The below resources are intended to help teachers facilitate positive relational turning points with their students as well as avoid potentially negative turning points with their students. The resources are organized by the types of relational turning points found in the research studies summarized here.
Instrumental and Consultation Turning Point Events
Discussing Grades with Students
Grading, Creating Rubrics, and Communicating with Students
- resources for designing assignments, establishing grading policies,
creating rubrics, the grading process, and communicating with students
about grades (Teaching & Resource Center at University of
California, Berkeley)
Grading and Communicating about Grades
- useful resources for creating grading policies and communicating
about grades with students (The Teaching Center at Washington
University in St. Louis)
Discussing College, Majors, Independent Study, and/or Internships with Students
Faculty Mentoring Resources - giving advice, using mentoring language, phases of mentoring relationships (University of Wisconsin, Oshkosh)
Creating Your Syllabus - resources for creating a syllabus, including course policies (Center for Research on Learning and Teaching, University of Michigan)
Preventing Academic Misconduct - preventing plagiarism and teaching paraphrasing (Teaching & Resource Center at University of California, Berkeley)
Personal and Intimation Turning Point Events
Using Self-Disclosure/Revelations
Using Teacher Self-Disclosure as an Instructional Tool (.pdf) - Jacob L. Cayanus offers useful suggestions on how teachers can use self-disclosure effectively in the classroom in an article from Communication Teacher (2004, Vol. 18, No. 1, pp. 6-9).
Using Students' Names
Student Information Sheet (.doc) - I have students complete and submit this form during the first week of classes. After reviewing their sheets a few times, I am able to remember and use their names by week two. Adapt the above attachment as you wish.
Complimenting and Showing Appreciation to Students (when it's deserved)
The Art of Giving Praise to Students - four principles that reinforces the behavior that yielded excellent work and encourages the recipient to get even better (Steven DeMaio, Harvard Business Review)
Facilitating Discussions - creating ground rules, encouraging participation, and group work strategies (Teaching & Resource Center at University of California, Berkeley)
Strategies for Engaging Students - making content relevant, involving students' affective responses, using technology (Center for Teaching, Learning, & Technology at Illinois State University)
Creating Lecture Content and Making Claims
Writing and Communicating Instructional Objectives - Tony Docan-Morgan offers guidelines for writing instructional objectives, which play a key role in creating lecture content (2007, in Basic Communication Course Best Practices: A Training Manual for Instructors, pp. 25-41. Dubuque, IA: Kendall/Hunt Publishing Company)
How to Create Memorable Lectures (.pdf) - practical advice for creating and delivering lectures that students remember (Center for Teaching and Learning, Stanford University)
Transgression, Ridicule, and Discipline Turning Point Events