Create a Positive Learning Environment

 

 “As a starting point, Coloroso says that teachers need to ask themselves, “What is my goal in teaching?” and, “What is my teaching philosophy?””, (Models of Discipline Low Approach, n.d.). Everything else stems out of this, including the philosophy of classroom management.

For me, my focus as a teacher is to create a positive classroom environment. 

The objective of that is to be able to have an atmosphere where everyone can learn in a space of safety and harmony. Once I am clear about the focus, that gives the benchmark rubric to assess if classroom management system has worked or not.

In my opinion, the rubric should contain the following:

·         Are the students engaged and learning?

·         Is everyone focused on the task?

·         Is there a pleasant vibe in the classroom?

·         Can the teacher (me) be attentive in a relaxed manner, without requiring “high discipline approach”, (Models of Discipline High Approach, n.d.)?

If answers to all of these is a ‘yes’, then the set of rules and procedure are implemented very well. I can reflect over them and choose to continue or modify them. Such a class, in my opinion, would rest on a “set of procedures that structure the classroom, so the students know what to do, how to do it, and when to do it in a classroom”, (Wong, Wong, Rogers & Brook, 2012). For me the most important thing is that the students are clear about what is expected from them. My clarity transfers to them. I also made my expectations very clear for I believe that “A well-managed classroom means that students have a clear view of what you expect of them” (Cox. N.d.).

Taking an example from my own classes in middle school, when I reflect, my best managed classes rested on the following rules: (a) A clear beginning and end procedure; (b) Tasks given on the board or on a paper; (c) Self-direction or buddy help encouraged; (d) Respect to others, especially those slow in the subject; (e) Everyone gets a chance to speak during discussions; (f) A student can quietly drink water as and when needed without asking for permission; (g) Help is provided if students have forgotten important things needed for the class work and (h) Students who finish the work early can design their free time without disturbing others.

            The beginning was always spent in checking previous day’s work as a class. The day’s work would be on the board or the students had a task-sheet. It took weeks of consistency to develop the sense of self direction in the students towards grasping the day’s work. In the beginning I would get disturbed if students forgot important material such as compass or textbook. But later I realised that it is time wasted and kept spare material in my Almira or organised shared tasks among students.

      I found that having a collaborative and understanding approach that did not depend on ‘yelling’ improved the overall flow of my class to such an extent that I can say that we were in a flow. “You don’t notice a well-managed classroom for everything flows so smoothly”, (Wong, 2014). Such classes are like water, they flow smoothly and one does not notice how time flies. The sense of a smooth ‘flow’ defined success to me.

What I would avoid are (a) sarcasm; (b) punishing students who forgot material needed; (c) using loud voice; (d) threatening comments; (e) insistence on doing more Maths when the prescribed tasks are over; (f) using loud voice or (g) talking too much to explain the work.

I discovered that these do not work in the long run. There are students who thrive on creating confrontation situations and having a firm but calm demeanour helps in developing the capacity to face them. As one of my students said, ‘I was very disruptive in my previous school. But here all of are so caring that I don’t feel like being disruptive’.  I also worked most at ensuring that my explanations were brief but clear. My sense of clarity served as a clear ‘intent’ that the students grasped intuitively.

            Personally, I am not comfortable with the word ‘rules’ in my heart. I feel we need clear procedures and systems in the class. A systemic intelligence is what I felt got us through again and again. A system designed based on the classroom psychology and enforced with consistency yet flexible enough to be modified if need arose. For example, a student would always walk in late, which was not permitted. However, once I came to know about his difficult home environment, I did relax for him and allowed him some leeway as he was a natural rebel. This led to a positive relationship and finally the tasks allotted were met. I wondered then why for years I was so rigid about class time! A rule is not the endgame.

 

“Of course, the ultimate goal of teaching is not enforcing rules

 and routines but teaching effectively”, (Alber, 2017) .

References

Alber, R. (2017). Rules and routines in the classroom. Retrieved from https://www.edutopia.org/blog/rules-routines-school-year-start-classroom-management

Cox, J. (n.d.). 10 Classroom Management Mistakes to Avoid. Retrieved from https://www.teachhub.com/10-classroom-management-mistakes-avoid.

Models of Discipline High Approach - Secondary Teacher. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://sites.google.com/site/secondaryteacher486/classroom-management/models-of-discipline-high-approach.

Models of Discipline Low Approach - Secondary Teacher. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://sites.google.com/site/secondaryteacher486/classroom-management/models-of-discipline-low-approach.

Wong, H.K. (2014). Proceed with intent: At the heart of a classroom management plan is practice and more practice of key procedures. Instructor, 124 (3), 32+. 

Wong, H., Wong, R., Rogers, K., & Brooks, A. (2012). Managing your classroom for success: Organization in the first week is the foundation for a successful school year. Science and Children, 49 (9), 60+.