(13.1) List five areas you will attend to as you create a learning environment that is conducive to learning.
The text outlines some important aspects to take into consideration when creating a classroom management plan. The five that I will focus the greatest amount of attention are: building and maintaining teacher-student relationships, creating a sense of community, setting limits, modifying instructional strategies, and taking into consideration the differences between students.
Building and maintaing teacher-student relationships is one of the most important duties that teachers are given. Teachers who do not care about the well-being of their students or who do not even make an effort to get to know their students will find it very difficult to create a productive learning environment and have a classroom that is well behaved and respectful. Students might feel as if they are not cared for so they will lack motivation and the desire to learn. Also, if they do not feel as if they are respected, they will not respect their teacher in turn. In the beginning of the year it is crucial for teachers to start getting to know their students. They can do so by having activities that allow everyone to get to know each other, or have journals in the classroom where the students can write to her about themselves and discuss any matters that they wish to be addressed. Teachers should also recognize their students when possible. This can easily be done by a simple smile or a morning greeting or a quick catch-up in the hallway. I believe that teachers should take the time to greet every student individually in the morning, whether it even just be a simple, "how was your night" or a "it is very good to see you this morning". Finally, building relationships with students will allow teachers to adjust and plan material accordingly to best suit each students' individual needs.
It is important to establish limits within the classroom. Even more so, these limits should be established at the beginning of the school year. Students should know what to expect and also know what is expected of them. Teachers should give reasons as to why these limits are established and expected of their students so that they can internalize them and gain understanding. Another key consideration is that limits and expectations should be a low amount as to not overwhelm students and feel like a dictatorship. When there is a lower number of limits and expectations it is also easier for students to remember.
Modifying instructional strategies should be done as regularly as needed. Some believe that once they establish an instructional strategy that it must be consistent throughout the entire school year. However, this is not true. Teachers should take into consideration that over time, things change. This is true for students and their learning styles and behaviors. Instructional strategies should be adjusted in order to optimize students' learning. This is why it is so important to reflect on lessons and throughout the school year to ensure that strategies are being updated with the classroom as it changes.
Finally, teachers should take into consideration the individual differences of students. Each student is unique and has his or her own unique personality, which also includes learning style. This goes along with the teacher's need to establish relationships with students. Getting to know each individual student will make it obvious as to how and why each student is different.
I really enjoyed reading your post! I agree with you that teachers should make an effort to demonstrate care for all her students. Also, limits are necessary but teachers shouldn't dominate the class like a dictator. I think this is something that a lot of primary school teachers are guilty of. Perhaps due to the developmental stages students in primary schools are at, primary school teachers find it easier to simply adopt an authoritarian approach toward their students. However, being a dictator inside a classroom makes school really tense for the students and could discourage them from opening up to the teachers when they really need to.
ReplyDeleteI think that you touched on several very important aspects of a successful classroom. I think that what you said about reflecting on lessons is important. As a teacher we need to constantly modify and adjust our lesson plans to fit our classes. We will encounter new students year to year so we should always be changing things up to best benefit the kiddos.
ReplyDeleteI like your choices! The last point, concerning differences among students, is something that I think is vital yet easy for teachers to overlook. I have been in many classrooms where the teachers way of teaching and learning was very singular. It was either adapt or die. I hope that I am able to get to know my future students in a way that allows me to see their differences and teach to their strong points and needs. Getting to know your students is something that I think should be done very early on because the whole year can be greatly impacted by starting out on a good step.
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