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Affiliative bonding between teachers and students through interpersonal synchronisation in brain activity.

ABSTRACT: Human beings organise socially. Theories have posited that interpersonal neural synchronisation might underlie the creation of affiliative bonds. Previous studies tested this hypothesis mainly during a social interaction, making it difficult to determine whether the identified synchronisation is associated with affiliative bonding or with social interaction. This study addressed this issue by focusing on the teacher-student relationship in the resting state both before and after a teaching period. Brain activity was simultaneously measured in both individuals using functional near-infrared spectroscopy. The results showed a significant increase in brain synchronisation at the right sensorimotor cortex between the teacher and student in the resting state after, but not before, the teaching period. Moreover, the synchronisation increased only after a turn-taking mode of teaching but not after a lecturing or video mode of teaching. A chain mediation analysis showed that brain synchronisation during teaching partially mediated the relationship between the brain synchronisation increase in the resting state and strength of the affiliative bond. Finally, both role assignment and social interaction were found to be required for affiliative bonding. Together, these results support the hypothesis that interpersonal synchronisation in brain activity underlies affiliative bonding and that social interaction mechanically mediates the bonding process.

SUBMITTER: Zheng L

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7171379 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Affiliative bonding between teachers and students through interpersonal synchronisation in brain activity.

Zheng Lifen L Liu Wenda W Long Yuhang Y Zhai Yu Y Zhao Hui H Bai Xialu X Zhou Siyuan S Li Kanyu K Zhang Huan H Liu Li L Guo Taomei T Ding Guosheng G Lu Chunming C

Social cognitive and affective neuroscience 20200101 1

Human beings organise socially. Theories have posited that interpersonal neural synchronisation might underlie the creation of affiliative bonds. Previous studies tested this hypothesis mainly during a social interaction, making it difficult to determine whether the identified synchronisation is associated with affiliative bonding or with social interaction. This study addressed this issue by focusing on the teacher-student relationship in the resting state both before and after a teaching perio ...[more]

PMID: 32022237

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Project description:BackgroundStudent evaluation is an essential component in feedback processes in faculty and learner development. Ease of use and low cost have made paper evaluation forms a popular method within teaching programmes, but they are often seen as a formality, offering variable value towards the improvement of teaching. Students report poor motivation to engage with existing feedback tools whilst teachers describe receiving vague, contradicting, or irrelevant information. We believe that feedback for teachers needs to be a two-way process, similar to feedback for students, for it to be effective. An online feedback tool has been implemented for third-year medical students from Imperial College London to promote open discussion between teachers and students. The feedback tool is accessible throughout students' clinical attachment with the option of maintaining anonymity. We aim to explore the benefits and challenges of this online feedback tool and assess its value as a method for teacher feedback.MethodsQualitative data was obtained from both volunteer third-year medical students of Imperial College London and Clinical Teaching Fellows using three focus groups and a questionnaire. Data was analysed through iterative coding and thematic analysis to provide over-arching analytical themes.ResultsTwenty-nine students trialled this feedback tool with 17 responding to the evaluative questionnaire. Four over-arching themes were identified: reasons for poor participation with traditional feedback tools; student motivators to engage with 'open feedback'; evaluative benefits from open feedback; concerns and barriers with open feedback.ConclusionThis feedback tool provides a platform for two-way feedback by encouraging open, transparent discussion between teachers and learners. It gives a unique insight into both teachers and peers' perspectives. Students engage better when their responses are acknowledged by the teachers. We elaborate on the benefits and challenges of public open feedback and approaches to consider in addressing the self-censorship of critical comments.

Project description:Knowledge and motivation of a teacher are two unchallenged, essential characteristics for successful education. Whilst the relevance of teachers' professional knowledge for successful students' learning has been studied in a sophisticated manner for years, the meaning of teachers' motivational orientations for students' performance still lacks a differentiated consideration. This construct is conceptualized by three domains: (1) self-efficacy, (2) subject-specific enthusiasm, and (3) enthusiasm for teaching the subject. Motivational orientations overall have shown to be relevant predictors of students' learning. However, there are several dimensions of motivation and their relative importance remains unclear. Our study goes beyond the available findings by considering in detail each of the three domains' relations to students' performance. Thus, we aim to further contribute to the clarification of the predictors of students' performance in school teaching. For this purpose, we conducted a study with 48 biology teachers and their 1036 students. To assess the three domains of teachers' motivational orientations, we applied paper and pencil tests. Concept maps and paper and pencil tests were used to measure students' performance. By specifying multilevel structural equation models, we examined the relationship between the domains of teachers' motivational orientations and the performance of the students. Our results reveal no relationship between teachers' self-efficacy and students' performance, but a significant positive relationship between the latter and teachers' subject-specific enthusiasm. Moreover, our results show a positive trend in the relationship between enthusiasm for teaching the subject and students' performance. The results provide a differentiated picture about the importance of motivational orientations for the characterisation of an effective teacher. We discuss our findings in terms of possible effect mechanisms and their relevance for further research on teacher motivation and the improvement of teacher education programmes.

Dataset Information

Affiliative bonding between teachers and students through interpersonal synchronisation in brain activity.

Publications

Affiliative bonding between teachers and students through interpersonal synchronisation in brain activity.

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