Chapter 13: Environments Conducive to Learning

PLE: Based on our readings and class discussion, how will you create a learning environment that is conducive to learning? Now consider you CSEL case study, develop a full continuum of responses for dealing with the misbehavior of your case. 

In class last week, we discussed what our ideal classroom environment would be like. I wrote down that I wanted mine to be organized, interactive, literacy-rich with posters, books, labels, etc, structured with the rules and expectations clearly defined, colorful, creative, inviting, comfortable, bright, and flexible.  By providing my students with a literacy-rich classroom, I am complimenting my goal as a teacher to instill in my students a love for reading and a motivational drive to challenge my students to increase their reading skills. By having an organized classroom environment, I am modeling to my students the idea of organization, while also establishing structure. In addition, by creating an interactive learning environment, I am complimenting my goal of having my students be actively engaged in the lessons that I teach. In writing these ideas down, I drew from my past experiences when I was an elementary student and what classrooms I loved and remembered the most. My classrooms growing up were colorful and interactive and full of resources and supplies.  Classroom management is one of the aspects I worry most about as a future educator. However, this is an important factor in terms of creating a conducive learning environment. After reading chapter 13, I have a clear idea of how I will create a learning environment conducive to learning.

The first aspect I will tackle when creating a conducive learning environment will be the arrangement of my classroom. I want to arrange the students' desks in a way that encourages student interaction. For example, I plan to arrange the desks in small groups to facilitate working together as a classroom community and plan to rotate the groups around so that my students learn how to work together with all of their classmates. By having my students work together in groups and as a whole, I am promoting a sense of community and belongingness, showing my students that they are all important and valuable members of the classroom. The classroom climate is also important in creating a conducive environment for learning. Therefore, I will be sure to regularly communicate my caring and respect for my students as people. This can be done by greeting them at the door each morning with a warm smile or complimenting them. I also want to establish a goal-oriented environment for my students where they are motivated to master subject matters. While it is important that my students know I am in charge of the classroom, I also plan to give my students some control over class activities. This could be done by allowing my students to set their own deadlines for assignments or allow them to choose how they want to spend their class time after they have completed their work. Choices could be activities on the computer or reading a book from the class library. Overall, I want to create a loving and comfortable environment for my students that has organizational structure to it. I want my students to respect me as I will respect them as individuals. Most importantly, I want my students to constantly be engaged in productive, worthwhile activities.

Regarding my case study, I have come up with a full continuum of responses for how I would deal with Lisa. After noticing that Lisa's small group is having a hard time staying on task and completing projects and that Lisa is the catalyst for her group's problems, I would first go over with the entire class the proper behaviors that they should be exhibiting when working in groups with their peers to reinforce how cooperative small groups should work together so that I am not singling out Lisa. I would then remind them that if I see group members not cooperating with their group that they will put a mark by their name on the classroom behavior chart. If this reminder did not change the way Lisa acted in her small group, I would try putting Lisa in a different small group and monitor this group more than others to see if a change in scenery for Lisa would change her behavior, maybe the peers in her prior group just weren't the right fit for Lisa's personality. If this still did not change Lisa's behavior, I would then pull Lisa aside to discuss her misbehavior and also just talk with her to see if I can get to the root of the problem. I would also remind Lisa of how I expect for my students to behave in small groups. If this still did not work, I would then have a meeting with Lisa's parents to inform them of Lisa's behavior and find out if there might be a particular reason Lisa is acting this way. I might also ask the advice of another teacher in my grade level to see if they might have some ideas on how to handle this situation without identifying that the student I am referring to is Lisa. My last response if none of the above responses worked would be to involve either the guidance counselor or the principal. I would let them know of the different responses I have already tried out to fix the situation and then let them decide how this case should be handled.

Building A Classroom Community (click on link)
This link is a great article on how to build a classroom community. The article states the importance of classroom communities because students who feel a sense of identity in a group are known to be the most successful in school. Creating this classroom community is vital to establishing an environment conducive to learning and this article provides great steps on how to accomplish this task. This will be especially beneficial for me as a new teacher.