Developing a Positive Classroom Environment

As a teacher, I must create a caring and safe environment for all students.

Diverse Cultural Backgrounds

Students with different backgrounds have different needs. Some cultures are quiet, while others are vocal. Many cultures find tradition to be of great importance, whereas others place far less value on it.

I have to address every student’s needs while maintaining an impartial classroom. Santora (2004) says “Children need to see themselves, and people who represent the diversity of their families, their communities, and their world, in the environment in which they live, work, and play.” I cannot allow my classroom to appear to be heavily biased toward any culture or cultures. I also must make sure the other students in class show the same respect for the other students in class.

Positive Relationships in the Classroom

As I learned, while researching positive relationships in the classroom, a teacher must share who they are in an honest manner. I will share stories of myself and my past with students so they can understand where I come from. My students will be encouraged to share themselves as well. Morning meetings, classroom etiquette talks, and rules discussions would be great times for this sharing to occur. As students get to know each other, they will bond and be more likely to create and maintain a friendly and positive environment in the class.  

Anti-bullying In and Out of the Classroom

“Bullying Intervention” (n.d.). suggests including “students who might be left out.” I strongly agree that this encouraging mentality is an important part of the positive classroom. To this end, I have my students write something nice about every other student in class. I then have students draw their own likeness and write all the kind comments around them. Students love to read the sweet things others in class have said about them. They rarely walk away from those posters without a smile.

Positive Engagement

Allred (2008) suggests “teachers help students understand that people are likely to feel good about themselves when they engage in positive actions.” This is why I will be reading books and sharing videos that encourage students to engage in positive behaviors. Each Kindness is a great book to help with this. It will help students to understand that we must do kind things while we have the chance, or the opportunity might be lost.

Making Mistakes

It's important that students feel comfortable enough to be themselves. This video calls to the viewers attention how important it is for students to feel comfortable making mistakes. I try to maintain a safe classroom environment. The students in my class have to feel safe to make mistakes, work at their own pace, and try without fear of embarrassment. 

In Conclusion

If the environment is positive, students can feel free to learn and grow at their own pace. They will be less likely to bully and more likely to be invested in the class as a whole. It is my goal, as a teacher, to create this environment for my students every day.

Resources

Allred, C. G., (Sept. 2008). Seven Strategies for Building Positive Classrooms

The Positive Classroom V66 (issue 1) Retrieved from http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational-leadership/sept08/vol66/num01/Seven-Strategies-for-Building-Positive-Classrooms.aspx

Bullying Intervention Strategies That Work.  (n.d.). Education World. (issue 103) Retrieved from http://www.educationworld.com/a_issues/issues/issues103.shtml

Santora, L., (2004) How Can You Create a Learning Environment That Respects Diversity? NYSAEYC Report, Winter 2004. Retrieved from http://www.adl.org/assets/pdf/education-outreach/How-Can-You-Create-a-Learning-Environment-That-Respects-Diversity.pdf

Picture Resources

Eddie~Shttps://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bully_Free_Zone.jpg

Frerieke https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Diversity_and_Unity.jpg

A Fun Learning Game for the Classroom

Mobile Learning in the Classroom – Uses and Best Practices

 There are many uses for mobile devices in (and outside of) the classroom.

 Audiobooks and Text to speech can be used to read books and articles to help students with disabilities and students who are English Language Learners.   Redford (n.d.) says, “Listening to audiobooks is a way to deliver words and ideas to a child with limited access to an adult reader.”

In my classroom, I will help my student with attention deficit by allowing him to listen to the audio CD of the weekly story. Also, I will allow my ELL students to use audio CDs of readings and articles. 

Students can use browsers and GPS to join in digital scavenger hunts, play games, and take quizzes. Librarians at North Carolina State University have Library orientation programs where students use iPads and Androids in a scavenger hunt fashion to encourage students to discover facts about the library (Burke & Lai, 2012).

In my classroom, I love to use quizzes and games as practice time and for pre-assessment. Also, I’d like to use mobile devices to initiate a QR code scavenger hunt around the school, and an online scavenger hunt could be exciting as well.

Video and picture capabilities can be used to report findings, notate facts, and practice for presentations. Perhaps, students can even post video assignments online. Feldmann (2016) believes that “Students work harder on their videos when they know that they'll have a wider audience than just their teacher.”

Students in my classroom will take notes for a report. When notes are complete, students will use them to create and record a presentation. Students can then watch each other’s presentations and offer feedback to improve the presentation.   

Students can use ipads and other mobile devices to organize and complete homework. In addition, parents can comment on shared class and homework projects. Graham (n.d.) suggests that mobile apps “help students better organize their assignments.”

I think it would be fun to have students use mobile devices to create mobile learning apps. Also, I could give students the opportunity to collaborate on an assignment through those devices and a wiki site. 

Best Practices

In a fifth grade classroom, there are several best practices required for mobile learning.

Rules - Students should understand the rules of mobile device usage in the classroom. Usage - Students need to know how to use the devices.

Play/Expectations- Students must understand how to navigate games and activities,   as well as the expectations and how to complete the assignments. 

Timed – Students should be able to complete assignments in a timely fashion.         

Fifth graders need information that is easy to access, interactive, and goal-oriented (Chaffe, 2016).   

Guiding Principles

My fifth graders also need me to follow certain guiding principles.

Use technology judiciously- Not all lessons can be taught with mobile devices.        

Keep activities social- Fifth graders are social creatures, so assignments should be group assignments more often than not.

Realistic goals- Specific and realistic goals are integral at this age. If they do not have a solid goal, they may be confused and drift from the assignment.

 Content should match the standard and the technology should be part of your overall learning structure (Caul, 2013).

Resources

.Burke, A., and Lai, A., (May 4, 2012). iPod Apps, Mobile Learning, Game Dynamics: This Ain’t Your Typical Library Orientation. Retrieved from http://www.loexconference.org/2012/sessions.html

Chaffe, S., (Mar 5, 2016). Getting Mobile Learning Right: 6 Best Practices. Retrieved from https://elearningindustry.com/getting-mobile-learning-right-6-best-practices

Feldmann, A., (Feb 24, 2016). 5 Apps to Transform Teaching and Personalize Learning. Retrieved from https://www.edutopia.org/blog/apps-transform-teaching-personalize-learning-ann-feldmann

Graham, E., (n.d.). Using Smartphones in the Classroom. Retrieved from
http://www.nea.org/tools/56274.htm

Redford, K., (n.d.). How Parents Can Build a Word-Rich Life for Dislexics. Retrieved from http://dyslexia.yale.edu/PAR_wordvocab.html

Caul, R., (Aug 1, 2013). Create a mobile learning strategy. Retrieved from https://www.trainingjournal.com/articles/feature/create-mobile-learning-strategy 

Cognitive Flow in the Classroom: Are You Feeling the Flow?

When I want to achieve cognitive flow, I may read, write, do a logic puzzle, or complete a nonogram. Another way I achieve cognitive flow is through “brain training” apps on my phone. I really enjoy challenging my mind and stretching my creativity.

So, what is cognitive flow?

Suttie (2012) claims it is the "feeling of complete immersion in an activity, where we're so engaged that our worries, sense of time, and self consciousness seem to disappear." Does this sound like a marathon session of Farmville to anyone else? No? Just me?

How do we achieve cognitive flow?

In the state of cognitive flow, a person is completely involved and focused, they feel a sense of being outside of themselves, they have intrinsic motivation and an inner clarity that keeps them working in spite of discomforts like hunger. It is a skill known well enough to be automatic and offers a timeless serenity where hours can seem to go by in minutes. (Csikszentmihalyi, 2004)  

How do I achieve flow in my classroom?

Well, the work shouldn’t be too difficult, but it should be challenging enough to be interesting. It should also be presented in an interesting manner to keep students interested. Let’s look at my list of interests, because I have instituted some of the things I love to help my students achieve flow.

Reading and writing-

I allow them to choose the topic they would like for their writing and I give them free reading time, however, I don’t imagine this will offer them much in the way of flow, since the flow of reading and writing seems to be directly correlated with the reading or writing not being part of a mandatory assignment. You might however, be able to get students interested enough to create flow, provided the student have the required technical skills to complete the assignment.

Play-based learning-

This year, since I’m teaching 5^th grade, I thought it was important to focus on improving logic and reasoning skills. I began working with my students on day one, giving them logic puzzles, nonograms, and clue-based mysteries. At first, they had difficulty and required me to walk them along the logical steps a good deal of the time. I persevered and soon they were doing simple puzzles alone. As my students continued to build their logic skills, I increased the difficulties of their puzzles and I began to see the flow. It began with a few of my more advanced students, but as the pictures on the nonograms grew more intricate, I began to see the flow spread throughout most of the class.

Are there places I can help my students experience the flow, or experience it myself?

  

There are many places to look for flow. Your personal learning network will likely be full of ideas. I watch youtube videos, where other teachers discuss ideas that worked in their classrooms and things their kids really enjoyed. I’ve found science videos that have fascinated my students and sent them into a state of flow as they write or research the subjects in the video. Pinterest also has many pinned ideas to help you get students in the zone. Blogs like mine will help as well. For instance, I’ll share right now that online game-based learning like prodigygames.com, code.org, starfall, and Zearn can encourage flow, and students often have the required technical skills to understand these games.

Are there a few resources where I can learn about flow?

You bet! Here's my resource list.

Suttie, J., (April 17, 2012). Eight Tips for Fostering Flow in the Classroom. Retrieved from http://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/eight_tips_for_fostering_flow_in_the_classroom

Csikszentmihalyi, M., (Feb. 2004). Flow, the Secret to Happiness. Retrieved from https://www.ted.com/talks/mihaly_csikszentmihalyi_on_flow