By Abbey Dorsey
Great teachers open doors to new possibilities. Every student deserves to feel empowered to pursue opportunities, but young people can only reach for options they know exist. Exceptional educators expand students’ horizons by revealing what’s possible in college, careers, and life. To create that learning environment, teachers must first build trusting relationships and hold students to high expectations.
In recent years, K–12 education has emphasized the power of strong relationships between teachers and students. The more we learn about our students, the more they understand that we care. But knowing students isn’t enough on its own: educators must apply that knowledge in daily instructional choices. Using what we learn about learners to shape teaching makes learning meaningful and encourages deeper engagement.
Connections and relationships grow over time when interactions are rooted in respect, trust, and authenticity—terms often described as building relational capacity. This practice is especially important when working with students from communities of color or with marginalized identities, because trust and cultural responsiveness are foundations for equitable learning.
Classroom-Ready Ways to Build Trusting Relationships
Below are six practical, teacher-tested strategies you can start using today to strengthen trust and build relational capacity in your classroom.
- Share your life first to earn trust. Start by showing a few photos of your pet, hobby, or favorite places and invite students to share theirs. Regular, low-stakes invitations to share personal interests help students see you as a person and encourage reciprocal openness.
- Offer meaningful choices that amplify student voices. Let students contribute to classroom norms, participate in decorating the space, rotate responsibilities, and provide feedback on lessons. Choice creates ownership and demonstrates that their perspectives matter.
- Try the “2×10” relationship strategy. Commit to a two-minute conversation—preferably about something nonacademic—with one student for ten consecutive school days. Short, consistent interactions build rapport with students who may be hard to reach or who need extra encouragement.
- Connect the learner, then the task. Begin lessons with activities that relate directly to students’ lives before shifting to academic analysis. For example, have students write a short self-profile with one central statement and three supporting points before analyzing a literary character to transfer skills from self-reflection to text analysis.
- Foster positive self-identity and a growth mindset. Genuine, specific praise for effort and progress helps students see their strengths and motivates further growth. Celebrate small wins and point out the skills behind successes so students can recognize and develop their talents.
- Celebrate achievements as a class. Marking collective milestones—whether planned or spontaneous—reinforces community, honors effort, and motivates continued collaboration and excellence.
Holding Students to High Expectations
All students can reach rigorous goals when given appropriate challenge and support. High expectations do not mean reducing the bar; they mean adjusting the scaffolding so every learner can succeed. Challenging curriculum and tasks encourage critical thinking, deeper engagement, and meaningful academic growth.
Try these five classroom strategies to raise expectations while supporting student ownership of learning:
- Shift the workload to students. Increase rigor by making the classroom learner-centered. When students do most of the cognitive work—asking questions, problem solving, and explaining their thinking—they develop the skills needed for complex decision-making and independent learning.
- Plan from grade-level standards. Start lesson planning with grade-level expectations as the target. Students grow when they engage with grade-appropriate rigor; spending excessive time solely on remediation risks widening achievement gaps over time.
- Use Collaborative Study Groups (CSGs). In small groups, students identify a content question, investigate it together, and deepen understanding through structured inquiry. Collaborative study supports peer learning and helps students apply new knowledge back to whole-class work.
- Implement “Show What You Know.” Give students choices for demonstrating learning—through presentations, creative projects, or peer teaching. Having students teach back concepts helps consolidate understanding and opens pathways for higher-order applications.
- Launch authentic “Apply Your Learning” projects. Encourage students to produce real-world artifacts that reflect what they’ve learned. Authentic applications—like creating a class newspaper for journalism students or a functional project for a trade course—make learning meaningful and memorable.
The Goal: Activate Opportunity Knowledge
To accelerate learning, educators must both build trust and provide rigorous, cognitively rich experiences. Students who feel trusted and challenged are more likely to stretch their abilities as learners and thinkers. When learners research opportunities, set goals, and make choices aligned with long-term aspirations, they build what is often called opportunity knowledge—the awareness and confidence to pursue future pathways.
As students engage with rigorous curricula, develop inquiry skills, and explore personal interests, they become better equipped to recognize and act on new possibilities. These shifts—grounded in relational trust and high expectations—help students open their minds and hearts to opportunities that can shape their future success.
About the author
Abby Dorsey is a Content Marketing and Social Media Specialist who brings experience in social media, email marketing, and digital content to help share strategies that support student engagement and success.
These practical tips and strategies were developed and tested by AVID (Advancement Via Individual Determination) to help close opportunity gaps and improve engagement and achievement for all students. This article was originally published by The Learning Counsel, a research organization focused on the shift to digital curriculum in education.