IIB - Learning Environment
Creates and maintains a safe and collaborative learning environment that motivates students to take academic risks, challenge themselves, and claim ownership of their learning.
OVERVIEW:
What I have learned from the challenge of teaching in 4 different rooms, none of them "mine," and from the resulting compensatory strategies, is that a learning environment is less about the physical space in which learning occurs, and more about the culture a teacher establishes with a group of students. Thus, my goals and strategies for establishing a successful, safe, focused, and fruitful learning environment center around the classroom routines, tone, and standards of behavior, established by me and adopted by the students, which have proven ultimately successful in any physical space. [2001-2022 UPDATE: I was assigned my own classroom for this last school year, and tried to make the physical space mirror the philosophy outlined above]
What I have learned from the challenge of teaching in 4 different rooms, none of them "mine," and from the resulting compensatory strategies, is that a learning environment is less about the physical space in which learning occurs, and more about the culture a teacher establishes with a group of students. Thus, my goals and strategies for establishing a successful, safe, focused, and fruitful learning environment center around the classroom routines, tone, and standards of behavior, established by me and adopted by the students, which have proven ultimately successful in any physical space. [2001-2022 UPDATE: I was assigned my own classroom for this last school year, and tried to make the physical space mirror the philosophy outlined above]
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EVIDENCE:
The course syllabus for each class of my classes contains a section specifically dedicated to 'Social and Civic Expectations (shown on the right). I spend a considerable amount of time, especially at the start of each year, establishing these expectations, both by direct communication and by modelling the standards myself. The goal, as I tell the students, is to create a classroom environment where every one feels safe, comfortable, respected, heard, and able to take risks, socially and academically, without fear of ridicule or judgement. |
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STUDENT WORK:
The link to the right is an example of student work (ACP) for the project above - a PowerPoint presentation that the student designed and used to teach their chosen poem to the class. |
EVIDENCE (II-B-2):
In addition to the social expectations of the classroom, I encourage students to own their knowledge, collaborate, and often teach each other the content and material of the course. Several lessons and projects (like the one shown on the left) require students to independently learn content (often modeled and/or supported by the instructor), master it, and then teach it to their classmates. This creates a culture of responsibility, ownership, and collaboration and allows me to view authentic assessments of student knowledge at the same time. [**MODELING NOTE: I modeled this project to colleague and co-teacher Liz Clement and to the NEASC visiting committee as shared evidence for Standard 2.5.]
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