Relationship-driven teaching. Rogers, S., Renard, L.

An Annotation

Rogers, S., Renard, L. (1999).  Relationship-driven teaching.  Educational Leadership. September, 34-37.

This article describes how fulfilling students’ emotional needs fosters a more motivating culture for learning.  The authors explain two underlying principals that support relationship-driven teaching: “seeking first to understand,” and “managing the learning context, not the learners.”  They then outline six standards that make up a framework for this strategy:

• Safety—creating an environment free from physical and emotional danger (embarrassment)
• Value—creating opportunities for students to create value and meaning in their work and study
• Success—learning activities must be challenging and offer regular feedback indicating that the student is making significant progress toward mastery.
• Involving—students must have a “meaningful stake” in what is happening in the classroom.
• Care—the idea that a student is respected and liked contributes to that student’s need for love and belonging
• Enable—teachers must continually learn and use best practices that enable learning such as brain-based techniques or multiple intelligences.