Classroom Environment
Student Relationships
In order to create an environment for learning, I use elements of Capturing Kids Hearts (CKH). It is an initiative developed by Flip Flippin that builds positive teacher-student relationships in order to make students feel like a valued and empowered member of the school community. Students create a classroom contract with the teacher, share good news during class, and are greeted at the door by the teacher with a handshake and some small talk. Click on the adjacent image for the Capturing Kids Heart website.
Student Participation |
http://www.northfloridaahec.org/wellness-workshops/holding-a-heart-in-hands1/
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I encourage as much student participation as possible because it is crucial to the learning process. In order to ensure student participation, students receive 5 daily points everyday for coming to class on time, being engaged, and paying attention. If students are tardy, sleeping, on their phone, or goofing off, they loose points. However, students can earn points back by coming to after school tutoring, reading the daily objectives, or volunteering during class. I like this system because it doesn’t interrupt class, it keeps students on task, and it encourages students to participate; it also builds student ownership and decision-making skills.
Student Discipline
The process of creating a classroom contract.
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I am a proponent of Choice Theory, Cooperative Discipline, and Inner Discipline when addressing misbehavior in the classroom. All of these approaches rely on a positive student-teacher relationship, which is built through CKH methods. Choice Theory outlines that everyone has a choice and these choices lead to different consequences that are good or bad. Choice theory advocates fulfilling five needs of students: survival, belonging, power, fun, and freedom in positive ways. Cooperative Discipline suggests making students feel capable, connected, and like their contributions matter to meet these needs. Similarly, Inner Discipline places importance on the six critical life statements, which meet Glasser’s needs: I believe in you; I trust in you; I know you can handle this; you are listened to; you are cared for; and you are very important to me. If students feel connected and valued, they will choose behaviors that allow learning to flourish.
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When discipline issues arise, it is always the behavior that is addressed and never the student in order to do as little damage as possible to the student-teacher relationship. The misbehavior is dealt with swiftly and it is discussed once the people involved have had time to calm down—leaving everyone's dignity intact. By working together, myself and my student or students come up with a plan of action that encourages a different choice and behavior in the future—a process that Cooperative Discipline and Inner Discipline share. Through this process, students work on self-monitoring, critical-thinking, and collaborating skills. If the misbehaviors continue to occur, phone calls will be made home and administration will be notified. However, this is a last resort and I exhaust all other options first.
Classroom Layout
In order to encourage group work and collaboration, I arrange desks/tables so students always have a partner or group with which to work. I position my desk in the periphery of the room in order emphasize that my classroom is not a dictatorship; my students have ideas too and together we will come up with solutions.
I set-up a classroom library, containing books, magazines, music, or movies related to the content I teach to advance their interest in my content area. Students can find materials used during class, like textbooks, small white-boards, or games in the library also. Students can “check-out” these materials and return them when they are finished. Again, this creates an atmosphere where students can be self-sufficient; they can choose to supplement their work or choose to read additional information on a topic we discussed. It also showcases my passion for French and gives students an idea of what is available related to this subject. |
Classroom Decor
On the walls, I hang student work (with permission), display the class contract, and create a word wall. By showcasing student work and using it to decorate the classroom, students will take more ownership in the space and feel valued because their work is displayed. Additionally, students will put more effort into work because it could make it to the wall. In my experience, a classroom with student work all over the walls feels warm and inviting, which is the exact atmosphere I want to create.
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I use class binders to promote organizational skills, research skills, and self-efficacy skills. I reserve a space in the classroom for students to store their binder so they can leave it in the room if they choose. Furthermore, I create spaces around the room for homework, make-up work, no-names, daily objectives, the school schedule, and grades. Carving out space for these items enables students to work on their self-reliance skills because they know where to find what they need and don't have to ask.
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Classroom Routines
The first ten minutes of class is very structured so students know what to expect everyday; consistency is key and allows for less time to be wasted because students know what to do. First, I greet my students with some small talk. Upon entering the classroom, students find worksheets needed for that day by the door. One of these papers is a warm-up for students to start working on as soon as they sit down—either accessing prior knowledge needed for the day’s lesson or reviewing information from the previous day. During this time, I take attendance and record it on the daily points sheet. Then, we share good news, discuss objectives for the day, and review the warm-up. After that, we dive into the daily lesson.