Building an Emotionally Engaged Classroom: Teacher-Student Emotional Interactions and Their Mechanisms for Practical Strategies

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session Friday 3:45 pm - Gold 3
  In Roundtable Session: Schools as Contexts for Social Emotional Learning

Abstract

In response to the cognitive-emotional imbalance in classroom teaching and the lack of clarity regarding teacher–student emotional interaction, this study explores the emotional interaction mechanisms in elementary classrooms and proposes strategies for building emotionally engaged classrooms. A one-month field study was conducted in an elementary school in Hangzhou, China, involving 25 observed Chinese classes and interviews with 6 teachers and 13 students. Content analysis revealed three key symbolic elements: teacher–student roles (subject symbols), teaching content (mediating symbols), and classroom norms (order symbols). The interaction process includes generation, development, and regulation. The findings offer a nuanced theoretical framework for SEL research and provide practical guidance for teachers in fostering emotionally supportive classrooms and enhancing teacher–student emotional relationships.

Author

• Huiyi Xu, Zhejiang University