InTASC Standard 3: Learning Environments
The teacher works with others to create environments that support individual and collaborative learning, and that encourage positive social interaction, active engagement in learning, and social motivation.
When looking to promote positive and successful learning and growth, a positive learning environment is fundamental in providing this experience. This means creating a classroom that is welcoming and provides the students with opportunities to grow in their responsibilities, ask questions, explore new things, and take risks beyond what they knew they were capable of. Though some of this is hard to do in the actual set up of the room, the room and its set up are where these steps can be fostered and grown.
To me, this means that when I start setting up my own classroom, I will have to consider all of my students and their abilities. In making it open to all my students, I will consider colors, patterns, decorations, seating, what I have on my walls or bulletin boards, and behavioral expectations. In preparing for this I will consider my students – does a student have some sensory sensitivity? Will this student be distracted when sitting next to another certain student? Will this student be distracted facing a window? Can the students read this from their seats? Does this reach the needs of all my students? I will also have to consider a set up that helps me, as the teacher, be able to be ready to help the students and be prepared in various situations that may arise.
In my 1st grade classroom at St. Francis Xavier in Dyersville, I did not have much control over how my classroom was set up. I was able to add and help adjust different aspects as we (my cooperating teacher and I) saw different situations arise. This included changing seating arrangements, adding new desks/work stations to the room, and adding pictures to accommodate all of our students' needs and to make them feel welcome. We also worked to establish positive relationships with our students and their families by taking time to talk to them and get to know them, whether through activities or staying in touch. To help foster this feeling of wanting to get to know the students, we encouraged them to make connections between what we were learning and their own lives and even giving them time to share. This was to show the students we cared about them and wanted to know more about them.
In our classroom, besides making our classroom seem welcoming (which can be seen physically in the bright colors and fun pictures in The Classroom artifact), which can help engage the students, we strived to help the students become more self-reliant. Instead of coming to the teacher for every need (big or small), the classroom was set up to help give the students a chance to do their own problem-solving. The students were told the expectations for behavior and then they were expected to be responsible for their own behavior and actions. This can be seen in the behavior voice expectations, clip chart, and ticket pockets that were all in the front of our classroom (artifact “Front of the Room”). During Daily 5, students had to choose their own activity and were expected to follow through with what they were supposed to do. Part of this was for the students to know ahead of time what they were supposed to do during these various activities (artifact The Daily 5). Our calendar (Calendar Area artifact), word wall, mailboxes, and reading strategies (Around the Room artifacts) were also supposed to help give the students more responsibilities.
How a teacher sets up and fosters their learning environments helps set the stage for drawing in students and giving them a successful and positive learning experience. This can be done in many ways and includes creating a classroom that is welcoming and provides the students with opportunities to grow in their responsibilities, ask questions, explore new things, and take risks beyond what they new they were capable of. The set up of the learning environment may vary from year to year, but the goal should always be the same – to help and aim for the success of all students.
To me, this means that when I start setting up my own classroom, I will have to consider all of my students and their abilities. In making it open to all my students, I will consider colors, patterns, decorations, seating, what I have on my walls or bulletin boards, and behavioral expectations. In preparing for this I will consider my students – does a student have some sensory sensitivity? Will this student be distracted when sitting next to another certain student? Will this student be distracted facing a window? Can the students read this from their seats? Does this reach the needs of all my students? I will also have to consider a set up that helps me, as the teacher, be able to be ready to help the students and be prepared in various situations that may arise.
In my 1st grade classroom at St. Francis Xavier in Dyersville, I did not have much control over how my classroom was set up. I was able to add and help adjust different aspects as we (my cooperating teacher and I) saw different situations arise. This included changing seating arrangements, adding new desks/work stations to the room, and adding pictures to accommodate all of our students' needs and to make them feel welcome. We also worked to establish positive relationships with our students and their families by taking time to talk to them and get to know them, whether through activities or staying in touch. To help foster this feeling of wanting to get to know the students, we encouraged them to make connections between what we were learning and their own lives and even giving them time to share. This was to show the students we cared about them and wanted to know more about them.
In our classroom, besides making our classroom seem welcoming (which can be seen physically in the bright colors and fun pictures in The Classroom artifact), which can help engage the students, we strived to help the students become more self-reliant. Instead of coming to the teacher for every need (big or small), the classroom was set up to help give the students a chance to do their own problem-solving. The students were told the expectations for behavior and then they were expected to be responsible for their own behavior and actions. This can be seen in the behavior voice expectations, clip chart, and ticket pockets that were all in the front of our classroom (artifact “Front of the Room”). During Daily 5, students had to choose their own activity and were expected to follow through with what they were supposed to do. Part of this was for the students to know ahead of time what they were supposed to do during these various activities (artifact The Daily 5). Our calendar (Calendar Area artifact), word wall, mailboxes, and reading strategies (Around the Room artifacts) were also supposed to help give the students more responsibilities.
How a teacher sets up and fosters their learning environments helps set the stage for drawing in students and giving them a successful and positive learning experience. This can be done in many ways and includes creating a classroom that is welcoming and provides the students with opportunities to grow in their responsibilities, ask questions, explore new things, and take risks beyond what they new they were capable of. The set up of the learning environment may vary from year to year, but the goal should always be the same – to help and aim for the success of all students.
Artifacts: