3: creating a productive learning environment

Our textbook says that a well-managed classroom is "one in which students are consistently engaged in productive learning activities and in which students' behaviors rarely interfere with the achievement of instructional goals." Alright Ormrod, that sounds good, tell me more! (And of course.. she does.)

The topics of this chapter are things I'm really excited about, the stuff I day dream about! I'm hoping for a happy classroom. I want it to be a warm, engaging, inviting, positive place where students enjoy learning together and independently. I chose three strategies that I think would be most beneficial toward my goals:

1. Classroom arrangement. The goals of this arrangement are to encourage student interaction when appropriate and discourage it when counterproductive, to minimize possible distractions, allow easy student-teacher interaction, and allow easy monitoring of student behavior. I think I would achieve these goals, as well as my personal goals of allowing students to work together, by putting desks in groups of four. I also hope to set up designated areas to enhance learning. This could be with a comfy reading corner, a math station, etc. 

2. Establishing and maintaining productive teacher student relationships. I plan to achieve this by truly investing in my students- getting to know them personally, showing that I care about them and their growth, show interest in their hobbies/interests, showing respect, and in certain cases, improving relationships that need work. I think that a good way to build these relationships other than daily interactions is through the student teacher journal. This allows the student to share with the teacher more intimately and can help foster a close bond. 

3. Creating an effective psychological climate. This is about the general attitude and environment of the class- or as I think of it, the classroom vibe. Like I mentioned before, I want my classroom to be a happy place that engages students and encourages sharing and respect. I also don't want my room to feel like a place where students have no input. I hope to give plenty of opportunities for students to be active participants in what we do in class. 

My Big Idea!
Lately I have been thinking of a way to incorporate all of these ideas into a common theme. One idea I have is to have my classroom set up as a little community where everyone plays an equal part. For the physical environment, I think it would be fun to set up the room like a little town; the reading area could be the library, the fish bowl could be the aquarium, the handout box could be the post office, etc. I would also like to give each person in the town (aka the students) a job. The person who passes out papers could be the mailman, the line leader could be our bus driver, the lights person could be the electrician, the weather person could tell the daily forecast, la la la you get the idea. The jobs would rotate every day or two so that everyone gets a chance. The goal of this set up is to teach students that like a town, the classroom works best when we all work together. Each person has an equally important job and has to be accountable. I think this would be a fun way to designate roles and instill a sense of belonging and community within the students.

Link to "top 5 best classroom management strategies": http://www.brighthubeducation.com/classroom-management/3318-top-5-strategies-from-veteran-teacher/

Continuum of Responses
Lisa presents a difficult, but likely, problem that many teachers will face. I would address this issue by first going over specific behaviors are acceptable and unacceptable in the classroom during group work. I would lay out rules of respect and responsibility and print out a copy for each group to refer back to. I would encourage and model self-monitoring skills. I might also keep the students accountable for following these rules with some sort of behavior system, maybe marking a student's sheet when I notice them out of line, then giving them that sheet at the end of the day in a behavior folder. If these methods did not work and Lisa's behavior continued, I would speak with her privately to see why she has such an issue working in groups. I would take her response and try to modify the class activities in a way that best helps her.