The first days of
school are filled with new experiences, such as new faces, schedules, challenges,
and expectations. There are many things
teachers can do to help students ease into a positive and safe learning
environment. On the
first day of class, students should be given a clear expectation of what the
school year will be like. They should be told that it is expected of them to be
successful in passing tests and quizzes. With that said, students
should also be given a clear distinction between course grades, teacher
expectations of students, and the norms of the classroom. All students possess different strengths
and weakness and must rely on the help of each other along with the teaching
staff to achieve a successful learning school year. Below are some questions of
how to address the first day of class while establishing some welcoming
activities for the first day of school.
1. How can teachers provide a safe and secure classroom climate?
The foundation for successful
learning as well as a safe class room starts with the relationship that
teachers develop with students (Sousa & Tomlinson, 2011). There will be a safe classroom environment, which
will encourage students to speak their minds. It is possible that some comments may seem
harmless to some people, but may trigger an emotional reaction in others. The
class will be told to conduct their behavior and comments in a manner where
other individuals do not feel personally threatened. Students feel confident to speak openly about
their needs and to talk about problems, in an atmosphere that is not
confrontational.
·
Create a warm classroom environment,
·
Show respect to every individual within
the classroom,
·
Teachers should always be friendly
·
Place students with behavior problems in
close proximity to the teacher’s desk
·
All students should have a clear view of
the teacher and vice versa, at all times
2. How can teachers provide a positive learning environment?
If a student is not learning, teachers must determine how to
modify his or her teaching style to meet the needs of students (Sousa
& Tomlinson, 2011). Students' internal reactions to class activities and
classmates-feelings of annoyance, anger, anxiety, surprise, confusion, or
defensiveness are signs that their way of thinking about things is being challenged.
Creating a positive learning environment
will optimize student learning, help you build a cohesive classroom community
and create a pleasant work environment for both you and your students (bright
hub education, 2012). Below are a few ideas from the Bright Hub site that will
be put to use:
·
Get to know each student as a person as
soon as possible after meeting them.
·
Spend time with students individually
every day.
·
Fill your classroom with positive
messages and quotes. Make it impossible for students in your classroom to not
feel that they are each destined for greatness.
·
Provide frequent positive feedback. Let
students know that they are doing a good job.
·
Allow students to make appointments with
you to talk privately about overwhelming problems, issues and dilemmas.
3. How can teachers meet the social and emotional needs of students?
Sousa & Tomlinson (2011)
suggests that students
don’t only learn about the curriculum; they are learning about themselves, how to
interact with other students, and how to choose friends. Students learn how to
use their emotions to help them react in regards to specific situations. Sometime
teachers will need to study students’ demeanor and body
language to determine if they needed extra attention or having difficulties
with a subject (ASCD, 2012).
·
Give
students outlets for expression. Create a special place to display student art
and writing.
·
Helped teach students the process to
deal with differences of opinion.
·
Teach students to respect others ideas
and feelings
·
Learning to read my students’ demeanor
and body language.
4. How can teachers foster a sense of student ownership?
Teachers, who feel students should feel ownership of their education,
will allow frequent student input (Sousa & Tomlinson,
2011). Students, like most humans, are
explorers. Let students explore and gather a sense of ownership when they have
discovered information on their own.
·
Give students a voice so they become
full participants in their own education.
·
Take time to relate to students about
their everyday life. When we make those small, informal, real-life connections,
we created a more relaxed atmosphere that supports academics (ASCD, 2012).
5. How can teachers create empathy with students?
Empathy is mainly
defined by people as the ability to see something from another person’s
perspective and trying to feel what they feel. It helps when teachers try to perceive the world through a student’s
eye (Sousa
& Tomlinson, 2011). This promotes a great caring relationship between teachers
and students. It is beneficial also to have students see specific situations in
the eyes of their peers as well. Below is an exercise found from an online
teach magazine.
·
Split the classroom into two groups.
·
Have students think of and create a
conflicting situation that must be resolved
·
Each group will play a different role
·
After 10 or 15 minutes of discussion,
the groups must switch roles and put themselves in the opposite group’s shoes.
6. How can teachers provide students opportunities to succeed?
Classes with well-prepared lessons rarely have discipline
problems, because students feel successful while taking part in a meaningful
learning experience. Should there become a time when a student’s behavior is unsatisfactory,
discipline measures will be used as a way of reminding the student of
appropriate behavior.
·
Keep the classroom orderly and well
organized.
·
The physical arrangement of the
classroom should be reflective of the diverse cultural characteristics of the
students.
7. How can teachers eliminate student fear of failure and humiliation?
The fear response is
deeply ingrained in the human brain and can shut down a student’s higher
cognitive processes, so that the brain can focus on the fear (Sousa &
Tomlinson, 2011). As the text implies, one of the greatest obstacle to learning
is the fear of making a mistakes with feeling humiliated. Learning is a driven
by curiosity, which leads to exploration and discovery of a wonderful cycle of
learning. The more a child experiences this cycle of wonder, the more she can
create a lifelong excitement and love of learning. Make it clear that it's
acceptable to make mistakes when learning. Let students know that making
mistakes is important for true learning to take place. All new learning
requires that students become vulnerable and take a risk as they move out of
their comfort zones (ASCD, 2012).
·
Provide opportunities for
success to each child in the classroom, encouraging growth from wherever they
start.
·
Assess
student ability and adjust instruction to maintain an appropriate level of
challenge.
·
Offer
students a variety of ways to demonstrate their knowledge, intelligence, and
mastery.
·
Try
to accommodate a variety of interests, motivators, modality strengths, and learning
preferences in my directions, instructions, and assignments.
References
Bright Hub Education.
(2012). Children Respond to a Positive Learning Environment. Retrieved
from http://www.brighthubeducation.com/classroom-management/13907-creating-a-positive-
learning-environment/
ASCD. (2012). How Can
We Make Time to Meet Students' Emotional Needs? Retrieved from
http://ascd.typepad.com/blog/2010/11/how-can-we-make-time-to-meet-students-emotional-
needs.html
TEACH. (2012). Creating
Empathy in the Classroom. Retrieved from
http://teachmag.com/archives/1115
