creating a positive learning environment

Environment is everything. If a plant does not have good soil, it won't grow well. In the same way, if a student does not have a good classroom, he will likely not meet is full potential. Based on our discussion and the reading in the textbook, I think it is fair to say that a positive learning environment is absolutely crucial to success in education. I would like to share a video of a very NEGATIVE learning environment just for fun. This is the trailer for the movie: The Substitute 2. Though I would love to be a badass teacher someday, I hope I don't ever have to engage in physical combat with my students, especially gunfights in the halls. I really don't think that will be a problem. I do know that there will be problem students though. Creating an effective positive learning environment will minimize distraction caused by problem students and maximise student potential. It will also make my life easier.
One aspect of the environment is the physical layout of the classroom. If I am teaching history, I want a classroom that encourages students to collaborate and inspires them to dig deeper into the content. Ideally I would have tables to facilitate group work and discussion, and create a general sense of togetherness in the class. I will put high-quality pictures on the walls of compelling people and events in history to grab students attention and give the subject matter more relevance. I would like to have a few class expectations visible at all times so no student can say, "I didn't know." I want students to feel like they are in a different world, not just a classroom. I am the first to admit how cheesy that sounds, but I really believe that the less like a "classroom" it feels, while still maintaining order and respect, the more happy students will be to show up with open minds each day.
I will also create a positive environment in how I act and treat my students. I will make it clear to students that I will respect them as long as they respect me and each other. I will try my best to be excited about my material to foster excitement in my students. Some of the material we will have to cover will undoubtedly NOT be exciting. I won't try to make it something it is not, but will go the extra mile to make it relevent, if that means throwing in a pop-culture reference or showing a movie clip. I think you must balence time spent on pure information sharing and time spent on cultivating interest. That is easier said than done I'm sure. I think I am digressing a little so we will get back to the class environment. I want students to feel safe to express their thoughts, so I will facilitate debates that make students step out of their comfort zone and hopefully learn to feel ok about having a different opinion than somebody else. Studying history is all about interpretation, and in that lies its strength. Collaboration is huge. discussion is huge. I will not tolerate students dishonoring each other and will not hesitate to make an example of a student doing this by sending him to the principle.

the Maryland department of education has a nice little page about creating a positive learning environment. In it they give rationale for why this is important. maryland happens to have some of the best public schools in the country.

"Every school has a culture whether or not the principal is attentive to it or shapes it. Culture is comprised of assumptions, beliefs, expectations, habits, and values which affect every aspect of the schoolhouse, and consequently student learning. Principals make a difference in the development of culture. They must actively engage in the components of culture if they are to foster a sustained improvement in student learning and achievement. By effectively assessing the climate in the building and implementing effective strategies to maintain and/or improve the various cultural components, the principal facilitates a set of norms and values that focus everyone’s attention on what is most important - student achievement."

here is the link to the rest of it http://www.marylandpublicschools.org/MSDE/divisions/leadership/programs/leadership_learning_series/series2.htm

Case study

In the high school case study the students are all seniors about to graduate and could not care less about class. this is a difficult situation. I think I would be a little more relaxed at the end of the semester, but would hold firm to the fact that I will not tolerate disrespect. If 10 students are wasting my time and the time of their peers, I will not hesitate to send them to the principle's office. I know they will not be suspended and will still graduate, but they will learn an important lesson. hopefully when I become a good teacher, students will want to pay attention because they feel compelled by a desire to learn, not fear of punishment. Also, I would not turn my back on the students. There are ways around this. I will take up any phone I see. It all starts at the beginning of the first class. Students will test their teacher to see how far they can go. If you keep giving them another, inch, they will go for one more. That's why I plan to keep to my rules, my word, from the very beginning.

Motivation

I first want to share a speech given in the movie Any Given Sunday by one of my favorite actors Al Pacino. It's a typical half-time locker room speech, and should not be used as a template for motivating students in class, haha but it touches on certain facets of motivation that are relevent to our discussion. warning: Pacino uses realistic football coach language...

Any Given Sunday speech

Obviously, motivation in the classroom is not going to look quite like this. With that said, it is interesting to think about in the context of external vs intrinsic rewards. The team is a professional one, so win or lose, the players are making big bucks. The power in the speech is that Pacino character is trying to instill intrinsic motivation, to win. But smaller than that, to play for each inch, to play for each other. Money could not motivate them to play much harder than they needed to to play on the team. Intrinsic motivation really is more powerful.

 In a recent TED talk I listened to (I listen to a LOT of TED talks) by Simon Sinek, I learned a little about the Wright Brothers. They were not the best suited to be the first in flight. There was actually a wealthy man racing to beat them. He had a hired team who worked for pay. The Wright Brothers' team consisted of men who's goal was not to make money, but to fly. In the end, the team with an intrensic interest in their work won because they were willing to put in the hard work and motivation. In the afterschool program in which I volunteer, there is a kid named Neil who is difficult to motivate. My friend was pared up with Neil and used candy to motivate him to read. The candy worked, but Neil kept trying to find out what the bare minimum was he would have to read in order to get candy. It took away any possibility of there being intrensic value in reading a book. Reading became a job that he had to do to get his wages, the denomination of which was Twix.

In the classroom, a teacher's job is not only to provide material for students to soak up, but also to motivate them to care about it in order to get the most out of it. Some teachers have an easier time with this than others. Instilling interest in literature is usually easier to do in most students then the Pathagorean theorem, but that doesn't mean a math teacher cannot find ways to foster creativity and desire for knowledge. In my own classroom, I really hope to motivate students in various ways. I will allow students to work together as a team, which has intrinsic motivation built in. I will also motivate students by making the material relatable to their own lives. Whether I'm teaching History, Geography, or Econ/Gov, I'll try to keep it dynamic to keep things interesting and motivate students to learn because they will be interested in the material. I also beleieve that this material is important for anybody who is to be a citizen of the world and wish to convey that message. I want to instill in students an enthusiasm for learning that will carry into the rest of their lives. they'll need it...

PLE 1- Thoughts on the first day of class

On the first day in 401, I got to hear everybody's reasoning for why they planned to become educators. It was great to hear a lot of earnest responses and challenge myself to flesh out my own motivation for heading down this path. There was a variety of motives mentioned, but at the core of everybody's response was what I believe to be a genuine desire to make the world a better place. I know there are teachers out there who do not really care about their students, but what I see in my peers right now is genuine. Going through this program is a lot of work for a hard job that won't make anybody rich. That is to say the extrensic motivators are not huge. For the record I think teachers make a fine wage.

My goal in this class is to increase my understanding of HOW students learn best. I want to gain real world knowledge that people have learned from experience and become knowledgeable on some theories of teaching so I may choose which ones to best implement when  I begin teaching. I also hope to build some friendships with students I will be working with in the next year.

I wish to explore more deeply the principles and theories we were introduced to in 210, seeing how they play out in real world circumstances-in the classroom.

My biggest concern right now, and from it many questions spawn, is the future of creativity in the classroom. I think inspiring creativity is extremely important, especially because it is our most important resource for the economy of this country- it is what sets us apart from China and other great world competitors.

Here is a TED talk from a great thinker in education, Sir Ken Robinson speaking on creativity. It is well worth the time.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iG9CE55wbtY