Classroom Culture, Fist Bumps, and an NBA MVP
This weeks episode looks at a study conducted by a UC Berkeley professor that measured the effect of positive physical interactions between players on NBA teams. The study found that the more positive interactions that there are the more successful the team was. This should be a lesson for educators as well. The more positive interactions that we have with our students the more engaged they'll be, the more risks they take, and the more they'll feel invested in learning.
I'm Brian Martin, a second grade teacher who find so much joy and fulfillment in what I do. Being in the classroom for almost 20 years, I know all about the time, effort and energy that you are continuously pouring into those you serve. That's why each week, I'm going to bring you an inspiring message to give you a little joy, and help fill your cup back up. Thank you for being here. And welcome to the teaching champions podcast. What's going on everybody, I hope this finds you starving and thriving and doing absolutely amazing. Today, I want to talk about the number 239. Remember this number for a minute, because it's remarkable. And while we hold on to it, I want you to think about classroom culture and the effect it has on learning. The culture that we create affects learning, it affects the feeling of safety our students have, it affects student motivation. It affects the student's desire to be at school, and so much more. And the energy that we bring has a tremendous impact on that. Now on this podcast, I like to reference sports a lot. But there's so much more that we can learn from areas outside of the classroom, whether it's sports or business, there are gems out there that we can look to incorporate into our teaching. And one of my biggest draws to sport is team culture, how they get all their athletes on the same page, different strategies that they use to motivate their athletes, and how they build that connection. That togetherness. And the story I'm going to share with you today is all about connection. It's about creating bonds and togetherness. And it happened in 2008, a professor from UC Berkeley conducted an official study on the effects of high fives and whether or not they had an effect on teams winning. So his research team analyzed every NBA game, from every team throughout the whole NBA season. They kept track of every fist bump, every high five, every hug every Pat, and any other sort of physical touch that the players gave. And what do you think they found the teams that were the most successful, were the teams that touched each other in the most. Now the Phoenix Suns at the time, were one of the best teams in the NBA. And they had an A player by the name of Steve Nash. He was a two time NBA MVP and a future Hall of Famer, in this suns. We're sowing Namor with this study, that they hired an inter in this intern sole purpose was to watch every game that Steve Nash played in the season. And he wasn't there. to count how many stills assists or point Steve Nash had. He was there to measure how many fist bumps, high fives, pats or any other physical interaction that he had. In that the end of the season, it was calculated that Steve Nash had 239 positive physical interactions with his teammates during the course of a 48 minute game. That is 239, high fives, fist bumps, or Pat's in 48 minutes. That's insane. But it's powerful. those interactions right there, they build connection. They build trust, they build a culture of celebrating and recognizing each other. And there's a reason why teams are the most successful have the highest amount of positive interactions and the teams that are the least successful. They have the lowest levels of interactions. You might be saying right now, in the world that we currently live in high fives fist bumps Pat, they're out the window. And that's the Absolute Truth. We don't have to have physical touch, though, to affect others positively. I'm 100% remote this year. In my class, we haven't been around each other at all throughout the school year. But that hasn't stopped us. Every single day we're showing up, we're going out fist bumps, high fives, we're flexing, and we're doing a myriad of other things to try and celebrate each other. And that's all through the computer screen. We don't have to physically touch another individual to pick them up. Think about when you're in the presence of someone who's negative. Think about when you're around someone who's always complaining, gossiping, putting others down. How's that make you feel? Now think about when you're around people who are positive. People who encourage people will make you laugh, people who celebrate you and others. What effect does that have on you? Who would you rather be around? Who would you rather learn from? The truth is when we pour into our students love, joy, encouragement, we affect the culture. When we celebrate them for succeeding, when we celebrate them for failing, when we celebrate them for trying. We're affecting the culture in our rooms. We promote learning, when we encourage, we enhance a willingness to master difficult tasks. When we celebrate or champions. we stimulate cognitive engagement when we have a positive culture. And there's no doubt in my mind that all of us already do it. But think about Steve Nash, he was able to give 239 positive interactions in 48 minutes. How many positive interactions can we do over the course of a whole school day. It might be air high fives, air fist bumps, it might be a nod a pump of the fist a chant a cheer, could be a short, simple note placed on a student's desk, or simple. I'm proud of you. I believe in you. The professor from UC Berkeley found that the teams that positively interacted with each other, were the most successful. So I'm going to go out on a limb here. And I'm going to say you show me a class, or school that focuses on those positive interactions that focuses on encouraging that focuses on celebrating each other. And now show you a school where amazing things are happening. Thank you so much for being here. And for being part of this community. We support, we encourage and we lift each other up. And I just want to add that if you enjoy this content, and you'd like a little more, check me out on Instagram at teaching champions podcast every single day, I'm putting out 62nd video in Instagram stores. And it's just meant to be a little pick me up. So check it out. Let me know what you think. I'm always up for constructive feedback. And always remember, we're always on that same team. We're all on that same Mitch. And we're always better together. My challenge for you this week, think about how many positive interactions you have with others. Steve Nash was able to connect with his teammates 239 times in a 40 minute game. So I challenge you to push yourself to connect with those around you more this week. offer more compliments, right a few more thank you notes or notes of appreciation. Take time to listen more and spread positive energy in any way that you feel comfortable with. Do this with your students, your colleagues, your friends, and your family. Then, take note about how you feel. Do you notice any difference in how you feel after affecting the lives of others? Keep being amazing, my friends and as we go out into this week, may step into your strength may step into your shine, and let's build these champions up. Have a great week everybody
