If you are thinking that I got the title wrong, then I have got your attention. Yes, I know that most of the time it is teachers who tell their students to be quiet. But really, there is a case for teachers to be quiet in the classroom.

Studies have shown that teachers often need to be quiet in class. Teachers in their eagerness to assist their students to answer questions, usually give students little time to think. It was found that teachers often follow up a question with another in rapid succession. All it takes is a 1.5 second pause before a second question is fired at the student. Of course, the second and third questions are usually rephrased in the hope that the student would understand better.

But what is the effect of this rapid succession of questions from the teacher on the students? Although as teachers we may think that we are trying to help the students, for the former it would be like a series of different questions. Imagine that if you are the student you are already grappling with the first question and before you have had time to think, another question is shot at you. Immediately, the mind will try to reorganize itself to tackle the second question. This grappling in the mind is made worse if another questions flies at you. The mind has to reorganize itself again. The grappling just goes on.

Teachers can help prevent this incessant reorganisation of the thinking that goes on in the heads of students by learning to just be quiet after asking the first question. Mary Budd Rowe (1972) called it “Wait Time”. She found that by just being quiet, a teacher will be rewarded with better  responses from her students. I have found this to be true from my own personal experience too. We simply need to give our students time to think! Nothing very sophisticated about that to add to your repertoire as a teacher. Just be quiet! It will go a long way towards creating a positive climate for learning.

I have just returned from a trip to Thailand to conduct a seminar for about 120 teachers from international schools in Bangkok. One of the things that was discussed at the seminar was what could be done to create a safe environment to encourage thinking. We discussed a whole lot of things we could do but I forgot to mention something that I work hard at doing whenever I conduct a seminar or workshop, that is, I make a point to always smile. Remember that old song that was written with music by none other than the great Charlie Chaplin himself?

Smile though your heart is aching; Smile even though it’s breaking…

(Lyrics by John Turner and Geoffrey Parsons. Music written by Charlie Chaplin, 1936)

A smile is actually a very important aspect of a teacher’s teaching repertoire. If there is one thing that can make a teacher appear friendly and approachable, it is his smile. Students like all of us feel comfortable when the person in a position of authority is able to smile when they interact. The learning that takes place depends a lot on the student’s perception of his teacher. If it is positive, the student is more likely to want to be more attentive to the teacher. This helps the teacher to  teach. Making a conscious effort should be part of the the teacher’s standard operating procedure. The teacher must tell himself to smile before he enters the classroom and meet his charges. It does not matter what problems the teacher may face. It does not matter what is going on his mind but the moment he enters the class he must smile. The students should not be subjected to the teacher’s mood swings. A consistently kind and pleasant countenance helps the teacher build bridges not only to their students’ hearts but also to their minds.  As the song goes:

Light up your face with gladness, Hide every trace of sadness.

Although a tear may be ever so near,

That’s the time you must keep on trying…If you just smile…

I’ve come to the frightening conclusion that I am the decisive element in the classroom.  It is my personal approach that creates the climate.  It is my daily mood that makes the weather.  As a teacher, I possess a tremendous power to make a child’s life miserable or joyous. I can be a tool of torture or an instrument of inspiration.  I can humiliate or humor, hurt or heal.  In all situations, it is my response that decides whether a crisis will be escalated or deescalated and a child humanized or dehumanized.
- Haim Ginot, Professor of Psychology

If we were to recall a teacher who we felt had a positive influence on us during our student days, we are most likely to think of a teacher who had made us feel comfortable and through the teacher’s ability to make us feel comfortable, we are able to learn what we have been given to learn. Modern cognitive research also shows that the brain cells would shrink in the face of a hostile environment as for example when we feel fear or unsafe. On the other hand, the same brain cell would grow and develop if the environment is safe and comfortable. A teacher, therefore, ought to be aware that the classroom climate is the most important condition for learning to take place. The teacher must cultivate positive attitudes and perceptions about learning among the students.

The creation of safe, non-threatening and conducive environment to learning is a pre-requisite to good teaching. A teacher must make the effort to create such an environment. The teacher would have to ask several questions to achieve this goal. For example, the teacher must ask what makes the students feel accepted in the class. Acceptance here, refers to acceptance not only by all the teachers teaching that class but also the student’s peers.

The teacher must also ask what makes the student comfortable. Is there order in the class? Do students know where to look for things? Do they know the classroom procedures? Do they know what is expected of them when they come into the classroom and when tasks are given? A well-run classroom will give the student that feeling of stability and focus.

There are also many things that the teacher can do to make the classroom a less threatening and intimidating place. A classroom should be a safe place for learning. The student must be free from not only physical hurt but also, and perhaps, more importantly, hurt from the words of their peers and teachers. I believe all of us know that words can harm the confidence and motivational level of students more than perhaps physical threats. Unfortunately, threats and intimidation are quite often the norm in classrooms all over the world.

The teacher also must seriously attempt to make the learning as suitable as possible for the learner. Students like to see relevance. Teachers must make the extra effort to connect for the students what they are learning to their own lives. If the students’ perceptions of the learning is that it has little relevant to them, they are less likely to be interested or motivated to learn. Furthermore, as I have mentioned in a previous posting, making the connection for students is actually teaching for transfer.

The teacher must also ensure that the learning is not too difficult for the student. The teacher should stretch the student but the stretching must not be done at the expense of learning being done in progressive and logical steps. The teacher must make sure that bridges are made during lessons so that the student can understand easier the new content. Scaffolding becomes important in the teaching and learning. The student should feel that the learning is manageable and that it does not require a quantum leap in the mental processes.

Teachers who are mindful of their students’ perceptions and attitudes towards learning will find that their students will be more enthusiastic and motivated to do well in class. Teachers can make or break students. That is how pwerful a teacher can be. As insinuated by the quotation that I began this post with, that power demands greater responsibility on our part in how we treat our students.