An examination of students teachers beliefs:- inter-relationships between hope, self-efficacy and beiefs about learning.

Abstract

Most people remember their teachers as some kind of despotic person although it is not always the truth. There is some kind of interactivity between the students and teachers. Teachers are always here to teach students their knowledge and for listening to what they (students) have to say, indeed students are not afraid to tell them what they think anymore. However, this does not mean that they do not control their students, it is just that times have changed and the methods too. Teachers are now closer to the student and have created some kind of soft climate that allows students to be in class without a feeling of obligation or some other factors. Nevertheless, one cannot notice that "authority to control" is still between the teacher's hand, if some one goes wrong it is up to him or her to react properly and to punish if it is necessary. The reason that some people often fail to appreciate the importance of relationships is that they have inherited misconceptions about teaching, about learning and about nature of mind. For thousands of years people have theorized about the mind and about learning and drawn conclusions about the nature of teaching. Learning is the process of the growth of the mind, in which the learner takes an active part. The learner must construct learning. The best Teachers can do to help students learn is to connect what they say to their previous experience and knowledge. In short, teachers help students construct meaning from their words. And the more teachers know about learners, the better they can connect with them is gained through interaction. Teaching is 3 inherently interactive because it depends on making connections with an active, growing mind. But the question arises in the minds that what does interactions have to do with the relationships? The relationships between teachers and learners can be viewed as a set of filters, interpretive screens or expectations that determine the effectiveness of interaction between teacher and student. Effective teachers form relationships that are trustful, open and secure, that involve a minimum of control, are cooperative, and are conducted in a reciprocal, interactive manner. They share control with students and encourage interactions that are determined by mutual agreement. Within such relationships learners are willing to disclose their lack of understanding rather than hide it from their teachers; learners are more attentive, ask more questions, are more actively engaged. Thus, the better the relationship, the better the interaction and better the learning as well. Now there is a question which arises in the minds that" how do one foster relationships that lead to the most effective teaching and learning? There is a set of positive relationships between teachers and learners, which is called the "alliance". Key features underlying the alliance are mutual respect, shared responsibility for learning and mutual commitment to goals, effective communication and feedback, cooperation and willingness to negotiate conflicts and a sense of security in the classroom. There are number of guidelines under each category of strengthening alliances in teaching and learning. The key to all these factors, however, is recognition of the reciprocal nature of the teaching-learning process. Now the thing is that students past 4 interactions with faculty may require the teacher to take the first step toward that mutuality and possibly to continue to lead the way until the students are sufficiently confident to become full partners in the process.