Our Ed Week Post Stresses the Importance of the Caring Classroom Where Students Learn How to Learn

In responding to Education Week as a part of the popular Classroom Q&A with Larry Ferlazzo, Marcus and I described our exciting, unique, and productive approach that we have taught educators for relating with students.

The question for this blog post was: "What are the best ways to build relationships with students?"

“Our cognitive approach positions the teacher-student relationship as one where effective teachers are expert learners who explicitly teach students how to learn in ways they can use across contexts in academics, life, and on the job,” we wrote in our reply. “Teachers find this fulfilling because they know how important it will be for their students to be able to learn new skills to enjoy success across many jobs across their lifespans.”

The post describes my experiences as a psychologist earlier in my career. During that time, most of my referrals asking for a diagnostic assessment for students with learning challenges indicated they did not have the necessary strategies for learning—i.e., the ability to pay attention, listen effectively, or control their impulses. The key to learning these cognitive strategies often comes from developing a relationship with a caring educator who teaches strategies within their curricular area. Our approach is for teaching students across the age span.

To learn more about the importance of student/teacher relationships, we invite you to read the entire post at the Education Week blog.