Learning Partnerships

“These young people don’t need saviors, they need believers. Once you believe in them, and know that they are great beyond measures, by who they are, not by what you bestowed on them, then everything else will shift and change as a result.”

– Conan Harris, Executive Director, My Brother’s Keeper Alliance

Every school has a “sphere of success,” a set of students for whom current practices are working well to get them on the path to college and career-readiness. Regardless of how successful a school is, not every child is within its sphere of success. In order to increase the numbers of young people in that sphere, educators must foster intentional Learning Partnerships with specific students.

Learning Partnerships provide an approach to ensuring that students outside of the sphere of success will have access to all the social, emotional, and educational opportunities they deserve. The learning that comes from these partnerships can guide educators to new approaches to classroom practices and routines that can benefit every student in their care. Learning partnerships require the educator to deeply learn about a student: who they are, how they think, how they learn, and their perceptions of self. This partnership is not just positive rapport; it is built in service of the student’s learning and development of essential skills for success in school and life. Learning Partnerships supports students to utilize their assets and strengths, identify their challenge opportunities, set personal goals, and work with the educator to achieve those goals. This partnership sets the stage for the educator to help a student make conscious movement toward independent, self-directed learning and productive decisions.

The three components of a Learning Partnership:

  1. Identity: Building trust across identity differences – cultural synchronization

  2. Mindset: Creating an alliance

  3. Skill: Formative assessment for independent learning

[Image Description: This graphic consists of two columns to demonstrate the partnership between students and educators in the 3 components of a learning partnership. Across the top of the graphic are the titles of the two columns. The left column reads, “Dimensions of Learning and Partnership” and includes a gray dotted arrow pointing to the title of the right column, “Learning Partnership in Action.”

Row 1, Column 1 contains three elements. The phrase “student identify” is on the left of a magnifying glass, and the text, “educator identity” is on the right. Behind these elements is a gray dotted arrow pointing to a light gray text box in Row 1, Column 2. The text box reads, “ Building rapport and trust across identity differences. Cultural Synchronization.”

Row 2, Column 1 contains three elements. The phrase “student mindset” is on the left of a light bulb, and the text, “educator mindset” is on the right. Behind these elements is a gray dotted arrow pointing to a light gray text box in Row 2, Column 2. The text box reads, “ Creating an alliance. Shared Goal & Commitment.”

Row 3, Column 1 contains three elements. The phrase “student skills” is on the left of a screwdriver and wrench, and the text, “educator skills” is on the right. Behind these elements is a gray dotted arrow pointing to a light gray text box in Row 3, Column 2. The text box reads, “ Formative assessment for independent learning. To inform supports & Interventions.”]

Icons adapted from Maxim Kulikov, priyanka, Deemak Daksina. The Noun Project, CC BY 3.0. www. thenounproject.com.

Building Rapport & Trust

Establishing a level of rapport with individual students and the classroom community as a whole creates a positive learning environment and begins to build trust so that students do not feel the need to be guarded or defensive. This is especially important for struggling students who try to cover up their skill gaps by acting out or trying to disengage during class or at school. One of the most important ways to build trust across differences of identity (race, gender, class, family background, life experience, values, etc.) is working toward cultural synchronization. Cultural synchronization refers to a shared, implicit understanding of communication and interaction styles, both verbal and nonverbal, between students and teachers of different cultural backgrounds that can lead to increased trust, decreased frustration and improved learning opportunities.

Creating an Alliance

When some foundational trust has been established, it is important to move toward creating an alliance with the student – explicitly identifying a growth goal or “skill-based learning target” that is crucial for future success, and making a pact to work together in the service of improving identified skills (academic or “non-cognitive”), decision-making, or shifting a mindset. In order for an alliance to lead to results, a positive academic mindset needs to be fostered so that the student will stay engaged in the learning, believe and see evidence that growth is possible, and persevere through challenges. The alliance stage is critical for fostering student agency and personal investment.

Formative Assessment

Positive rapport and a strong alliance pave the way for the educator to gain a deep and holistic understanding of how a particular student is learning, thinking, and making decisions as they learn through multiple types of formative assessments. It is at this stage that the deep work of “intervening” takes place. The educator is able to help the student assess their own thinking and progress, and use new or pre-existing strategies effectively so that he or she is able to practice, self-correct and learn more independently. Through understanding a student’s multiple aspects of their identify, their perception of self, and how they understand their context, the educator can also support the student to better understand the needs underneath any unproductive displays of behavior, and take responsibility for choices in their best interest.

Additional Resources

References

Boiarsky, G. Editor (2003). Academic Literacy in the English Classroom: Helping Underprepared and Working Class Students Succeed in College. Portsmouth, NH: Boynton/Cook.

Covington, M. (1999). The Will to Learn: A Guide for Motivating Young People. New York: Cambridge University Press.

Cushman, K. (2010). Fires In the Mind: What Kids Can Tell Us About Motivation and Mastery. San Francisco: Jossey Bass.

Dweck, C. (2007). Mindsets: The New Psychology of Success. New York: Ballatine Books.

Gay, G. (2000). Culturally responsive teaching: Theory, research, and practice. New York: Teachers College Press.

Glick, M. (2011). The Instructional Leader and the Brain: Using Neuroscience to Inform Practice. Newbury Park, CA: Corwin.

Hammond, Z. (2014). Culturally Responsive Teaching and The Brain: Promoting Authentic Engagement and Rigor Among Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Students. Newbury Park: Corwin.

Howard, G. (1999). We Can’t Teach What We Don’t Know: White Teachers, Multiracial Schools. New York: Teachers College Press.

Irvine, J. J. (1990). Black students and school failure: Policies, practices, and prescriptions. New York: Greenwood Press.

Kohl, H. (1995). ‘I Won’t Learn from You’: And Other Thoughts on Creative Maladjustment. New York: New Press.

Ladson-Billings, G. (2001). Crossing Over to Canaan: The Journey of New Teachers in Diverse Classrooms. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Ladson-Billings, G. (Summer, 1995). “But That’s Just Good Teaching! The Case for Culturally Relevant Pedagogy.” Theory into Practice, Vol. 34, No.3, pp.159-165.

Obidah, J. and Teel K. (2001). Because of the Kids: Facing Racial and Cultural Differences in Schools. New York: Teachers College Press.

Olsen, L. (2008). Made in America: Immigrant Students in Our Public Schools. New York: New Press.

Pollack, M. (2008). Everyday Antiracism: Getting Real About Race in School. New York: New Press.

Popham, W. (2008). Transformative Assessment. Washington, D.C.: ASCD.

Pressley, M. (1999). Cognitive Strategy Instruction that Really Improves Children’s Academic Performance. Brookline, MA: Brookline Books.

Sheets, R. H. (1999b). Relating competence in an urban classroom to ethnic identity development. In R. H. Sheets & E. R. Hollins (Eds.), Racial and ethnic identity in school practices: Aspects of human development (pp. 157–178). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

Steele, C. (2009). Whistling Vivaldi: And Other Clues to How Stereotypes Affect Us (Issues of Our Time). New York: W.W. Norton & Co.

Trumbull, E., Carrie Rothstein-Fisch, Patricia M. Greenfield, Blanca Quiroz, (2001). Bridging Cultures between Home and School: A Guide for Teachers. San Francisco: West Ed.

Weissglass, Julian. (1998). Ripples of Hope: Building Relationships for educational change. Santa Barbara: Center for Educational Change in Mathematics and Science, University of California.

Wood, E., Woloshyn, V., and Willoughby, T. (1995). Cognitive Strategy Instruction For Middle and High Schools. Brookline, MA: Brookline Books.