Further, dopamine fosters connections when it is part of shared experiences. Laughter also can be a signal that we are in a safe place and can be ourselves. Humor can lighten the mood and the load. It can lessen feelings of stress and stimulate creativity.

Some of us might think that we are not naturally funny. However, finding humor does not mean that we must be a comedian. In fact, laughter can come from many sources. We can start by not taking ourselves too seriously. We also need to be open to seeing and enjoying humor when it reveals itself. Here are five places where we can find and generate a smile, a chuckle, a full-blown belly laugh, or maybe just an appreciative eye roll:

• Tap low risk sources of humor such as cartoons, jokes, and funny stories. The combination of what we find humorous and what we know about our audience— whether staff or students—can be our guide. It is often best to search for humor that relates to the work we are doing or the learning we are nurturing. Not being the original source of humor does not mean it is less effective.
• Share short videos or clips. We can look for content related to a topic, challenge, or goal that also features a humorous approach. A brief, appropriate video clip can stimulate interest and spark ideas while also lightening the atmosphere and creating a readiness for what lies ahead.
• Share our experiences, missteps, misunderstandings, and foibles. Self-effacing stories and reflections can break tension and lighten the mood. Our willingness to share something about ourselves can make us more relatable and allow others to relax and be themselves.
• Recognize, pause, and enjoy the unexpected and ironic things that happen or are said. Finding something funny in real time can make work more enjoyable and learning more meaningful. A statement of the obvious, a surprising insight that explains, or an unintended pun can be the stimulus for new ideas, launch a new line of thinking, or open the door to new learning.
• Delegate the search for humor to a team member or student. As noted earlier, we do not always have to be the source of humor. We might ask a particularly funny team member or creative student to come up with a joke or story to kick off a meeting or class. However, we may need to provide some guidance and boundaries to avoid misapplication of the assignment.

Like any powerful tool, humor must be handled with care and utilized with thought and purpose. When employing humor, we do well to:

• Consider the context
• Think of the impact
• Stay away from stereotypes
• Avoid embarrassing or humiliating anyone
• Stay away from off-color innuendos or double meanings

Humor, when used with care and discretion, can add an important dimension to our leadership and assist with learning. We can introduce levity, lessen stress, and create community through the humor we borrow, create, and recognize.  

We dedicate significant time and energy to preparation for the start of a new school year. Our attention is focused on arranging materials and equipment, learning everything we can about our students, setting the stage for the first several days, and hoping that all will go well. Predictably, not everything goes as planned. There are pleasant surprises, some unexpected challenges, and other “wrinkles” in our plans and expectations with which we need to deal.

As we move beyond the initial phase of structuring, expectation setting, and getting to know our students, our attention shifts to how well our early efforts are taking hold and our students are responding, and whether we are on track for sustainable success. Of course, we probably have a sense for how things are going, but it can also be helpful to have some signs and signals to monitor and assess our progress. Here are seven indicators we can consider.

Students greet us easily and positively as they enter the classroom. Eye contact, smiles, and verbal greetings are signs that students are comfortable with us, and positive relationships are forming. Of course, we need to be positioned to have them comfortably encounter us by standing at the door, greeting students by name, or otherwise positioning ourselves to welcome students.

Students are following established routines and transitions are smooth. It is a good sign if we are spending less time managing behavior and more time is available for instruction, discussion, reflection, and practice. Of course, behavior management will always be necessary. It is the gradual shift in balance that is important to monitor.

Students remind each other of classroom rules, expectations, and routines. Once students understand and are confident in what is expected of them and their behavior, they can be quick to notice when other students ignore or do not follow established norms. This behavior can be a sign that students are no longer relying entirely on us to enforce expectations and classroom culture is forming.

Students are active participants in class discussions and activities. As students become more comfortable and confident, they are more likely to ask questions and seek help when necessary. We can also monitor the levels of enthusiasm and engagement students show during activities.

Students are connecting with classmates. Obviously, some students will have existing friendships and students may be making new friends. Our attention needs to extend to whether we see obvious cliques forming, conflicts emerging, or efforts to exclude classmates.

Students generally submit assignments and complete tasks on time. Our monitoring might focus on whether students are giving adequate attention to detail and are striving to produce quality work. When students are demonstrating good work habits, time management, and organizational skills, the stage is set for a successful year.

Students seem willing to take learning risks, tolerate mistakes, and accept feedback. As the cadence of the school year settles in, we can begin to observe how students see themselves as learners. Confident learners are more likely to accept risks and mistakes as part of the learning process, while uncertain and reluctant learners are more likely to avoid risks and see mistakes as evidence of their lack of ability. How well students accept and use feedback can be a key indicator of how well students see themselves and are likely to grow as learners. 

A good start to the school year makes the remainder of the term or year better. Continuing to build and sustain momentum is much easier than trying to establish connections, create focus, and build culture once negative patterns are set.

A final thought: If you are part of a co-teaching or other type of instructional team, it is important to set consistent expectations and provide consistent responses when students need reminding and redirection. If adults are not on the same page, students will quickly notice, and some may choose to exploit the situation to our detriment.

It is not difficult to find someone willing to give advice. In fact, on most faculties there are people willing to provide seemingly endless advice, often without even being asked. Of course, not all the advice we receive is likely to be of high quality or may apply to our needs and reality.

Our challenge is to figure out what advice might be useful to us and decide what we should ignore. Sometimes the advice we receive is obviously not useful or relevant. At other times, the advice we receive may at first seem worthy, only to discover later that it falls short of what we need. Fortunately, there are some indicators we can heed to help us discern the advice we should consider and follow, and what we should reject or ignore. Here are six signs that the advice we receive may fall short and should be viewed with skepticism. 

The advice is simplistic or absolute.

Example: Students do not have to like you. They just need to respect you.

Certainly, respect is an important element of a positive, productive classroom climate, but respect rarely occurs in isolation. Fortunately, we do not have to choose between having positive relationships and the enjoying respect. The truth is that the most learning occurs, students behave their best, and we feel the greatest satisfaction when students like us AND a high level of respect is present. We can achieve both.

The advice is unrealistic.

Example: Treat every student the same.

This advice may initially sound as though it makes sense, until we consider the unique interests, needs, talents, and learning challenges that students bring with them. What will work best for and meet the needs of some students likely will fail with other students. Our knowledge of and relationships with students can help us to decide what they need, how to guide them, and how best to design learning experiences for them. Typically, advice that includes: “always,” “never,” and “every” is worth examining before following it.    

The advice is outdated.

Example: Memorization and drill are the best ways to ensure student learning.

While there remains a role for memorization and drill can build “muscle memory,” most of what students learn today will require that they understand and can apply what they learn. Learning experiences that build deeper insight, provide thinking tools, and stimulate ideas and connections will carry more lasting value for learners. Actively engaging students in analyzing, synthesizing, and applying what they learn can extend learning retention and make it more operationally accessible for students in the future.

The advice ignores your context.

Example: The most important thing is to cover the curriculum.

To a reasonable extent, we need to engage students with the most important elements of the curriculum. However, curriculum coverage is not what matters most. If students are exposed to information and skills, but do not learn and master them, we will have accomplished little. There are times when we need to slow down and focus on learning, even if it means that we will not be able to address every aspect of the formal curriculum. Of course, when this is the case, we may need to alert colleagues who will be working with our students to ensure that essential concepts and content are addressed in future learning.

The advice conflicts with your core values.

Example: "Focus your efforts on students who have or are close to meeting standards and don’t bother with the rest."

This advice might come as major assessments or accountability measures approach. While the advice might make the data look better, it risks sacrificing the needs and success of students who need our support the most. Unfortunately, following this advice means that we will abandon some students and ignore their needs. All students deserve our instruction, coaching, and support, regardless of where they are in relationship to generating high test scores and meeting learning standards.

The advice ignores your experience, knowledge, insight, and expertise.

Example: If a research study shows that a practice is effective, you should immediately adopt it with your class.

Being aware of current research is important, but many factors can determine whether it can be applied effectively in our context. The age and profile of students involved in studies matter. The conditions under which studies are conducted matter. Replicability of studies matter. Before blindly accepting and applying new research, we need to check its viability and likely applicability in our context, while considering our experience and expertise. 

Good advice can be amazingly helpful, especially in areas where we lack experience. However, not all advice is equal or worth heeding. Consider these six signs the next time you hear advice that leads you to question its value.

We want students to be recognized and reinforced when they do a good job. We want them to feel good about what they have accomplished. We also want them to be motivated to replicate their success with future challenges and in other circumstances. Achieving this goal requires more than general praise and positive words. 

Students need to feel they own their successes. They must see their accomplishments as more than luck or good fortune. The more students understand how their actions led to their success, the better able they will be able to apply effective strategies and the more confidence they likely will have when approaching new challenges.

Consequently, the words and approaches we select must convey a multi-level message beyond, “Good job.” What we choose to say needs to reveal key elements that are within the student’s control and offer enough clarity and specificity for them to reflect, learn, and act on what they hear.

Here are eight ways we can send the message that what the student did was good, how they can own their behavior, and how they can use what they have done to do even better in the future:

• Choose a context that is comfortable for the student. Some students thrive when their efforts and accomplishments are shared in front of an audience. Other students will feel embarrassed to have others witness our feedback and prefer to receive praise privately. Tailoring our approach to the student can make a significant difference in how they will respond and use what we offer.
• Focus on the student, not your feelings. After the student talks about what they did, how they feel, and what it means, we can follow-up with expressions of pride and delight. However, the focus needs to be on the student, not on how it makes us feel.
• Highlight what the student did, not their ability or talent. Effort, persistence, flexibility, creativity, and other behaviors are within the control of the student. They can be replicated and built on. Talent, ability, and giftedness may be nice to have, but students are likely to see them as inherent qualities over which they have little control and may not be present when facing the next task or challenge.
• Be specific. Point out the behavior or behaviors that led to the achievement. Highlighting strategies, persistence, and good use of resources helps students to know what they can do next time to achieve similar results.
• Be timely. Praise and other forms of feedback that make a difference need to be shared as soon after a student engages in a behavior, completes a task, overcomes a challenge, or achieves success. The longer we wait to share our observations, the less students will recall about what they did and the less likely our message will lead to repetition of the behavior.
• Point out evidence of progress. Noting signs of emerging skills, improving habits, and better processes can give students information on areas they can reflect on and focus. Seeing evidence of progress also can be a powerful motivator to keep going.
• Link effort to outcome. Students do not always see how what they did led to the outcome they achieved. Our pointing out key connections and providing examples from their work can help students to see that they were responsible for what they achieved. The connection between effort and outcome can be a powerful motivator for future behavior.
• Connect performance to purpose. The connection might be to an established goal, benefit to the student or others, or the classroom environment. Understanding that their work matters and makes a difference can give students strong encouragement to do more.

Praise and other forms of positive feedback can be powerful motivators. However, students need to see how their behavior led to their improvement or success. They need to feel ownership for the outcomes they achieve. And they need to hear it from us.

What if, by investing a few minutes each day, you could significantly reduce disruptive behavior, increase student engagement, and reclaim up to an hour of instruction time? What if, by investing a few minutes each day, you could dramatically lengthen and strengthen the impact of the feedback and praise you give to students, and build exceptionally strong connections with them to best support their learning? Seems impossible, right? Maybe not.

The truth is that we can gain all these benefits and more by regularly engaging in five simple practices. These practices do not require an exceptional amount of time, but they can generate exceptional benefits. Let’s explore these student-focused behaviors and why they can be so powerful. 

Positive, personal greetings. Meeting students at the door, greeting them by name, and giving fist bumps or similar gestures may not seem like much. However, studies show that warm greetings and brief check-ins can have a significant impact on how the day will go. One study found that these simple acts can increase student engagement by as much as 20% and reduce disruptive behavior by 9%. The difference can add up to as much as a full hour of additional instruction time per day!

Positive, specific feedback, compliments, and praise. Noticing and talking with students about their excellent attitude, improved effort, and other positive behaviors lets them know that they are seen, valued, and belong. We can make our messages even more powerful and memorable if we extend our message for as little as 20 seconds. By telling students what we noticed, why it is important, and the difference it made, we dramatically increase the impact and memorability of what we say.

Personal connections. There is amazing power in sharing what we are passionate about, people we admire, challenges we’ve faced, embarrassing moments, and other personal information that helps students understand and connect with who we are. Having students see us as regular people who share some of their life experiences and have overcome what life has presented can be a powerful connector. Of course, we need to avoid oversharing or being too personal or intimate but having students feel as though the know us beyond our professional role opens the door to stronger relationships and can build greater credibility. Sharing a few facts, stories, or interests every week can go a long way in building the connections we need to influence the students we teach. 

Individual conversations. Brief one-one-one conversations with students about how they are doing inside and outside of school also can open communication and build connections. The information we gain can help us to better understand, support, and motivate students. Meanwhile, students will appreciate the attention and interest we show. Setting aside time for conversations with a few students each week and rotating among students can make the conversations manageable while generating rich information that can help us to relate to and teach students.  

Invite input and listen to students. Students feel our trust and respect when we take the time to ask their opinions, seek their ideas, and listen to their perspectives. We might ask for their suggestions regarding class routines and rules. We can occasionally pause and seek input regarding what is and isn’t working for students. Depending on the age and maturity of our students, we might inquire about their preferences for how to approach a learning task. We may not always be able to accommodate and implement what students suggest, but when we listen, consider, and explain why we can or cannot use their input we demonstrate our respect for them and their perspectives.

Obviously, time is a precious resource. We want to use every minute to our advantage. The good news about these five practices is that by investing a few minutes every day and week, we can recapture time and accrue benefits that far outweigh the effort they require.

One of the most important and challenging beginning-of-the-year tasks is forming strong, positive, influential relationships with students. Building relationships with some students comes easily. We may have past experiences with them, they may be confident and ready to form a relationship with us, or they may share characteristics and behave in ways that draw us to them.

However, our challenge is to form influential relationships with all students. Not every student is immediately open to forming a relationship. Some students may lack the confidence or skills to respond to or reach out to us. Other students may have a history that makes relationship building difficult.

Consequently, we need a strategy that is broad and encompassing enough to invite, interest, and accept students, despite their backgrounds, experiences, and skills. Here are seven relationship-building “hooks” we can employ to communicate our care, demonstrate our respect, and create new connections.

First, lead with your heart. Students want to know we care. Caring counts for all students, but for students who struggle, have or are experiencing trauma, lack confidence, or are not certain they belong, our caring can make a crucial difference in how they feel and learn. Our empathy and compassion reassure and invite connections with students.

Second, demonstrate and expect honesty. If we want students to trust us, we need to articulate and model its importance. Our willingness to prioritize fairness, consistency, and transparency can assure students of our trustworthiness. Further, when we assume the honesty of students, we communicate our trust in them. Obviously, trust is at the heart of strong relationships.    

Third, consistently communicate and encourage hope. Students want to feel our belief in them and their success. We can treat their mistakes and setbacks as nothing more that temporary conditions and opportunities to learn and try again. Of course, our hope and confidence are most important when students do not feel the same way about themselves.   

Fourth, show your humanity. Sometimes students are surprised that teachers are real people who have lives outside of school. By sharing appropriate information about ourselves and our families, we invite students to understand and relate to us. Knowing our interests, our passions, and even our dislikes can be interesting and appealing to students. When we use personal experiences and examples to explain a concept or reinforce a point, we also make it more meaningful and memorable.  

Fifth, demonstrate humility. We are not­­­­­—nor should we pretend to be—perfect. Students often assume that teachers “know everything.” Consequently, our openness and willingness to admit our mistakes and learn from them can be surprising and reassuring. Our humility also makes us human and can facilitate relationship building.

Sixth, enjoy and share humor. Humor is a strong connection builder. Humor can break tension, relieve stress, and make us accessible to students. Delighting in the unexpected, appreciating irony, and even telling a weak “dad joke” can help students see us as safe for relationship building. However, we need to be careful to avoid humor that is disrespectful or at the expense of another person.

Seventh, look for ways to honor students. When we notice and value the experiences and cultures of our students, we send a message of respect. Recognizing and reinforcing positive behavior not only reduces incidents of negative behavior, but it also reassures students that we are paying attention and appreciate their cooperation. Finding frequent, small ways to honor effort, progress, and achievements communicates our expectations and support. Students are drawn to people who notice, value, and respect them.

Relationship building is important, but it is not always easy. We need good strategies and patience. These seven “hooks” can support a good start. What else have you found to be effective relationship building actions? Consider sharing your go-to secrets with your colleagues.