Theorizing the Emotional Quality of Teaching and Learning Relationships in STEM Faculty Development

The emotional quality of learning relationships can affect student attainment and engagement and should, therefore, be a focus for STEM faculty development activities. This chapter introduces the range of ways in which educational relationships in STEM classes have been conceptualised and measured. It explores how analyzing these relationships using a three-dimensional framework based on affection (warmth), attachment (safety), and assertion (status) would support faculty development work. It illustrates this by applying this three-dimensional model to faculty development work on interactive teaching and on classroom management in STEM settings.