Teaching relationship skills #OECD

The publication “Teaching relationship skills: Evidence from classrooms to inform policy” by the OECD is a short policy brief that explains why relationship skills are essential in education and how teachers actually use them in the classroom.

In simple terms, the report focuses on skills such as communication, empathy, cooperation, and conflict resolution, which are considered fundamental for creating a positive learning environment. These abilities help students engage more in learning, improve relationships between classmates, and allow teachers to spend more time teaching instead of managing behaviour.

The study is based on data from Teaching and Learning International Survey (TALIS) 2024, one of the largest international surveys of teachers. It uses real-life classroom scenarios to analyse how teachers respond to situations involving student relationships—for example, conflicts or positive interactions—and what strategies they say they would use.

One of the key ideas is that teaching these relationship skills is not always easy. Many teachers feel less confident supporting students’ social and emotional development compared to teaching academic content, which suggests that more training and support are needed in this area.

The report also shows that teachers’ approaches can vary depending on factors such as their experience, training, or even gender. For instance, some teachers are more likely to use comprehensive strategies that include listening to students, working with colleagues, and directly addressing problems, while others may rely on simpler or more limited approaches.

https://www.oecd.org/en/publications/teaching-relationship-skills_d882368e-en.html

PhET Interactive Simulations

PhET Interactive Simulations is a free educational website that offers interactive simulations to help students learn science and mathematics in a simple and visual way. It was created as a non-profit project at the University of Colorado Boulder with the goal of improving how subjects like physics, chemistry, biology, and math are taught.

The main idea of PhET is that students learn better by exploring and experimenting instead of only reading or listening. On the website, users can interact with virtual simulations that behave like real scientific systems. For example, they can build electric circuits, explore how forces work, or see how molecules move. These simulations are designed to be fun, visual, and easy to use, often with tools like sliders, buttons, and drag-and-drop actions.

One important feature of PhET is that it helps make abstract or invisible concepts easier to understand. Things that are normally hard to see—like atoms, energy, or electric fields—are shown through animations and graphics, allowing students to see how they work in real time. The simulations also give immediate feedback, so learners can observe cause-and-effect relationships as they change variables.

Another key aspect is that all the simulations are research-based and tested in real classrooms to make sure they are effective for learning. They are also free, open-source, and available online or for download, which makes them accessible to teachers and students all over the world

https://phet.colorado.edu/