The Importance of Creating an Environment of Mutual Respect In the Classroom

Amanda J. Watson, PhDMurray State University

Background

• Promoting an academic alliance between instructor and students is essential in developing a strong learning environment in the classroom.

• This alliance can be created by establishing cooperation, communication, security, a shared responsibility for learning, and mutual respect in the classroom (Tiberius & Billson, 1991).

Purpose of the Investigation

Participants and Methods

• Anonymous, end-of-semester, teaching evaluations were collected from 156 students in 6 sections of 3 unique courses in the Psychology department of a large Southeastern University between 2011 and 2014.

• Students were asked to report on various aspects of their learning experience, including their instructor’s effectiveness, the level of mutual respect in the classroom, and their expected grade in the course, among other variables.

Questions

(1) The instructor was well-prepared(2) The instructor presented the subject matter clearly(3) The instructor provided feedback intended to improve my course performance(4) The instructor fostered an atmosphere of mutual respect(5) I have a deeper understanding of the subject material as a result of this

course(6) My interest in the subject matter was stimulated by this course(7) Overall, the instructor’s teaching was effective(11) How would you rate the physical environment in which you took this class

based upon your ability to see, hear, concentrate, and participate?(13) I improved my ability to think independently about the course material.(14) I learned to identify problems and explore different solutions.(15) The instructor used a scholarly approach in presenting content (referencing

theory, research, and debates in the field).(16) The instructor treated students with respect.(17) The instructor was effective in administering the class and organizing

materials.(18) The grade I expect in this course is.(19) Number of in class activities(20) Number of homework assignments(21) Number of tests

Results

• On average, students rated the atmosphere of mutual respect in the classroom as 5.84 on a 6-point scale. Student rating of respect was positively associated with all other ratings in the evaluation (all r’s> .401; all p’s < .001), with the exception of their expected grade in the course and the number of assignments given (all r’s< .124; all p’s > .124).

• Directionality of the causation of these associations is unknown

The purpose of this investigation was to examine those factors that may contribute to and result from a classroom environment high in mutual respect.

Presented at the Conference for Higher Education Pedagogy, Blacksburg VA, Feb 4-6 2015

N Minimum Maximum Mean Std. Deviation@1 154 3 6 5.77 .546@2 154 2 6 5.74 .645@3 154 2 6 5.66 .727@4 154 4 6 5.84 .398@5 154 3 6 5.62 .733@6 154 1 6 5.40 1.099@7 154 2 6 5.62 .724@11 155 4 6 5.58 .545@13 155 2 6 5.34 .825@14 153 2 6 5.29 .856@15 154 2 6 5.58 .703@16 154 4 6 5.86 .397@17 153 2 6 5.74 .615@18 155 2 4 3.54 .550@19 156 1 21 7.97 8.114@20 156 2 2 2.00 .000@21 156 3 4 3.73 .445Valid N (listwise) 144

Descriptive Statistics

Correlations

References

Discussion

• Results imply that instructors can actively work to create a classroom environment of mutual respect in which students can thrive.

• The directionality of these associations, however, is unknown. It is likely that student agreement with statements such as “the instructor was well-prepared” and “the instructor presented subject matter clearly” may have influenced their feeling of mutual respect, whereas agreement with statements such as “my interest in the subject matter was stimulated by this course” may have come as a happy result of this mutual respect.

• Interestingly, students reported feeling less mutual respect in the classroom when there were a higher number of tests in the class. It is possible that this may be an artifact of other factors in the sampled classes with four tests, however it is also possible that increased testing may allow for less classroom interaction and, thus, may undermine the environment of mutual respect created by this interaction.

• More research is necessary to help clarify those aspects of student perceptions that are a result of a mutually respectful classroom as they differ from those aspects that help contribute to the atmosphere of mutual respect.

Tiberius, R. G., and Billson, J. M. “The Social Context of Teaching and Learning.” In R. J Menges and M. D. Svinicki (eds.), College Teaching: From Theory to Practice. New Directions for Teaching and Learning, no. 45. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1991.

Credit: http://www.christinesmartteacherportfolio.com/classroom-management-techniques.html