A primary focus of ITL526 and now this course has been centered on creating rich learning experiences that are engaging, accessible to all, and tightly aligned with the content and skills of your lessons. Central to this is creating the appropriate scaffolds and supports to meet every student at their developmentally appropriate level, or what Vygotsky described as being within their “Zone of Proximal Development.” Yet, you can have the most engaging, accessible, and authentic lesson plan, but if you have not created a classroom environment conducive to learning, it will all be for naught because students only learn when they feel supported and safe. Looking at the graphic you can see a ZPD (Zone of Proximal Development) related to social-emotional well-being. While we like to be within our comfort zone, we only learn at the margins of our comfort zone, or in other words: The Learning Zone (Weaver 2013, pg 51). In fact, as teachers, it is our responsibility to push our students outside of their comfort zone, yet not so far as to enter an unsafe or “Excessive Risk Zone.”
The question then is, how do we create a classroom environment that lives in the learning zone for all students? How do we create a classroom where students can fail safely and feel supported in their learning process while also feeling valued for their identities, cultural backgrounds, and personal attributes? In other words, support all students (including English Language Learners, students of color, students with IEPs and 504s, LGBTQ, low socio-economic status, etc.).
Sometimes the policies and practices we have as structural elements of our courses may have well-intentioned purposes, yet the implementation of them may inadvertently bias against certain groups of students.
Learning Objective #1 for this week is to describe methods, routines, tools, and practices that could be used to create a classroom environment that is conducive to learning and supports the academic, language development, artistic/creative needs, and social-emotional needs of all students.
To create an environment that is conducive to learning means we are using a variety of implicit and explicit methods to build:
- Trust between students and students
- Trust between students and teachers
- A safe space for all students to push themselves and grow
Leverage the assigned (and recommended) resources to describe what this could look like for you.
Instruction
- We were to read and watch the resources assigned for this discussion (we were encouraged to review the recommended resources as well) to first understand the basis behind the need for making a classroom environment conducive to learning a priority.
- For our initial response, we were to post a written narrative or video narrative no longer than three minutes in length that answers the following question:
How do you create a classroom environment conducive to learning?
- Our narrative must include actual and/or potential methods used. These methods could be an explicit strategy (i.e., we are doing it for a specific purpose) or implicit (i.e., it is built within something else we do). If there are methods we already utilize, we were to identify them and discuss their impact. If there is something we do not currently do, or if we would like to grow our repertoire, we could discuss one method we learned about while reviewing the resources.
- Our examples had to include a:
- Practice that builds connection and community (student-student and student-teacher)
- Practice or strategy that builds a connection between us and our students Grading practice
- Practice that values students’ identities
- Routine that gets/keeps students on task with their learning
- We were to describe each example and how it positively impacts the student learning environment of our classroom and reference the resource or experience we learned this method from.
Creating a classroom environment conducive to learning involves fostering trust, safety, and a sense of belonging among students and between students and the teacher. Here are some methods and practices I’ve researched to achieve this:
Practice that Builds Connection and Community (Student-Student and Student-Teacher)
Group Projects: Group projects encourage students to collaborate, share ideas, and solve problems collectively. This enhances their academic skills and teaches important life skills like communication, cooperation, and conflict resolution. Students learn to appreciate the value of diverse perspectives and build stronger relationships with their classmates.
The effectiveness of group projects is supported by educational research, such as Johnson and Johnson’s work on cooperative learning, highlighting the positive impact on social and academic outcomes (Johnson & Johnson, 2009).
Practice or Strategy that Builds a Connection Between You and Your Students Grading Practices
Personalized Feedback: Providing specific, constructive feedback on students’ work shows you are attentive to their efforts and progress. It helps students identify their strengths and areas for improvement, fostering a growth mindset and encouraging continuous learning.
The concept of personalized feedback is rooted in assessment for learning strategies, prioritizing feedback as a tool for student growth (Black & Wiliam, 1998).
Practice that Values Students’ Identities
Culturally Responsive Teaching: By incorporating diverse cultural materials, students from different backgrounds see their identities reflected and respected in the classroom. This fosters a sense of inclusion and can enhance engagement and academic achievement.
This approach is grounded in the principles of culturally responsive teaching, as outlined by scholars like Gloria Ladson-Billings, who emphasize the importance of connecting learning to students’ cultural contexts (Ladson-Billings, 1995).
Routine that Gets/Keeps Students on Task with Their Learning
Interactive Learning: Engaging students in interactive activities keeps them actively involved in their learning, promoting deeper understanding and retention of material. It also caters to different learning styles, ensuring all students can participate and benefit.
The effectiveness of interactive learning is supported by educational research on active learning strategies, which demonstrate improved student outcomes compared to traditional lecture-based approaches (Freeman et al., 2014). For example, incorporating clicker-based quizzes during lectures can keep students engaged and provide immediate feedback, enhancing their learning experience.
Resources
Black, P., & Wiliam, D. (1998). Assessment and Classroom Learning. Assessment in Education: Principles, Policy & Practice, 5(1), 7–74. https://doi.org/10.1080/0969595980050102
Freeman, S., Eddy, S. L., McDonough, M., Smith, M. K., Okoroafor, N., Jordt, H., & Wenderoth, M. P. (2014). Active learning increases student performance in science, engineering, and mathematics. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 111(23), 8410–8415. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1319030111
Johnson, D. W., & Johnson, R. T. (2009). An Educational Psychology Success Story: Social Interdependence Theory and Cooperative Learning. Educational Researcher, 38(5), 365–379. https://doi.org/10.3102/0013189X09339057
Ladson-Billings, G. (1995). Toward a Theory of Culturally Relevant Pedagogy. American Educational Research Journal, 32(3), 465–491. https://doi.org/10.3102/00028312032003465
