Small scale research project sent to author 24 Aug' 23_Exploring relational teaching and how it promotes engagement and more inclusive learning experiences for black & latino grade 7 students

My research is designed to investigate and highlight existing relational patterns in 7th grade instruction that are directly connected to increased engagement and inclusivity for Black and Latino students. Existing research and data show that there is an achievement gap for Black and Latino students in 7th grade compared to White students. Data also show and support that engagement (attending and participation in classes, completing assignments) along with a feeling of being seen and heard as a student has a significant influence on Black and Latino students' experiences and outcomes.

My project was focused on the influences relational processes have in improving engagement and inclusion in classroom instruction distinctly for Black and Latino students in 7th grade. Traditional teaching is primarily focused on delivering pre-planned content during a class or period of learning time. Traditional teaching typically does not prioritize building learning experiences collaboratively with students. It does not incorporate who students are or what they already know at the start. Traditional teaching prioritizes measuring only what students know about the pre-planned content the teacher administers. Much of the current traditional content used and taught in classrooms is not designed to be relatable for Black and Latino students. This lack of relatable content often adds to the disconnectivity these students feel and experience in more traditional learning spaces.

Relational teaching looks to intentionally incorporate building a better understanding of what students already know and how they know it to facilitate meaning-making, student-teacher collaboration, and as a way of opening more learning perspectives. Relational process in this kind of class includes watching students in interactions with classmates, an intentional approach that allows and promotes more time for conversations, and an overall more focused approach that prioritizes exploring learning through relationships.

The teachers and students make connections with one another, and the learning based on personal experiences and backgrounds, is at the center of this approach. The teacher utilizes this new understanding to learn better how to open options for even more learning in collaboration with students. Ultimately this approach engages and includes students on a deeper level intentionally. In this kind of class, you’ll hear and see students thinking aloud, working in pairs or small groups, asking one another questions, having conversations where they agree and disagree with one another on the work, tasks, or assignments.

You’ll see and hear the teacher asking questions, sharing their perspective, moving around the room physically, engaging with students with probing questions, affirmations, and not just standing in front of the room and telling students they are “right or wrong” or “this is the correct answer.” This approach allows the opportunity for teachers to learn what students think, students to learn what their classmates and peers think, and ultimately the teacher to learn how to incorporate or facilitate potential new thinking or to suggest new ideas. This approach allows everyone to participate as a learner on some level in the experience.

This approach differs from today’s more traditional approach which is built on the presumption of students arriving without knowledge. The traditional approach is built on the notion that content and curriculum expertise is what the teacher holds, and the students’ responsibility is primarily to learn it from the teacher. This approach doesn’t require the teacher to necessarily understand how students learn best but focuses primarily on measuring students' knowledge against required curriculum and standards.

I believe that a relational process approach for Black and Latino students in grade 7 improves learning experiences and student outcomes. My hope is that my Research Project will help identify and assess existing teaching methods, strategies, and approaches that successfully promote increased engagement and inclusivity for Black and Latino students. The findings of this exploration are derived using thematic analysis. The data sample includes forty-six 7th grade students which includes seventeen students that identify as Black or Latino as well as two White teachers. The study was completed over 4 weeks which equates to 3,600 minutes of class instruction time that included class observations, looking at and assessing student work products, teacher interviews, as well as small group student interviews.

This Research Project also investigated existing teaching and learning in 7th grade and how elements of relational teaching already exist in traditional teaching methods and practices. This study highlights the value of relational teaching practices compared to traditional teaching practices when the relational approach is intentional. This study provides evidence that relational teaching practices can improve and increase engagement and inclusivity.

As an educator, I support Gergen’s (2015) idea that teaching is a relational process that promotes the idea that “relations between the classroom and its environment should also be extended from the local to the global content” (p. 149). Gergen highlights that relational teaching means moving away from teacher monologues to attentiveness to students, to teachers facilitating dialogues with students. “Teaching in the constructionist view does not solely focus on the teacher’s traits or actions in themselves, but how he or she relates with students” (Gergen, p. 150).