What could be better than advice from one great teacher?
How about insights from more than 100 teachers from across the country — scientifically studied and summarized so educators can use them right away?
That’s the power of research happening at Boys Town.
A study that asked educators coast to coast about pandemic-related challenges resulted in more than 200 strategies teachers could use in their classrooms.
“We wanted to collect the voices of teachers and then get that information back to other teachers so they could use it immediately,” said Patrick Tyler, Ph.D., senior director of the Boys Town Child and Family Translational Research Center.
“It really was teachers helping teachers through research,” he said.
Asking the Questions
This study is one of many underway at the Boys Town Child and Family Translational Research Center. Here, scientists focus on problems children and families face in today’s world.
“Our research questions come from our staff, our kids and our families,” Dr. Tyler said.
This particular question came from teachers. They were struggling with students returning to the classroom from pandemic-era remote learning. Most students were one to two years behind academically, behaviorally and emotionally.
Put simply, students needed help learning how to be students again.
To learn what worked best, Boys Town researchers surveyed 100 teachers from metropolitan and rural schools and grades 3 through 8. Fifty of these teachers also took part in focus groups.
Crunching the Data
Boys Town researchers analyzed the results for trends and insights. Categories of tips emerged, including social and emotional learning, academic support, student and parent relationship building, positive reinforcement, mental health support and managing technology.
Many strategies were simple to put into practice, such as:
- Greeting students by name
- Showing genuine interest in their hobbies and goals
- Holding daily classroom meetings
“It didn’t always require a lot of extra effort,” Dr. Tyler said. “But it was very strategic and deliberate.”
Finding What Works
Across every type of school — rural or metropolitan, elementary or middle — one theme stood out:
Positive relationships made a difference.
“When students felt like they belonged, that they were welcomed and connected to the teacher, teachers saw better focus, improved behavior and stronger peer interactions from students,” Dr. Tyler said.
Teaching social and relationship skills sometimes get treated as something “extra.” The data told a different story.
Simple practices — like teaching students how to manage frustration and resolve conflicts respectfully — had a measurable impact.
“Teachers found these skills related to better student behavior and better academic performance, and teachers said they themselves were happier too,” Dr. Tyler said. “It all comes back to relationships.”
Spreading the Word
To reach more classrooms, researchers went beyond publishing the study in an academic journal. They created a tip sheet with 200+ ideas and a short video for teachers.
“We included teachers in the research process, and we shared the results so they can be applied right away,” Dr. Tyler said.
It’s an approach rooted in Boys Town’s history. Founder Father Edward Flanagan famously called Boys Town “an experimental station in youth work,” meaning he believed the best solutions come from listening to children and the people closest to them.
It’s a philosophy that lives on at Boys Town today.
“As researchers, we have techniques and methods for answering important questions like these, but sometimes it takes a while for us to get the results back to the people that need them most,” Dr. Tyler said. “We find research works best when it involves the people who care about the question we’re trying to answer. Using research to bring people together like this helps us come up with solutions that can be used right away.”