Highly Engaged Students

I can remember after I had been teaching for about five years, I felt that I was fairly competent at my job. I was a coordinator of a big team of teachers, I was part of school-wide curriculum development initiatives. I thought I had the whole teaching caper in my stride.  Then a conversation with a colleague made me begin to ponder, do I really talk to and know my students?  That’s when I realised I was missing one of the essential elements of effective teaching, I didn’t really know my students well enough.

I tried to remedy this immediately. I made time every day to talk to my students and it began to transform my relationship with them. We talked about family holidays, pets, how they got on with their brothers and sisters, funny things that happened, they talked to me about whatever was on their mind.  Taking a couple of minutes a day to chat helped me build a productive relationship with these children.  My classroom ran more smoothly, my students were more engaged and they felt more connected to school.  This is why I meet the boys at the gate and try to chat with them each morning.  It is important that I get to know each boy so that he feels part of the school community and is comfortable to talk with me if there is a need.

Here at Lindfield we pride ourselves on being a small school, where we know our boys and families really well. Research shows that a strong teacher/student connection is a vital element for successful student engagement. For boys, success at school is directly correlated to the relationships they form with their teachers. Positive teacher/student relationships are required for optimum learning to occur. The characteristics of positive teacher/student relationships are:

• The teacher reaching out to meet a student’s needs – The teacher makes the time and effort to talk to and get to know the boys. At Lindfield, we try to develop a strong parent-school partnership with open communication and feedback that places the boys at the center of communication.
• Knowing one’s subject – A strong understanding of the content and skills for learning are essential for teachers here at Lindfield. A positive student/teacher relationship is unlikely to occur unless the teacher has pedagogical mastery of the subject. Thus positive relationships, however valuable in themselves, don’t ensure that the student will learn. We work really hard at Newington through professional learning, to ensure our teachers are highly knowledgeable and skilled in their teaching area.
• High standards – At Lindfield we have high expectations for the students and we believe that every child can achieve. We can assist this through effective classroom management and clear standards for classroom behavior and work.
• Responding to a student’s passions or talents – Through the inquiry process and the music, sport and after school activity programs we connect boys and teachers through their interests, hobbies and talents, whether it be sport, music, art, computers etc.
• Sharing a common characteristic – We encourage all members of our school to focus on how we are united in our diversity through our mission and the PYP profiles and attitudes. We also stress our human commonality through our inclusive nature and the value we place on our diverse parent and student community.
• Not taking it personally – Here at Lindfield boys make many choices, good and not so good, on the journey to adulthood. Mistakes are (unfortunately) how boys learn, how they test boundaries and develop their world view. The teachers at Lindfield realise that growing up is a process and the choices our boys make are not personal. Each boy is valued at this school for who they are and they are treated fairly and with respect.  
• Showing vulnerability – Teachers at Lindfield are very open about their own learning as a life-long process. We believe in a growth mindset, where we celebrate mistakes as opportunities to learn. This entails being honest about the challenges we face throughout our learning journeys. It is very hard for the boys to relate to someone who considers themselves perfect all of the time. 

Here at Lindfield, we are proud of how teachers work consistently to develop the relationship with your son. Every boy in our school is a valued part of the community. Every teacher in the school takes the time to talk with the boys and to really get to know them well as young people. This fosters a connection between students and the school, their teachers and to their own learning.

Ben Barrington-Higgs

“Relationships Play Primary Role in Boys’ Learning” by Michael Reichert and Richard Hawley in Phi Delta Kappan, May 2013 (Vol. 94, #8, p. 49-53), www.kappanmagazine.org;

“Q&A with Russell Quaglia, Expert on Student Engagement” by Lawrence Hardy in American School Board Journal, September 2013 (Vol. 200, #8, p. 8-9), www.asbj.com