Students across the
country are headed back to school this month. As
educators, we know how important the first days of school are in “setting the
stage” and establishing expectations for the coming year. If our goal is to ensure
successful teaching and learning throughout the year, there can be no “playing it by
ear”, no “winging it”, no laissez-faire. Since research informs us there is a correlation between planning and success, we must be intentional in our
preparation, as well as the implementation of our plan. It is time to have our act together! And, as my friend and colleague, Dr. Judi
Jenkins says, “for our goals to come to fruition, it’s all hands on deck to
move the ship forward.”
In Activating the Desire to Learn, Bob
Sullo points to five components necessary for people to learn: power, mastery,
belonging, safety, and fun. So, how can we integrate these components into
everyday routines? What does it look
like?
Establishing school
and classroom procedures, routines and rituals are critical to making schools
and classrooms function effectively, therefore, they must be addressed early. These
processes and expectations include both academic and social behaviors (i.e. how
we transition, cues, signals, cooperative group expectations, rubrics, etc.). Learning progresses more efficiently
and more expeditiously when students have mastery of procedures and
expectations. The
investment in establishing protocols and procedures is well worth your time! There's a pay-off as the year
progresses when these processes become a habit of mind and the desired
classroom culture is established.
The more students
are involved in creating the classroom environment and establishing the norms,
the more likely students are to engage, and thus be successful. At
some point in my career, I abandoned the phrase "classroom rules" for
"group agreements." Upon doing so, I experienced increased
student cooperation and engagement. My role had moved from one who wanted
to control every experience in the classroom to one who wanted to facilitate
the learning, as well as the social experiences in the classroom. I found
that through intentional and appropriate modeling I was more likely to
influence student behavior and student learning.
*See Rules
Verses Agreements http://edtalkwiththelocks.blogspot.com/2012/08/rules-verses-agreements-control-or.html
Design the physical space to create an environment which supports a safe, positive learning community.
- The physical space in the classroom should promote individual, small and whole group interactions.
- Students should be allowed and encouraged to move about the room, as appropriate, to work individually, in pairs, and in small flexible groups or have individual conferences.
- Consider how you can make flexible use of space, for instance, moving desks, creating different table configurations, designing stations and centers, etc.
- Make certain students have easy access to resources, technology and learning supplies.
- A variety of types of print and visual resources, relevant to the content area/s, are readily available for student use. *See Environment Indicators Self-Assessment link at bottom of page.
Focusing on relationships and social and emotional learning emphasizes a student-centered, cooperative approach to learning. Relevant project-based learning and students learning through collaboration are just a few suggestions Sullo offers to engage students in mastery learning, while reinforcing relationship building, a sense of belonging and a joy for learning.
Students need to be able to access learning through reading, writing, speaking, listening, observing and touching. It takes all these processes “to add soil to the rocks so seeds may sprout”!
Joe Hirsh reminds us in Teaching Empathy: Turning a Lesson Plan into
a Life Skill, the importance of reinforcing matters of both “head and
heart” when he suggests a cooperative jigsaw strategy to build cognitive empathy.
Utilizing the jigsaw strategy, students work together, think together and are more actively engaged in what they learn, as well as how
they learn.
One of my favorite quotes in Activating the Desire to Learn is, “Offering students lectures alone is like pouring water over rocks and expecting seeds to sprout.” Addressing different learning styles and modalities builds on students’ strengths and empowers them for learning when linguistic methods fail. Students need to be able to access learning through reading, writing, speaking, listening, observing and touching. It takes all these processes “to add soil to the rocks so seeds may sprout”!
It is essential to model appropriate
learning behaviors and processes, such as thinking, problem-solving, writing,
and so forth; but, it is also important to model appropriate social
behaviors, such as, tolerance, empathy, respect and kindness, just to name a few. In Twenty Tips for Creating a
Safe Learning Environment, Rebecca Alber tells us to take every opportunity to
model kindness. Joe Hirsh emphasizes
the value of intentionally modeling and creating opportunities to build empathy. Likewise, we need to
remember the importance of modeling respect. Larry Lock always says respect is
reciprocal. You generally get what you
give. Wise words! The bottom line is we
must teach students all positive behaviors through intentional, consistent and
unwavering modeling.
This is probably one of the most important
points to remember; yet at times one of the more difficult to pull off. Some days I did not feel well, but I found
that if I put on a smile my day went better. Perhaps it was the “you get what
you give” thing. Students and adults
alike in a school benefit from a positive attitude. It is key to positive
school culture, happy students, happy adults and successful schools.
Environment Indicators Self-Assessment
https://cl.ly/203N2q2K3c16
As I observe teachers at all grade levels throughout their school year it becomes very evident that many of them have neglected to utilize three of your suggestions specifically. The first is front loading the protocols, procedures, and expectations for the classroom. This becomes obvious in discipline issues, disengaged students, and loss of instructional time all due to not devoting time up front to set the foundation for learning.
ReplyDeleteSecondly, many teachers fail to include students in the decision making process in genuine and meaningful ways which empowers students to take ownership of their own classroom learning opportunities. The "top down" approach does not work any more effectively with young people than it does with adults.
And finally, building relationships socially and emotionally does not receive nearly the emphasis required to establish a safe and positive learning environment for all students. Research is clear that learners are more likely to excel when they are certain they have a positive emotional connection with their teacher.
All of your points are deserving of focus and attention at the start of a new school year. The three I mentioned above seem to be the most prevalent I fail see on a consistent basis. Lets take the time and effort necessary to insure our students receive the very best we have to offer them at the earliest point in the new school year!
In Arkansas our use of Danielson's Framework for Teaching should increase educator and administrator emphasis on these things. Intentional planning in preparation for teaching and learning, classroom environment including procedures and protocols, instructional strategies and communication in the classroom, as well as reflective professionalism are all included in our system for teacher effectiveness. School improvement is dependent upon classroom improvement. The teacher is the leader for the classroom. As Mary Anne said, model what you want others to follow. This is true in the classroom for teachers and students but also for the building level leader as he or she facilitates growth in instructional capacity. Teacher excellence support systems are also student excellence support systems. All hands on deck for better teaching and learning.
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