Developing a Framework for Enhancing Student Connections in the Classroom

• In Event: Youth Development in the Classroom

Abstract

This paper examines how teachers establish positive classroom climates through autonomy-supportive instructional interactions. Teachers (N =6) were sampled from a highly effective charter school system and videotaped for 10 instructional segments. Across classrooms, students reported high levels of engagement, perceived affective support, and autonomy-support. Iterative coding of instructional interactions resulted in the development of a connection-enhancing framework for observing autonomy-supportive teacher practices (μ = 0.86 - 8.71 per instructional segment). Despite similar classroom-level characteristics, teachers varied in the frequency of the types of practices they utilized. Results support empirically-based understandings of how teacher practices create positive classroom climates, and more specifically the role of autonomy-supportive instructional interactions within such a dynamic. Implications for future design-based interventions are discussed.

Authors

• Jasmine Williams, University of Pittsburgh

• Tanner LeBaron Wallace, University of Pittsburgh

• Hannah Sung, University of Pittsburgh