BENEMÉRITA UNIVERSIDAD AUTÓNOMA DE PUEBLA

FACULTAD DE LENGUAS
LICENCIATURA EN LA ENSEÑANZA DEL INGLÉS

Chapter I, II, and guidelines for III

Thesis’ tittle: Exploring my own experience in teacher-student interaction as a practicing

English teacher at the kindergarten level in an online context.

Subject: Research seminar I

Student’s name: Guadalupe Cortés Luna

ID: 201764322

Teacher’s name: Ma. Teresa Fátima Encinas Prudencio

Otoño 2020
 Exploring my own experience in teacher-student interaction as a

practicing English teacher at the kindergarten level in an online context.

Chapter I

1. Introduction

The relationship between teachers and students is a very important aspect of the

academic and interpersonal development of both students and teachers at any educational

level. Throughout their school life, any student lives with a large number of teachers, but

unfortunately, it is not always possible to build a good relationship with them.

If this relationship fails to be built in the early stages of educational life, it may lead

to students in later stages feeling reluctant to relate in a better way with their teachers, which

can limit their school and even interpersonal life.

After having the opportunity to carry out my teaching experience in a primary school

and observing the behavior of several of the students, I observed on the one hand, some of

them felt comfortable and showed trust with the teacher, and on the other hand, another group

of students who seemed uncomfortable and even frightened by the figure of the teacher. That

is why I decided to base my study on the teacher-student relationship and focus it on the

initial stage of student life, kindergarten since this is a critical stage for the construction of

this relationship.

1.1 Significance of the topic

The student-teacher relationship has been widely studied, and some studies mention

that this relationship is especially crucial at the kindergarten level due to the attachment that
children can generate with teachers. However, contradictorily, there are very few

publications that are focused on this level.

Taking into account the pandemic situation that the world is going through, many

countries, including Mexico, have opted for online education. Unfortunately, one of the

biggest cons of this type of education is that it is extremely difficult to build a good

relationship between students and teachers, and due to the age and limitations that

kindergarten students present, it is with this student sector that it is even more complicated.

It is for these reasons that I develop this study, to delve into this problem and mainly

to seek solutions that in the near future may be useful for teachers.

1.2 The context of the research

The theoretical context of this study is supported by the humanist theory, which

defines the teacher as an empathetic character and interested in the student as a person with

emotions and feelings and not only as a passive learner. Humanistic teachers reject being an

extremely authoritarian figure to students. Humanism presents the student as the center of

teaching, all students are unique and present different characteristics, feelings, and emotions.

Humanism shows the teacher-student relationship as a relationship of respect, trust, and also

affective.

1.3 The location of the research

The location of this study is a kindergarten public school in a Mexican community.

Like the rest of the schools in the country, the institution has adopted the online teaching-
learning modality due to the social distancing measures implemented by the covid-19

pandemic.

This institution is listed in Sep to receive practicing teachers. As part of my

professional practice, I was assigned to this institution to serve as a practicing English teacher

in front of a 3rd-grade group of 31 students. Thus, this is the main reason to carry out the

study in this institution.

1.4 Aims

The principal aim of this research study is to identify which are the main factors

interfering in the construction of the teacher-student relationship at the preschool level in an

online context. As well as looking for and implementing various strategies that help improve

the relationship, in order to present them to teachers who are going through a complicated

situation in their relationship with their students.

1.5 Research question

How can I improve interaction with kindergarten students despite all the factors

interfering in the online context?

1.6 Chapter summary and thesis overview

This chapter summarizes the study entitled: Exploring my own experience in teacher-

student interaction as a practicing ESL teacher at the kindergarten level in an online context.

This study is supported by the humanist theory and takes place in a public

kindergarten institution in a Mexican community, which has adopted the online modality,

which makes it suitable for this study.

 Finally, the aims of this research study are presented as well as the research question

which focuses on discovering strategies to improve the teacher-student relationship.

Chapter II

Literature Review

This chapter presents the literature review, which provides information about the

relevant concepts approached in this study in order to help the reader to have a deeper

understanding of the definition and the importance of each one of these topics. This chapter

is divided into: 1) Teacher-student relationship, where the various aspects that this

relationship integrates will be addressed, in addition to delving into the effects that a good

teacher-student relationship has on the various aspects of the lives of students and teachers

(emotional, academic, and social). The teacher-student relationship will be focused on the

kindergarten level, due to the high level of attachment that these students generate with their

teachers. Moreover, the limitations that arise in the construction of this relationship due to

the distance learning modality; implemented due to the covid-19 pandemic will be taken into

account. 2) Online learning, where the characteristics of this learning modality will be

described; in addition to the advantages and disadvantages that some authors attribute to it.

This learning modality will also be focused at the kindergarten level, since unfortunately due

to the great amount of interaction and exploration that these students require, online

education is proving to be a challenge for them.

2.1 Teacher-student relationship

The scholar environment is formed by many aspects, one of the most important ones

is the teacher-student relationship. This relationship may be one of the factors that determine

the students’ success or failure in their academic and even interpersonal scholar life.

Even though as far as teacher-student relationship concern, there is not a specific

definition, it can be interpreted as the way how a professor and their learners are related, and

it includes many aspects besides the intellectual one. For example the social and even the

affecting relation. Nevertheless, authors who had studied this topic, clearly remark their

importance, for example Pianta (1999 quoted in Baker, Grant & Morlock 2008) states that

“positive teacher-student relationships provide children with the emotional security

necessary to engage fully in learning activities and scaffold the development of social,

behavioral, and self-regulatory competencies needed in the school environment”. (p.4)

The teacher-student relationship involves more than just oral communication in the

classroom; it is composed of immediacy behaviors, which can be interpreted as verbal and

nonverbal communicative actions which objective is to send positive messages of affinity

and proximity, diminish psychological distance between people, and affect students’ state

motivation in a positive way. According to Frymier and Houser (2000) :

Verbal immediacy consist of behaviors such as calling students by name, asking

students about themselves, and asking for students’ opinions. Nonverbal immediacy

consist of behaviors such as smiling at students, making eye contact, moving around

the classroom, and using vocal variety. (p. 4)

 For students this type of action can be essential to build the teacher-student

relationship; feeling that the teacher has the attention to remember his name, smiling at them

or take their opinions into account can be interpreted by the students as an evidence of interest

and respect towards them, and consequently will create a feeling of empathy towards the

teacher.

Most authors agree that the relation teacher-student, is a really important part in

school life, for example, Hamre and Pianta, 2007; Rutter and Maughan, 2002, Jussim &

Harber, 2005, Pianta, 1999, and Brekelmans, 1989; Walker, 2009; Woolfolk Hoy and

Weinstein, 2006, highlight the fact that a positive teacher-student relationship have a positive

influence in the students’ emotional development which in consequence, may influence

students’ motivation and learning outcomes.

Another essential aspect involved in teacher-student relationship is the classroom

environment, Jussim & Harber, 2005, Frymier & Houser, 2000 p.208, Hughes & Cavell,

1999 p.174, and Bronfenbrenner & Morris, 1998; Sabol & Pianta, 2012, agree that a good

teacher-student relationship contributes to create a positive classroom climate, which may

result really helpful for both teacher and students development.

As seen above, good teacher-student relationship, brings with it lots of benefits for

both parts, and it is well known that teachers learn from students even more than what

students learn from teachers. That why it is crucial to establish a good relation, which helps

to develop a good classroom climate. However, this relationship not only benefits teachers

and students, for example, Hamre & Pianta, (2007); Rutter & Maughan, (2002), quoted in

Luckner & Pianta (2011), stablish that this relation may be also effective to improve the

relation among students, which may be helpful to improve work in pairs and teams.
 A very important part of verbal immediacy is asking students questions about

themselves. Questions such as “How are you today? How was your weekend? Do you

have any favorite hobby or sport?”, may be really helpful to create a much closer

relationship. This will favor not only the students but the teacher since they will have a

broader idea of the students' lifestyle as well as their likes or favorite activities. This kind of

information can be very useful when implementing activities in class since students will

probably feel attracted to activities that involve their likes; what will make them feel

motivated and engaged to the class, as a consequence, they will be greatly benefit on their

learning process.

There are some others authors who agree with this idea and that also relate this

relationship with students’ motivation for example Ertesv_ag, (2011); Walker, (2009);

Wentzel, (2002);Wubbels et al., (2006), quoted in De Jong, Mainhard, Van Tartwijk,

Veldman, Verloop & Wubbels (2014) say that “Educational researchers have demonstrated

that an effective teacher–student relationship is characterized by a combination of high levels

of influence and affiliation”, Brekelmans, (1989); Walker, (2009); Woolfolk Hoy &

Weinstein, (2006) complement them saying that “with influence being especially positively

related to students’ cognitive learning outcomes, and affiliation to students’ motivation”.

As seen in the previous information, the teacher-student relationship is a pivotal

aspect of students’ emotional and academic development.

For all teachers and students, a good relationship means a better development in the

classroom and therefore a better performance of academic but also social activities. This

relationship is very important in all stages and educational levels, however, there is always a
sector of the student population that requires more attention and support, in this case, the

teacher-student relationship with kindergartners is crucial.

A good relationship can bring with it many advantages, however nowadays due to the

covid-19 pandemic situation and the necessity of performing courses online as the only

option; teacher-student relationships specifically in kindergarten are being affected. The

online learning modality implies huge changes in kindergartners’ school life; kindergartners

are in a development stage, not just academic but also social and emotional, and the

interaction with classmates, but mainly with the teacher is important to succeed in their

development. Birch y Ladd, Howes y Smith, Pianta, quoted in Moreno (2010 quoted in

Zambrano, Fajardo & Venet 2017) establish that:

Diversos investigadores han resaltado la importancia del maestro en la vida de los

niños al hacer la entrada en el contexto escolar; la importancia de este papel recae en

que el fortalecimiento de las relaciones afectivas entre niño y maestro, pueden

potenciar el ajuste social y el éxito académico futuro del niño. (p.196)

Indubitably, the teachers’ role represents a really important aspect in students’ life, so

even in this pandemic situation, it is an aspect to which we must pay great attention to avoid

complications in students’ development.

Even though the main and first children’s social contact is with their parents or

relatives, in the process of changing from family life to school life, it is the teachers who

represent the main figure who will provide care and safety to children. Pianta & Erickson

(1989 quoted in Zambrano, Fajardo & Venet 2017) claim that

 Tradicionalmente se ha reconocido que los niños desarrollan un apego

significativo con los padres, sin embargo, actualmente el padre y/o la madre ya no

están tan presentes en el crecimiento de sus hijos, lo cual hace que los docentes

formen parte importante en la vida del niño, debido a que cada día los infantes llevan

al colegio las consecuencias de sus experiencias, interacciones y condiciones de su

entorno familiar, creando y consolidando en estos el desarrollo afectivo y

emocional.(p.56)

As seen, for all kindergartners, the relation and interaction with the teacher can create

a huge difference in their academic, social, and emotional development. However, online

learning limits interaction enormously, and this fact is concerning educators, parents, and

even educational authorities.

There is no information or a concrete description about how to build a positive

teacher-student relationship, however in the study carried out by Hawk, Cowley, Hill &

Sutherland (2002), with information collected from the opinions of students from a primary

school, a secondary school and a university in the Auckland area. They created a list of the

characteristics that according to them a teacher should have to be considered "the perfect

teacher". Although this description was created based on the comments of students from

primary, secondary and university level, it can be considered as functional for students of

other ages and educational levels.

Some of the most outstanding and repeated characteristics by the students were the

following:

 Empathy
This involves taking an interest in the students’ life, which will allow the teacher

to know more about their students and their environment, which deals them to be

more empathetic.

 Caring

For students in the lower levels, caring may be interpreted as a relationship similar

to the ones they establish with a family member. It can even be similar to a

parental relationship. However, for students at advanced levels (high school,

university, etc ), caring is more likely to be interpreted as a “friendly” relationship.

 Respect

In any type of relationship, something that must always prevail is mutual respect.

In the case of the teacher-student relationship, respect must come from both

parties equally; some students perceive teachers as good people. However, when

the student does not feel that the class is being useful, they tend to lose

professional respect for the teacher.

In Hawk, Cowley, Hill & Sutherland's (2002) words, “the respect that students

give to their teachers comes as a result of the way teachers treat and speak to

students”.

 Passion to enthuse /motivate

For students it is very important to feel motivated and they highly value that

teachers include activities that they like and motivate them, in the same way,

students mention having a relaxed atmosphere as an important aspect.

  Patience and perseverance

No student is the same as another, and each one can present various difficulties in

their learning; for students, it is very important and motivating that the teacher be

patient with them and not stop paying attention to them or put them aside just

because they have some problems.

As we can see from the information above, the teacher-student relationship may seem

complex to build and maintain. However, it is an essential part of the development of students

and teachers alike. Therefore, this relationship should be given the importance it deserves in

order to achieve successful learning for students and optimal development for teachers.

2.2 Online learning

In recent years, online education has increased in popularity, mainly, because in most

cases it does not require a defined schedule, which offers more freedom to students.

Nowadays, due to the pandemic situation the world is going through, online education has

become an essential modality for all teachers and students around the world.

Try to define online education, may seem very simple, nevertheless, there are some

differences between definitions. One of the most complete and accurate is the one from

Bakia, Shear, Toyama, and Lasseter (2012), who define it as :

Online learning” refers to instructional environments supported by the Internet.

Online learning comprises a wide variety of programs that use the Internet within and

beyond school walls to provide access to instructional materials as well as facilitate

 interaction among teachers and students. Online learning can be fully online or

blended with face-to-face interactions. (p.2)

An important point to consider when defining online learning is whether it should be

considered completely online or if it can be combined with face-to-face education. Some

authors remark that online education may be fully online or just partially, combined with

onsite education, for example, Means et al., (2009) quoted in Montiel-Chamorro (2018) who

define this kind of learning as “Learning that takes place partially or entirely over the

Internet. This definition excludes purely print-based correspondence education, broadcast

television or radio, video conferencing, videocassettes, and stand-alone educational software

programs which do not have a significant Internet-based instructional component”. (p.11)

Some authors highlight the positive aspect of online learning; they mention that this

learning modality has many advantages, for example, Benson, (2002), and Conrad, (2002),

said that online learning improves access to educational opportunities. Bakia, Shear,Toyama

and Lasseter (2012) establish that online learning facilitates interaction among teachers and

students. Other authors who support this conception are Driscoll & Carliner (2005), who say

online instruction increase teachers' engagement and provides activities that may help engage

learners also.

These advantages may seem so good and interesting. However, there is a specific

population for whom these advantages could be not even perceptible; students from

kindergarten are for sure the ones who are suffering the most with this learning modality.

The interaction in the classroom with the teacher and classmates is very important to develop
their social and emotional skills. Nevertheless, for kindergartners, online education is

resulting in frustration and little or no development of these skills.

Due to the characteristics of preschool students and the strong attachment that these

students generate towards their teachers in face-to-face classes, the teacher-student

relationship, mainly at this educational level, is being seriously affected due to the online

learning modality.

Currently, the interaction is being mostly with parents and not with students, this

mainly due to their age and the limitations that they present to interact through digital media.

This lack of interaction is not only affecting the teacher-student relationship, but also the

school social-emotional relationships in general. The students are not having contact with

their classmates, which in the future, when we can return to face-to-face classes, could

represent a serious problem in terms of skills such as collaborative work, communication,

critical thinking and problem solving.

In countries like the United States, strategies such as organizing virtual lunches have

begun to be implemented; with the intention of fostering interaction between students,

classmates, and teachers, as would be done in face-to-face education. However, this type of

strategy may not be very effective in countries like Mexico, since a large number of families

face severe limitations in terms of connection and availability of time, which would end up

creating an even greater difference between students by having to exclude a sector for not

having the necessary elements to participate in this type of activity.

As we can see from the previous information, for all students the online learning

modality is proving to be a challenge. However, the most affected sector is kindergarten, and
therefore the development of the teacher-student relationship, which, as we could see

previously, is essential to achieve successful learning and development in both students and

teachers.
 References

Baker, J. A., Grant, S., & Morlock, L. (2008). The teacher-student relationship as a developmental

context for children with internalizing or externalizing behavior problems. School

psychology quarterly, 23(1), 3.

Frymier, A. B., & Houser, M. L. (2000). The teacher‐student relationship as an interpersonal

relationship. Communication education, 49(3), 207-219.

De Jong, R., Mainhard, T., Van Tartwijk, J., Veldman, I., Verloop, N., & Wubbels, T. (2014). How

pre‐service teachers' personality traits, self‐efficacy, and discipline strategies contribute to

the teacher–student relationship. British Journal of Educational Psychology, 84(2), 294-310.

Luckner, A. E., & Pianta, R. C. (2011). Teacher–student interactions in fifth grade classrooms:

Relations with children's peer behavior. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology,

32(5), 257-266.

Hawk, K., Cowley, E. T., Hill, J., & Sutherland, S. (2002). The importance of the teacher/student

relationship for Maori and Pasifika students. Set: Research information for teachers, 3, 44-

49.

Zambrano, S. B., Fajardo, D. A. B., & Venet, M. (2017). La relación docente-estudiantes de

preescolar según el CLASS de Pianta/The relationship between preschool teachers and

students according to Pianta’s CLASS. Psicogente, 20(37).

Bakia, M., Shear, L., Toyama, Y., & Lasseter, A. (2012). Understanding the Implications of Online

Learning for Educational Productivity. Office of Educational Technology, US Department of

Education.

Chamorro, M. L. M. (2018). Comparing online English language learning and face-to-face English

language learning at El Bosque University in Colombia. Virginia Commonwealth University.

Smart, K. L., & Cappel, J. J. (2006). Students’ perceptions of online learning: A comparative study.

Journal of Information Technology Education: Research, 5(1), 201-219.

Driscoll, M., & Carliner, S. (2005). Advanced web-based training strategies: Unlocking

instructionally sound online learning. John Wiley & Sons.

 Guidelines chapter III

Setting

This study will be carried out with a third-grade group from a public kindergarten

institution named Fray Toribio de Benavente, located in the community of San Pedro Cholula

in the State of Puebla. This institution is on the SEP’s lists to receive practicing teachers.

Participants

The participants in this study will be 31 third-grade kindergarten students, 14 boys,

and 16 girls, between 5 and 6 years old. In addition to the students, 31 parents or tutors who

are in charge of them will also participate, since due to the age of the students, they require

the support of a tutor through whom they receive class activities.

Methodology

This study will adopt an exploratory practice methodology. This methodology is

based on self-experience in the classroom. As part of my professional training, I am carrying

out my professional practice in the institution mentioned above (kindergarten Fray Toribio

de Benavente), so I will focus on my own teaching experience to carry out this study.

Instrument
 The main instrument used in this study will be a class log, which will include a

description of how children react to the activities implemented by the teacher to improve the

relationship and create a closer relationship despite the online context. Interviews with

parents or guardians will also be used, in which they will be asked about how they perceive

the evolution of the teacher's relationship with the students.