The Relational Pedagogy Project is designed to help you learn to use the ideas, strategies, and theories you learn in Adolescent Development in your student teaching. In this project, you will begin to establish a positive relationship with the students in one of your student teaching classrooms. You will also develop a critical perspective on the ideas from the readings and class discussions by selecting, implementing, and evaluating their use in a real setting.

In the first part of the project you will develop purposes and a plan for establishing a positive relationship with your students. In part 2, you will implement the plan and collect data on its effectiveness, then write up an evaluation of the plan and implications for future teaching. In the final part, you will analyze your relationships with two particular students, and reflect on your own interaction patterns as possible biases.

To see samples from last year for each part of the project, click here.

Part 1:  The Plan        Due Jan. 17                Rubric

In Part I you will develop a plan for establishing a positive relationship with the students in one class period. The plan should include 4 parts: 

• A brief description of the kind of relationship you are trying to establish with your students
• Strategies that will help you to learn about your students in terms of their in-school and subject matter interests, preferences and activities, and out-of school lives.
• Strategies to learn the names of all the students in the first week; and
• Strategies for collecting data about the effects of your efforts, including a system to keep track of your interactions with students. You will use the data to examine the patterns of interaction with students in Parts 2 & 3.  For example, which students are you interacting with in each class? calling on in class? Have you interacted in some way with all students by the end of the week? Are the interactions focused on tasks(questions about assignment), on behavior (misbehavior), or personal interests (checking in after an absence; commenting on sports event)? Would you characterize the interactions as positive or negative?

Write up

• Describe the 4 parts of the plan in detail.
• Provide a rationale for each part of your plan based on class readings, discussions, and what you know about the class you have selected. Be sure to cite the readings you use.

The rationale should include the following:

• Why is it important for you as a teacher to establish this particular kind of relationship with your students?
• Why did you select these particular strategies?
• What data will you collect to help you evaluate the effectiveness of the strategies, and why?

During your field experience, Prepare for Part 2 by trying out your plan, collecting data on how it worked, and collecting data on your interaction patterns. NOTE: You will also be working on Part 3, getting to know individual students (see directions)

Part 1 is due Thursday, January 17. This will enable use to provide feedback prior to your implementation of the plan.

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Scoring Rubric for Part I: The Plan

Minimum criteria, without which no credit will be given:

____All three parts of plan addressed

____Rationale provided, uses and references readings.

Scoring Rules: Each description illustrates the characteristics of work at that score level. Not all papers will match a description exactly.

4.0  Each part is described in sufficient detail, with a clear rationale. Rationale uses important ideas from the readings (these are cited) and shows a good grasp of these ideas. The expected effects of each strategy are supported and seem plausible. The system for keeping track of interactions seems feasible, given your role in the classroom, and is likely to provide the data needed for Parts 2 & 3 of the project.

3.5  Each part is described, and a rationale is provided. Rationale cites ideas from the readings that show an understanding of the ideas, though some connections may be vague or superficial.  The expected effects of each strategy are supported and seem plausible. The system for keeping track of interactions seems feasible, given your role in the classroom, and is likely to provide at least some of the data needed for Parts 2 & 3.

3.0  Most strategies are described in sufficient detail, though rationale may be weak in spots. The expected effects of each strategy are described. Use of some readings may be superficial or minimal, or may show some misunderstandings. System for keeping track of interactions is described, but may lack detail, or may not be clearly connected to the requirements of Parts 2 & 3.

2.0  Strategies described, but lack detail. Rationale for some strategies weak. Use of readings superficial or minimal, or shows misunderstandings of important ideas. Effects of strategies description may be too vague. System for keeping track of interactions too vague or lacks connection to Parts 2 & 3.

1.0  Write-up is generally vague. Rationale too general, shows major misunderstandings of ideas used. Effects of strategy described vaguely or not at all. System for keeping track of interactions vague, unlikely to provide data for Parts 2 & 3.

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While you are in the field, you will work on both Part 2 and Part 3.

Part 2         Due Feb. 26                Rubric

The Plan, Its Implementation & Evaluation: How Well Did It Work?

In Part 2, you will reflect on your plan, analyze how well it worked and why, and suggest possible changes for next time.  In the write-up, use data and the readings to support your arguments.

Briefly describe the following:

• Type of school/program in which you teach, (e.g., middle/high school, themed school or program);
• The nature of your focal class (e.g., ninth grade English – untracked, American Literature – College Prep) and the organization of the subject in the school (e.g., departmentalized, interdisciplinary teams);
• Degree of ability grouping or tracking, if any.

Attach your original plan. Note any revisions made prior to implementation.

Review each part of your plan.  Use the data you collected (using system developed in part one, your observations and notes, CT/US feedback, etc.) and ideas from the reading to evaluate the effectiveness of your plan.

Consider the following questions as you reflect:

• How well did each part work?  How successful were you in learning the names of all the students?  What problems were there, and why?  What changes might you make to your approach in the fall?
• What patterns did you notice in your interactions with students?
• In what ways did these strategies help you to develop relationships with the students? How did different students react? 
• With whom was it easy to connect; with whom was it difficult?  What did this mean for you and the students, and for your relationship with the class as a whole? 

Important: In your write-up, compare your implementation and evaluation to the outcomes you expected based on our readings. Use the readings to help explain what happened and why, and what you might change. Use your data and experiences to reflect on the readings and critique what you have read – did your position on any of the readings change?

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Scoring Rubric for Part 2:

Minimum criteria, without which no credit will be given:

____All parts are included (description, plan, 4-part plan review)

____Analysis of plan implementation uses and cites readings

____Paper is free of spelling and grammatical errors.

Scoring Rules: Each description illustrates the characteristics of work at that score level. Not all papers will match a description exactly.

4.0  Description includes all information requested. Plan review addresses the questions provided in the directions. Review uses data from the field (e.g., observations, notes, CT/US feedback, questionnaire data, etc.) to illustrate and support your evaluation. Review analyzes expected vs. observed results of using the strategies, using and/or critiquing important ideas and theories from course readings to make and support (or contrast to) your interpretation. Use of readings shows a strong grasp of the ideas and theories used. Implications for your future teaching, including strategies you might try in the spring or fall, are well-articulated and supported by your analysis.

3.5  Description includes all information requested. Plan review addresses the questions provided in the directions. Review uses data from the field (e.g., observations, notes, CT/US feedback, questionnaire data, etc.) to illustrate and support your evaluation. Review analyzes expected vs. observed results of using the strategies, using and/or critiquing ideas and theories from course readings to support (or contrast to) your interpretation, but analysis may depend too much on anecdotal evidence from readings rather than research-based ideas OR some connections may not be fully explained. Use of readings shows a good grasp of the ideas and theories used. Implications for your future teaching, including strategies you might try in the spring or fall, are well-articulated and supported by your analysis (including any theoretical ideas), though connections may be superficial in places.

3.0  Description includes all information requested. Plan review addresses most of the questions provided in the directions. Review uses data from the field (e.g., observations, notes, CT/US feedback, questionnaire data, etc.) to illustrate and support your evaluation, although the connection between data and conclusions may not always be clear. Review analyzes expected vs. observed results of using the strategies, using some ideas and theories from course readings to support (or contrast to) your interpretation, but may depend too much on anecdotal evidence from readings OR readings tend to be used in a "matching" fashion, as in "this is an example of stage-environment fit," with little additional explanation. Use of readings may show some minor misunderstandings. Implications for your future teaching, including strategies you might try in the spring or fall, are described, but their relationship to the analysis or readings may not be clearly specified.

2.0  Description includes most information requested. Plan review addresses most of the questions provided in the directions. Review uses some data from the field (e.g., observations, notes, CT/US feedback, questionnaire data, etc.) to illustrate and support your evaluation, although the connection between data and conclusions may not be clear. Analysis of expected vs. observed results of using the strategies makes superficial use of theories to explain the results; may demonstrate misunderstanding or misapplication of ideas. Implications for your future teaching, including strategies you might try in the spring or fall, are described, but their relationship to the analysis or readings may not be clear.

1.0  Description may be incomplete. Plan review addresses some questions provided in the directions. Data from the field is described, but analysis of expected vs. observed results of using the strategies makes little or only superficial use of theories to explain the results; demonstrates major misunderstanding or misapplication of ideas .

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Part 3         Due March 6                Rubric

Working More Effectively with Students: My Preferences, My Biases?

In Part  3, you will be reflecting on getting to know two individual students and reflecting on your relationship with them.

IN THE FIELD.

During your second week in the field, examine your data on your interactions with the students. Pick one student with whom you interacted frequently, with whome you worked well and got to know, and one student with whom you rarely interacted or interacted negatively, and with whome had difficulty working or getting to know.  Over the remaining days of your field experience, try some new strategies to get to know as much as possible about the student who seems more difficult for you to work with or get to know. See if this gives you ideas about how to interact more positively with this student.  Try to find gather information about both students that helps you answer the questions below.

WHEN YOU RETURN. Write a reflection on your relationships with these two students.  (No names, just identifying characteristics and what you know about them.) 

Main questions to address: Why was one student easy for you to work with or get to know and the other more difficult? What are the implications for your future teaching?

Use ideas and theories from the readings to help you analyze your relationships with these two students. As you work, consider the following questions related to our work in the course.

• How might the student’s academic and social identities have influenced your relationships?
• How might the students’ relationships with other students in the class have influenced your relationships with the two students? 
• How might the students’ connections to school more generally—friends, peers, activities—have influenced your relationships? What about their motivation for the subject or activities?
• How much positive attention and autonomy did you (and the CT) grant to the student? How often did she or he have a chance to increase competence or relatedness? Did any aspects of the classroom interfere with meeting these needs?
• What strategies did you use to get to know the student? How successful were they?

Review chapter 2 in Fires in the Bathroom to see if it is helpful in understanding your relationship with the students you have identified, your knowledge of who they are and the learning challenges she/he may encounter. In particular, review “Assets of Worst-Behaving Students” from Fires in the Bathroom (pp. 46-47) to see if any of these questions are helpful in understanding your relationship with the students.

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Scoring Rubric for Part 3:

Minimum criteria, without which no credit will be given:

____Paper includes descriptions of students, your relationships with them, and an analysis of those relationships.

____Analysis of relationship uses and cites readings

____Paper is free of spelling and grammatical errors.

Scoring Rules: Each description illustrates the characteristics of work at that score level. Not all papers will match a description exactly.

4.0  Descriptions of students clear and complete, addressing all or most of the first five bullet points in the directions. Description of your relationship with the student includes last bullet point. Your analysis of the relationship is supported by evidence from data collected in the field, including data from your notes (or journal entries), record of interactions, observations by others (e.g., CT, US). Ideas and theories from readings across the course to date are used in support or contrasted to your interpretation of these two relationships. (NOTE: This does not mean you must use all of the readings, just don't concentrate on those from one or two days.) Use of the readings shows a strong grasp of theories and ideas.

3.5  Descriptions of students clear and complete, addressing all or most of the first five bullet points in the directions. Description of your relationship with the student includes last bullet point. Your analysis of the relationship is supported by evidence from data collected in the field, including data from your notes (or journal entries), record of interactions, observations by others (e.g., CT, US). Ideas and theories from readings across the course to date are used in support or contrasted to your interpretation of these two relationships, though some connections may be superficial. Use of the readings shows a good grasp of theories and ideas.

3.0  Descriptions of students address most of the first five bullet points in the directions. Description of your relationship with the student includes last bullet point. Your analysis of the relationship is mostly supported by evidence from data collected in the field, including data from your notes (or journal entries), record of interactions, observations by others (e.g., CT, US). Ideas and theories from readings across the course to date are used primarily by matching ideas, quotes, or theories to data, rather than using them to interpret data. Use of the readings shows understanding of theories and ideas, though there may be some minor misunderstandings or misapplications OR are drawn from a narrow set of readings.

2.0  Descriptions of students address some of the first five bullet points in the directions. Description of your relationship with the student includes last bullet point. Your analysis of the relationship is supported by evidence from data collected in the field, but this support is inconsistent or weak in places. Ideas and theories from readings across the course to date are used primarily by matching ideas, quotes, or theories to data, rather than using them to interpret data and are drawn from a narrow set of readings. Use of the readings shows some understanding of theories and ideas, though there may be some major misunderstandings or misapplications.

1.0  Descriptions of students address some of the first five bullet points in the directions. Description of your relationship with the student may include last bullet point. Analysis of the relationship may occasionally supported by evidence from data collected in the field, in general consists of free-form inference without anchoring in the data. Ideas and theories from readings across the course to date are used infrequently or superficially. Use of the readings shows major misunderstanding or misapplication of theories and ideas.

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TIMETABLE FOR WRITTEN WORK

To help you plan for this assignment and your Future Classroom plan, here is a suggested timetable:

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