InTASC Standard 3: Learning Environments
“The teacher works with others to create environments that support individual and collaborative learning, and that encourage positive social interaction, active engagement in learning, and self-motivation.”
Educators can positively impact their students’ learning environments in various ways, such as: developing and enforcing a clear set of classroom rules and procedures; instituting a safe, respectful, and caring classroom atmosphere; and by incorporating practices that acknowledge and dignify our multitude of student differences. Fostering a respectful, positive environment undoubtedly assists students with their development. The three artifacts I have included to demonstrate my understanding of positive learning environments are: an example of successful seating and classroom design, a copy of my classroom management plan, and an example of a weekly agenda slide that offers students much needed structure for their school week.
Seating & Classroom Design: Teachers should arrange classroom desks and chairs to respect personal space and to enable students to easily work alone, with a partner, and in a small group. Additionally, physical arrangement of furniture should allow the teacher to easily navigate the room in order to offer assistance and check for understanding. In the photograph included above, my 9th grade English class was engaged in a revision workshop. Part of the lesson required students to work alone, quietly. However, part of the exercise required students to partner up and offer constructive criticism on their classmates’ essays. Flexible seating at long tables, rather than individual desks, easily allowed the students to work independently and then effortlessly shift to working with a partner, without moving from their chairs. Additionally, this seating arrangement allowed me to circulate around the room to check for understanding and offer assistance while respecting students’ personal space.
BCAT’s Flexible Seating
Classroom Management Plan: Before the first day of class begins, every teacher should have developed their own comprehensive classroom management plan (CMP) in writing. The CMP allows teachers to, in a sense, choreograph their classroom by defining rules, explaining procedures, and setting clear expectations for everyone present. The structure and routine that come from an effective classroom management plan that is disseminated the first week of school will help create a positive, calm, and productive learning environment.
Click the image below to view an enlarged clip of one page of my classroom management plan. The entire plan can be viewed by clicking the link above in bold font.
Mrs. Chapman’s Weekly Agenda Slide
Weekly Agenda: Simple, thoughtful items contribute to classroom structure and can reduce students’ anxiety. One of the many helpful lessons that my internship mentor, Elizabeth Chapman, taught me is that students need to be able to plan ahead for their week; they want to know what will be expected of them in the upcoming days. Daily, Mrs. Chapman updates a weekly agenda template for each of her classes. This template, created using Google Slides, is posted on Blackboard and displayed on the smartboard in front of the classroom at the beginning and end of every class. Her students advised me to follow her lead once I have my own classroom, because the agenda reduces their anxiety and helps them plan ahead for their week. In classrooms that do not post a weekly or daily agenda to their students, I have observed students repeatedly asking, “What are we doing today?”