students at the door, or have a discussion re-
lated to the students family or friends. There
were between three to ten instances per
classroom where the teacher would interact
with students with the purpose of building
relationships. For example while the stu-
dents were working independently, teachers
would have 30-second conversations with
individual students and ask them about their
family or personal life. A clear example of a
teacher building relationships was in one of
the classrooms; the teacher stopped the les-
son and told the class that it was a student’s
birthday that day, so they stopped the lesson
and sang Happy Birthday.
Searching for classrooms where
collaborative environments are cen-
ter stage
We know that there is a correlation be-
tween achievement and classrooms where
teachers use forms of peer-to-peer interac-
tions as instructional practices. We also
know that when we enter a classroom that
is successful in these practices, students
are talking to each other and teachers are
10
Leadership
interacting with students to build positive
relationships. Although there may be times
where silence is key for focus in particular
assignments, most of the time, the class-
room will be filled with student conversa-
tions related to the content that were either
initiated by the students or prompted by
the teacher. Rather than fear the noise, we
should learn how to listen for the character
and content of the conversations and recog-
nize the power that they have not only to
scaffold learning, but develop positive and
productive relationships.
References
Espinoza, R. (2011). Pivotal moments:
How educators can put all students on the
path to college. Cambridge, MA: Harvard
Education Press.
Hansen (2018). A practical approach to
developing positive student-teacher rela-
tionships.
Leadership, 47(4), 30-35.
Kyriakides, L., & Creemers, B. (2008).
Using a multidimensional approach to
measure the impact of classroom-level
factors upon student achievement: A
study testing the validity of the dynamic
model. School Effectiveness and School
Improvement, 19(2), 183-2 05. Doi:
10.1080/09243450802047873
Slavin, R. (2013). Effective programmes
in reading and mathematics: Evidence from
the best evidence encyclopedia. School Ef-
fectiveness and School Improvement, 24,
383-391.
Stanton-Salazar, R. (2001). Manufactur-
ing hope and despair: the school and kin
support networks of U.S.-Mexican youth.
New York: Teachers College Press.
Suárez-Orozco, C., Suárez-Orozco, M.,
Todorova, C. (2010). Learning a New Land:
Immigrant Students in American Society.
Cambridge: Harvard University Press.
Paula Madrigal is an Assistant Principal
in the Sweetwater Union High School
District. She obtained her PhD in
Education from Claremont Graduate
University and San Diego State University.