ABSTRACT
Several meta-analyses and frameworks for effective teaching point to the crucial importance of warm, caring relationships between teachers and their students. The trust that students receive from their teachers strengthens the trust they put in themselves. Empathetic teachers try to discover what interests, fascinates, and motivates their learners; what might hinder some of them to fully engage in the learning process; what kind of worries are troubling them. When students are asked what makes a good teacher, the crucial importance of the socio-emotional aspects of the teacher-student relationship is highlighted. Teachers who instruct their students on equal rights and make sure that all of their students are given equal opportunities to participate in the classroom interaction, embody the subject matter they are teaching. The large-scale “Measures of Effective Teaching” study estimated the value-added component of 3000 teachers and also asked thousands of students what distinguishes highly effective from less-effective teachers.
