What it means:
Establish strong relationships with students and families to cultivate a culture of learning and respect.
More Detail
Connecting with students and families to cultivate a culture of learning includes the following:
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- Impart a collective vision that all students can succeed
- Build positive, genuine individual relationships
- Proactively, positively engage with students and families
- Respect diversity across all lines of identity
- Communicate student learning information regularly
- Initiate positive, constructive, and helpful dialogue
- Motivate everyone to do their best
- Foster trust and joy: be trustworthy and joyful
- Celebrate achievements!
See a one-page Instructional Excellence Summary covering all the key elements.
Videos—For Teachers & Multi-Classroom Leaders
Watch these short videos of educators discussing and demonstrating the elements of Connect, organized by action:
General
Morning Meetings Strengthen Class CultureSharing life experiences through whole-group morning meetings helps build genuine relationships with students, MCL Tonya Reaves says. | Classroom Meetings Build Teacher-Student, Student-Student BondsMCL Sean Carberry on the importance of classroom meetings that build collaborative, comfortable, supportive classrooms in which each student feels a vested interest in their classmates' feelings and success. | Analyze Parents’ Needs to Create Worthwhile Family EventsConnect with parents through events that meet their needs and interests, MCL Kellie Brotherton says. |
Impart a collective vision that all students can succeed
Demonstrate Faith That Students Can Meet High ExpectationsStudents feel respected and capable when given appropriately challenging work, MCL Hadley Moore says. | To Cultivate a Culture of Learning, Design an Inquisitive ClassDesign a class focused on critical thinking, Blended-Learning Teacher Scott Nolt says. |
Build positive, genuine individual relationships
Back High Expectations with Steadfast SupportMaster Reach Teacher Jimmel Williams holds students to high expectations balanced with unwavering support. | Connect with Parents to Understand StudentsMCL Russ Stanton connects with parents and uses other simple methods to understand his students and their needs. | Incorporate Student Interests Into Lessons to Build BondsEngage students in their learning by making personal connections within the instruction, MCL Stan Whalen says. |
Forge Student Connections and Personalization Through Blended-Learning FlexibilityUsing the flexibility of a blended-learning setting, teacher Scott Nolt says, he can work more closely with each student. | Help Students Start Fresh After Bad Days to Build TrustLet students start fresh to help build strong relationships, MCL Kellie Brotherton says. | Personalize Lessons to Strengthen Relationships and LearningBy personalizing lessons and developing strong relationships with families, teachers gain students’ trust that can lead to academic growth, MCL Sydney Mboob says. |
Proactively, positively engage with studentsClassroom meetings help to form bonds with your students and build a community of learners, say Katie McAuliffe, a fourth-grade teacher, and her MCL Sean Carberry. |
Communicate student learning information regularly
Engage Parents Through Ongoing CommunicationMCL Kathryn Smith explains her efforts to show parents how they can best help their children learn, and celebrate their successes. | Communicate with Parents to Avoid Summer SlideMCL Jacqueline Smith explains a strategy to improve parent communication and aid student learning over the summer. |
Motivate everyone to do their best
Celebrate Student SuccessMCL Fred Hoffmann describes how his school recognizes student achievements. | Create a Welcoming Classroom EnvironmentSet up your classroom to make it a place that fosters trust and joy, says MCL Fred Hoffmann. | Show Struggling Students You Notice Them“Students notice when you notice them,” MCL Ellen Rayburn says, explaining how she wins students’ trust to move past their learning deficits. |
Discussion Questions
Use these discussion questions to help guide your instructional team through the elements of Connect:
- Which actions in this element of instructional excellence are strengths for you or your team?
- Which actions in this element of instructional excellence are weaknesses for you or your team? Think about actions you never take, fail to take as often as needed, or do not take as well as needed to achieve strong learning growth consistently.
- What one to three specific changes will you or your team make to use your strengths more often or more consistently and improve weaknesses in the coming months?
- Make a brief action plan with specific goals, roles, and time by which you will make specific changes!
- Did your changes produce better learning results? If so, keep them. If not, think again about what other changes to make!
Study Guide
See this printable study guide with discussion questions and real examples from educators:
- For Multi-Classroom Leaders—Key Element of Instructional Excellence: Connect [pdf]
Instructional Excellence Support Tools
Use this tool and action list to guide and support your teachers:
- Instructional Excellence Action List: Connect with Students & Families [Word]—print a copy of this detailed, checkable action list for each teacher you lead
- Instructional Excellence Support Guide Overview and Support Tool [Word]—use this tool to record observations, provide feedback, and identify next steps
Other Developmental Resources
See the following developmental resources, provided by other organizations, related to the elements of Connect:
General Resources: Connect with students and families to cultivate a culture of learning
Quick Resources:
Teaching Channel: Class Culture, including how to create a vibrant and engaging culture (video)
Papers & Books:
ASCD: How To Create A Culture of Achievement in Your School and Classroom (book)
Impart a collective vision that all students can succeed
Quick Resources:
Edutopia: Teachers, What’s Your Vision? By Elena Aguilar (short article)
Teach Like a Champion, Doug Lemov’s Field Notes: Joaquin Hernandez: The moves that build a culture of high expectations in Seth Healey’s classroom (video)
Papers & Books:
Teach Like a Champion, Field Guide 2.0 (book)
Teaching As Leadership: The Highly Effective Teacher’s Guide to Closing the Achievement Gap (book)
Build positive, genuine individual relationships
Quick Resources:
TED Talks Education: Every Kid Needs A Champion by Rita Pierson (video)
Teaching Channel: How Do I Build Positive Relationships with Students? (videos)
CT3: 10 Outside the Box Strategies Beyond A Student Survey (short article)
This Simple Survey Could Help Close The Achievement Gap (short article)
Papers & Books:
ACSD: Seven Strategies for Building Positive Classrooms (book)
Respect diversity across all lines of identity
Quick Resources:
Tripod: Teacher Toolkit for Tripod’s 7Cs ™ (framework)
Teaching Tolerance, A Project of the Southern Poverty Law Center: Classroom Culture (tools)
Teaching For Change Books: Guide for Selecting Anti-Bias Children’s Books (short article)
GLSEN: Inclusion and Respect, Resources for Educators (framework, videos, guides, templates, lesson plans)
Understood.org, Partnership with 15 nonprofit partners including National Center for Learning Disabilities (website, tools, frameworks, short articles, etc.)
Learner Positioning Systems, Digital Promise (tools)
Papers & Books:
Every Day Anti Racism, Getting Real About Race in School (book)
Equity Literacy For All (Gorski), Educational Leadership (short article)
Reading Diversity, Teaching Tolerance (tools)
Other People’s Children by Lisa Delpit (book)
20 judgements a teacher makes in 1 minute and 28 seconds, The Hechinger Report (short article)
Communicate student learning information regularly
Quick Resources:
Phoning Parents: High-Leverage Moves to Transform Your Classroom & Restore Your Sanity (book excerpt)
Match Mini: Making Parent Phone Calls (short tutorial)
Teaching Channel: New Teacher Survival Guide Parent Teacher Conferences (video)
KQED/Mindshift: Why Students Should Take the Lead in Parent Teachers Conferences (short article)
Tech Tools:
Class Pager: A tool to engage your students and families with polls, exit tickets, after-class reminders, and more – delivered to each student or parent on their phone or tablet (tool)
Papers & Books:
Reaching Out to Latino Families of English Language Learners (book)
Initiate positive, constructive, and helpful dialogue
Quick Resources:
Educational Leadership: Partnering with Families and Communities (book excerpt)
Teaching For Change: Parent Engagement (toolkit)
Papers & Books:
SEDL: Partners in Education: A Dual Capacity-Building Framework for Family-School Partnerships (report with framework)
Every Day Antiracism, Getting Real About Race in School, section on Engaging Communities for Real (book)
Motivate everyone to do their best
Quick Resources:
Match Mini: How Classroom Learning Happens (quick tutorial)
Mindshift/KQED News: What Motivates Students to Learn? (short article)
Papers & Books:
ASCD: Real Engagement: How Do I Help My Students Become Motivated, Confident, and Self-Directed (book)
ASCD: The Motivated Student: Unlocking the Enthusiasm for Learning (book)
Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us by Daniel Pink (book)
Foster trust and joy: be trustworthy and joyful
Quick Resources:
Match Mini: A Leader They Can Trust (short tutorial)
Teach Like a Champion, Doug Lemov’s Field Notes: Trust (blog posts)
Teach Like a Champion, Doug Lemov’s Field Notes: Joy Factor (video)
Papers & Books:
The Joyful Classroom: Practical ways to engage & challenge students K-6 (book)
Celebrate achievements!
Quick Resources:
The Teacher Toolkit: Affirmations (video & tools)
Teach Like a Champion Grab-n-Go Resource: Six Ideas For Props (tool)
Edutopia: The Triumph of Small Victories (short article with teacher voices)
Papers & Books:
The Essential 55 Workbook, Everything You Need to Help Your Child Succeed in School, includes activities to celebrate achievements and fire up enthusiasm in school (book)
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