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Time

2 minutes, repeated multiple times

Level

Primary / Junior / Intermediate

Material

N/A

Purpose

To help build rapport and a relationship between educator and student, and to let the student see they are genuinely cared about as a person

  • The 2×10 strategy requires you to spend two minutes per day for 10 days talking with a student about anything they would like to talk about.

NOTE: The caring adult who will take ownership of the 2×10 strategy with a student would ideally be an individual who is different from the student’s homeroom educator. This will help to broaden the number of adults that the student is connected to within the school.

  • At the beginning of the school year, it might be useful for school staff to proactively flag students who may be at risk for attendance issues. The purpose is to proactively engage with these students. Adopting the 2×10 strategy with these youth helps prevent truancy.

Educator-student relationships have a significant impact on a student’s academic engagement and achievement. Students who experienced negative educator-student relationships were more significantly impacted by the negative outcomes than students who had positive relationships. At-risk students (SES, special needs, new students, etc.) were significantly more at risk of experiencing a negative student-educator relationship, which indicates the immense value and benefit for both educator and student of developing relationships together (Roorda, et. al., 2011).

Roorda, D. L., Koomen, H. M., Spilt, J. L., & Oort, F. J. (2011). The influence of affective teacher–student relationships on students’ school engagement and achievement: A meta-analytic approach. Review of educational research, 81(4), 493-529.