M4 U1 Activity 2: Building a Positive Climate and Culture
Project Description
Overview Building a positive climate and culture doesn’t happen by accident. It requires careful planning and developing norms and expectations for how students will behave. With the onset of online learning, it is important to be cognizant of what norms and expectations would work or not work in physical and online learning environments. In this activity, you will be researching and discussing with your cohort ways to build a positive classroom climate and culture that you can implement in your own classroom. You will be recording these ideas in a Learning Environment Plan that you will develop throughout Module 4 with strategies for managing the learning environment, which will be useful during the clinical practice portion of the program. Performance outcomes
Candidates research strategies to create a positive classroom climate
What will you do?
In the Virtual Classroom or Discussion Forum, discuss your perception of problem behaviors in students: “What problem student behaviors have you encountered in your or another teacher’s classroom and how were they handled? What would you do differently or not?”
Work in small groups to brainstorm and research strategies that will help you build a positive classroom climate in a physical and an online classroom. Discuss possible norms that you can establish in physical and online learning environments. Remember that norms and rules are not the same.
As a group, collate examples and non-examples of norms based on what works and doesn’t work in a physical and online learning environment. Use a Google Spreadsheet or similar organizing tool. Mention the names of the group contributors on the spreadsheet.
Access the “Learning Environment Plan” template in the Activity Resources for this activity. Individually, make a copy and use the Google Document. Save it in the cohort’s Google Shared Drive.
Individually, complete step one of the “Learning Environment Plan” by writing a reflection on your idea of a positive classroom climate. Include the top 3-5 strategies that you have researched or discussed with your cohort and would like to implement in your own classroom.
Report requirements
Link to group spreadsheet with examples and non-examples of norms for a physical and online learning environment
Step 1 of the Learning Environment Plan on Classroom Climate and Culture
(The above information was cited from the TEACH-NOW Teacher Preparation Certificate Program)
My Work
Reflection: What constitutes a positive classroom climate
School climate refers to the individual experiences and feelings that students, teachers, and staff have about the school, while school culture typically refers to the long-term physical and social environment, as well as the values. (School Climate & Culture, Strategy Brief, February 2016 Elisabeth Kane et al., University of Nebraska-Lincoln.)
I think a positive classroom environment is a great place for students to identify and express feelings and develop empathy and compassion. When children feel heard and respected, they are more willing to listen. They can also learn to understand how to control their emotions and behaviors through feedback and open communication with their classmates. Therefore, they will have more passion for learning, and have more positive opportunities to learn the essential skills for a successful life.
However, many people in Asia believe that striving for academic achievement is the primary purpose of school. Therefore, adults adopt a general discipline method based on rewards and punishments in an attempt to control students. However, studies have found that unless children learn both social and emotional skills (SEL), it is difficult for them to learn, and this, in turn, creates more disciplinary problems.
As a result, I will try to avoid using rewards as a method of control. Instead, I will ask more questions allowing students to focus on solutions rather than passively accepting punishments and rewards. For example, instead of handing out physical rewards (e.g. sweets, stickers) to reward their improvement, I use praise and share their efforts, strategies, and processes that led them to success. I will also talk to students about how it feels to achieve proficiency, and think about what they learned this time that will help them achieve their next goals.
I also want to try to create a positive classroom climate to organize my classroom so that students are allowed to make mistakes, and don’t feel shame or embarrassment when they experience failure. Hence, they gain strength by learning from mistakes in a safe environment where they are still able to explore the consequences of their choices and actions without blame, shame, or pain. Although it takes more time and effort to build a classroom with a positive atmosphere, it will definitely have a beneficial impact on children in the long term.
Strategies for Positive Classroom Climate
1. Encourage students to learn through mistakes to develop a growth mindset:
When the growth process lacks opportunities for failure, it loses opportunities for learning. Therefore, it is important to encourage students to accept mistakes as they are a natural part of learning progress. Particularly, when we take on challenges, there is no need to be afraid and avoid them. In my class, we share students' failures and how they overcame them, so all of us can learn from each other’s mistakes in order to approach failure with a problem-solving mindset. This builds perseverance towards challenging problems and creative confidence.
2. Establish a norm and procedures to create a sense of order:
Let students be a part of the decision-making to establish norms, guidelines, and procedures to provide clear behavioral and academic expectations. In addition, ensure that students understand these norms and expectations and know why they should or shouldn’t do something, so they are able to consistently follow the rules.
3. Celebrate personal achievement and good behavior:
By praising students with better methods to build confidence, teachers can focus on the process that students are engaged in and the parts they are able to change and improve rather than what they cannot handle or control. For example, praising patience because they didn’t give up even when the task was hard, and really appreciate their effort and hard work.
4. Set a proactive approach to discipline in a safe environment
A positive classroom climate will provide a safe environment where no matter success or failure, students are still able to explore the consequences of their choices and actions without blame, shame, or pain. This way, students can examine their own behavior and discover how it affects others, then try to work together to solve problems and improve.
Examples include giving feedback on misbehavior with the SBI method (Situation-Behaviour-Impact) to let students know how everyone's feeling and the consequences, and also tellingl a student that “When you felt angry in class today (Situation), you were hitting the desk (Behaviour), this made us feel scared and stressed (Impact).”
5. Making Real World Connections to Course Material:
By using open-ended questions to Introduce and discuss the course curriculum and material to connect relevant examples from everyday life and guide students to make personal connections with the learning topic. In addition, guiding students on how they can apply what they are learning both in and out of school. This meaningful connection between real life and learning promotes student positiveness, engagement, identity development, and achievement.
Strategies or Modifications for Virtual Learning Environment
(The strategies above apply both in physical and virtual classrooms.)
1. Student demonstration:
Ask students to summarize information and demonstrate a task to make sure they know what to do and reach the exception. This is because it can become easy for online students to fade into the background, and make it harder for a teacher to gauge the degree to which students understand a task.
2. Encourage Communication:
Set a virtual schedule for teachers' available time, and ensure students know the time and the way to contact them so that students feel supported in class and outside of it. Also create a daily online record book or news - to record class schedules, homework, absences from classes, etc.
3. Prepare for the worst:
Things can go wrong when teaching online, so if a teacher is prepared for any issues such as a loss of internet, having a solid plan can help to mitigate issues and maintain a high level of engagement. The key to this would be making sure students know what is expected of them at all times. For example, posting the link of a worksheet, games, or activities in advance in the Google classroom.
4. Add new technology/ apps:
Mose of students love to click through various instructional components, play games, and take interactive quizzes. I will try to learn some new technology or apps to apply in my teaching. For example,
GooseChase is an online platform that helps you run real-world scavenger hunts.
Storybird can help students be better writers with writing prompts, lessons, video tutorials, and quizzes.
Book Creator is the simplest, most inclusive way to create content in the classroom.
Genially is the tool schools use to teach and learn through interactive learning materials.
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