"Effective teachers create a positive classroom climate."

 

 

A child who lacks trust and respect in his teacher cannot successfully learn from him or her.  On the other hand, a teacher who never apologizes can seem like a faultless being to the young and impressionable.  To be a good teacher, it is necessary that you show your students that you are human.  Good teaching requires that you understand the needs of each of your students and find a way to make them comfortable and secure. 

 

I try to make a point of connecting with students outside of class time, because I am often too busy to give each of 25-30 students personal attention during lessons.  I have sought to establish and maintain a pleasant and fun environment for the children in my classroom.  I believe that learning takes place most effectively within a context of collaboration and trust.  Every child must feel welcome and safe in order to reach her potential. 



Artefacts Artefacts

 

 















Reflection On Classroom Management Artefact One

Reflection On My Philosophy of EducationArtefact Two

Reflection On Pictures, A Way To Represent Students In A Positive LightArtefact Three 

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Artefact One Artefact One -- Classroom Management


Reflection on Artefact one
Reflection on Artefact one



I chose to use a classroom management strategy as an artefact because I feel that good communication is key to creating a positive relationship with others. Once we clarify the behaviour and daily routines of the classroom, everything else follows. Students need to know what I, as a teacher, expect from them and they have a right to have some say in the structure of the classroom rules. I found writing this management plan to be very instructive because it helped me to clarify in my own mind how to indicate to students, with gestures and signals, when they can collaborate with their classmates and when they must listen to their teacher. In addition, I found that my lesson plans started going much better once I had written this plan. It was not my lesson planning that was improving. On the contrary, the students merely had a clearer idea of what I expected of them and we all better understood how to keep the lessons well organized.

























A Classroom Management Strategy for a Grade Six Classroom (Artefact One)

 

To establish and maintain a safe, orderly learning environment it is essential that the teacher first and foremost recognize the students to be human beings both unique and diverse in nature.  Furthermore, the teacher needs to understand that they themselves are no less unique, no less human – and are therefore fallible.  A good teacher is a dynamic, vibrant and integrated person that interacts with students in a holistic way (Miller, John P. p32-42).  Adopting classroom management plans piecemeal, is not an option for such a teacher.  If the strategies do not come from within and are not spontaneous, they will be neither consistent nor appropriate.  The only effective strategy that is possible to formulate on a general theoretical basis is one that can be easily adapted to different situations and different classrooms and comes from within the teacher.  I see an effective plan as a liberal, spontaneous and ongoing implementation of natural and logical consequences for misbehaviour.

          The students of my Grade Six classroom are more homogenous than normal.  There are no students with severe learning disabilities, as a group they are on quite the same academic and behavioural level.  Though, it would not do to speak in a quiet bland monotone to this group nor to remain within a single medial of instruction, as learners they are very resilient and accommodating.  As a group, the students are quite active and yet cooperative, none of their number is prone to the classification ‘behaviourally disordered’.  The general make-up of the class is such that no single student stands out as a challenge to overcome nor as a barrier to an efficient learning environment – indeed the class is relatively mature and cooperative. 

          My cooperating teacher, no doubt, has earned the credit, in large part, for the agreeable nature of this group.  In early September, his plan was to facilitate the creation of student generated classroom rules and consequences.  The early start in this process of rule generation (and behavioural consequence generation) was designed to guide the formation of a well-balanced collective of responsible and enabled students as the group identity began to emerge.  Clearly, form the courteous and well-behaved conduct of the students, this was a successful plan.  My cooperating teacher’s active teaching plan can be characterized as the ongoing humane and reasonable correction of significant misbehaviour – while recognizing and praising acts of maturity.  His tone is also, no doubt, important, for anger rarely, if ever, penetrates the fold.  However, annoyance and displeasure are a part of his repertoire, so the students cannot but view him as human and real.  It is perfectly evident to all concerned, through the careful use of body language and cues, when he requires silent attentiveness, and when fruitful conversation can be undertaken (e.g. he stands quietly relaxed and ‘open’ when he wishes to address the class).  If they do not give their attention immediately, he draws attention to those who are quiet and courteous, carefully thanking them for their conduct.

          My own approach will be (and has been) to carefully demonstrate and communicate my intentions with body language and cues, avoiding any competition with the class noise, while encouraging self-disciplined courtesy at every opportunity.  Using the logical consequences established by the class in an explicit manner, I will carefully remain alert to behaviour which hampers instruction while ignoring minor infractions that do not deserve a time allotment.  I will attempt to involve both the students themselves and their parents in the implementation of clear, straightforward consequences.  In addition, I will recognize the importance of praise and continual focus on positive behaviour.  My corrective strategies will be modified by the careful use of emotionally neutral reprimands and meaningful ‘timeouts’.  As I spend more time with the class, I will slowly introduce myself to the students so they can grow to know me as, not just a teacher, but also, a member of their community.  Most importantly, during the day-to-day routine I will be a compassionate and caring admirer of the greatness in each of the students.

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Artefact Two My Philosophy of Education


Reflection On Artefact Two
Reflection On Artefact Two


I included my philosophy of education in this section because I feel that it is our beliefs that have the greatest impact on our interactions with others. Writing my philosophy helped me to better understand how I see children, and thusly, how to get along with them better. In addition, putting my philosophy to paper helped me to realize that respect and compassion are everyday things that we cannot do without. My philosophy is founded on the belief that equality, trust, respect and justice are not simple ideas but tools for living. Truly, I would prefer to incorporate the two documents (i.e. my philosophy, and my classroom management plan) because I believe they are inextricably linked in the world of relationships. 
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Artefact Three Sleepy head -- Pictures as a way to represent students in a positive light


Reflection on Artefact Three
Reflection on Artefact Three




I took this picture just after naptime one sunny winter afternoon. The student was very tired that day and so we allowed him to sleep past naptime. Being awoken from a deep sleep in a relatively strange place is not a pleasant thing. For a child attending full-day Kindergarten, naptime can be very precious. I included this artefact here because it might have been prudent to awaken the student along with the others, but feeling comfortable in school is a fundamentally important thing. I must add that for Kindergarten children, being comfortable in school is one of the most important things a teacher can help arrange.













































Sleepy head -- A picture for decorating the classroom
Artefact Three 
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