My personal plans and ideals for creating a positive learning environment for my future classroom learners, are contained within a framework of procedures, in which I am currently establishing and building upon as I grow and learn myself. I realize through research, that the rules, norms, expectations and overall procedures of a classroom, set the tone for the entire course of study and learning. I have also learned, that where a teacher presents her learners with the highest expectations inside of a well structured, positive environment, her students’ achievement can (and often does) sky-rocket! This is the outcome I’d like to foster. Thus far, I have discovered several tools and strategies, that I think will be very helpful, and a certain rule that I believe to be a non-negotiable must!
“What is an effective classroom? It is one that runs smoothly, with minimal confusion and down
time, and maximizes student learning. An effective classroom has patterns and routines in place that make interaction and movement within that classroom easy to organize and accomplish. Such patterns and routines are established through the development of classroom rules and procedures. Rules are the explicit statements of teacher’s expectations for students’ behavior in a classroom. Procedures are the patterns for accomplishing classroom tasks. Teachers communicate their expectations to students through the development and enactment of both.” (Evertson & Poole, the IRIS Center, 2003)
So to begin building my procedural framework, I am interested in creating (through voicing of expectations, modeling of behavior, and reinforcing with reminders, visual cues, and graphics) several familiar ways of interacting in my classroom (norms) and rules. I will start by trying to anticipate what my students need to know and do in our classroom, academically, socially, and behaviorally, before the school year begins, by breaking down larger goals into smaller ones. For example, if Id like to be sure to incorporate prompt attendance into my “rules” and “norms” I’d ask myself: What time will my class begin? How will I be prepared to begin class promptly? How will I convey my expectations to my learners? And further, what consequences will result from failure to adhere to or meet those expectations? A variation of these same questions could be applied to any of the rules and norms that I am trying to establish, one by one, ahead of time, to create a guideline for planning the first day, the room layout, the visuals I will create and post, the types of lessons and lesson content I will cover, and the transitions I will use between activities.
Being a mother, I know all too well, that you cannot force an independent person do anything. You can really only provide positive motivation, and “motivational consequences,” lol…In my classroom planning, I will attempt to select rules, norms, and overall procedures that are stated in a positive way and sustainable, such as “Please walk in the hallway” rather than “Don’t run.” This is a far more realistic way to present the same rule, which can easily be followed up with non-verbal reminders if posted visually. Where rules are broken, appropriate consequences may be provided that have also been clearly stated at the start. I will try to curtail the rules I establish, so that they always support the learning and high achievement goals that I have for my students and for which they have for themselves, making them more meaningful, as we discuss and explain them together.
Explaining to students the purpose and rationale for classroom rules, and behavioral/academic expectations and including them in the development and modeling of good behavior practices is super important, because it offers a sense of fairness and responsibility, ownerships, and pride (individually and as a group). This is also why consistently responding to student behavior regarding established rules and procedures (through consistent and frequent feedback and consequences) is equally important in reinforcing fairness, but also in providing a sentiment of safety and positively affective environment where students feel their contributions are valued, and where they want to succeed, meet and exceed challenges set forth - even create their own!
And not to be forgotten, another important aspect of building my structure of procedures and norms, will be the frequent review and adaptation of rules and norms and overall procedures, by myself as well as the entire class as a whole, as needed or necessary. “Since norms are developed and maintained through the interactions of individuals, they can shift and change. The environments in which the norms are established can also change. While reflecting upon the established classroom norms, a teacher compares the accepted norms of the classroom to those desired for maintaining an effective classroom. When a discrepancy is found between what is needed for a successful learning environment and the established classroom norms, the teacher must adjust these norms through instruction, clear communication of expectations, and consistent support of these expectations.” (Evertson & Poole, the IRIS Center, 2003) By including my students in the discussion, revaluation, and implementation of changes, it is my intention that they will continue a pattern of taking responsibility, ownership, and pride in helping to establish and maintain our positive classroom environment, in which they are reassured is safe, and is a place where they and their contributions, matter as teammates and individuals. As a mother, I know too, that this path is the one of least resistance ;)
Still, in the early days of my classroom, I will be on my own in terms of generating the initial set of overall procedures. To be sure that the rules I am trying to establish are appropriate, I will continually check them against the following criteria:
As of this post, the rules and procedures I think I will use at first, look a little something like this chart I have recently constructed:
Sources
Evertson, C., Poole, I., & the IRIS Center. (2003). Norms and expectations. Retrieved on August 6, 2014, from http://iris.peabody.vanderbilt.edu/case_studies/ICS-003.pdf
The Only Classroom Rules You’ll Ever Need. (2009) Smart Classroom Management. By Michael Linsin. Retrieved on August 6, 2014, from http://www.smartclassroommanagement.com/2009/08/17/the-only-classroom-rules-youll-ever-need/
