Being an authority on your chosen subject is insufficient. You must use a variety of communication strategies in addition to lecturing if you want them to genuinely grasp the content.
Studies consistently show that courses with an adequate communication environment have a positive performance impact. Students are motivated and more engaged. They form important, substantial, and gratifying connections with their instructor and peers. The traditional method of teaching is based on a formal connection between a student and a teacher; but, with changing times, a strong link and mentoring between student and teacher may be useful in many ways.
These pointers are the result of years of teaching students by Neelakantha Bhanu, Founder, and CEO of Bhanzu, who has personally taught 10,000+ students all around the world. He describes how a strong bond between teachers and students can be beneficial:
Understanding What Students Relate To
A strong student-teacher relationship facilitates for the teacher to better understand the child. In particular, it enables the teacher to understand what children relate to, which they can then apply in the learning process. For example, students in kindergarten resonate with cartoon characters, say Doremon or Tom and Jerry. While introducing a concept, teachers can bring in such aspects to better gauge the attention and interest of students.
Teacher communication is the cornerstone for building relatability towards a subject, this paves way for personalized learning as well.
Understanding Students’ Mindsets
Such a relationship fosters teachers to better understand their students’ mindsets, particularly towards the subject taught. Students will be free to share their feelings without hesitation. It enables him or her to decipher whether students have positive or negative mindsets towards the subject and the reasons behind the same resulting in structuring better approaches to teaching.
Anchoring
Another valuable benefit a strong student-teacher bond creates in the teacher is the ability to anchor their students. Once a strong emotional bond is established, teachers can identify students and what they respond to. Different students need different kinds of appreciation and correction. Traditional styles of appreciation like a drawn star, or a ‘very good!’ may not encourage everyone. Similarly, certain students would respond well to a reprimanding, whereas others would only understand their mistake if they are sat down and openly conversed with. Every time a student falls back, a strong bond allows the teacher to anchor them in the right direction. He or she can then ensure to keep up the momentum of the child’s progress.
Character Formation
An open classroom where the teacher encourages students to share their thoughts and feelings forms a strong bond between both parties. The child then perceives the classroom to be a safe space where they can be vulnerable. This fosters an environment where students are not afraid to fail and are not suspected of judgment. This helps build their confidence and empathy, which are traits of a strong personality. Having a deeper teacher-student connection will incentivize students to learn more than just academic subjects.
Students Explore New Possibilities
In terms of career decisions too, a strong bond between a student and his teacher proves to be beneficial. By teaching math in a fun and relatable manner, students are encouraged to explore different careers in math or related to math. For example, students have shown interest in exploring careers in STEM when they are taught math in a relatable manner. This leads to bridging the gap between STEM-related aspirations and the competence of students.