We Must Guarantee The Learning Environment for All Kids...They Deserve It!

There is much that we, as educators actually do agree on. Most of us agree that a safe, positive, and effective learning environment is what is best for all kids. While we agree with the statement, we do not often spend enough time defining what this means in the classroom. We want all children to have a guaranteed curriculum, in order to ensure the learning for all. Is it not just as important to ensure that the environment in which they learn is effective for all?

We are very fortunate to have such an amazing group of teachers at Holiday Park. We each come to school everyday to positively impact every student. None of us leave the house planning on getting frustrated with our students, planning on giving our students down time while we prepare for the lesson, or planning on showing clear signs to the students or adults how upset we are with a student or colleague. While we don't plan on these things, unfortunately we experience them at times at Holiday Park. Partly because we are human, and partly because we sometimes accept behavior from our colleagues that we know should not occur on a daily basis. Now before you think this article is for you personally, please know it probably is not. The best of us always reflect and take responsibility for our every action.

We started the 2015-2016 school year in the right way. We understood that building relationships and a positive community in our classrooms was important. We realized that each behavior and procedure expectations we had for our students needed to be taught explicitly to all. I believe that the time we spent to start off the year on the right foot was well worth the effort. My question is this... was it enough?

In regards to our first few days please consider the following-

How do new students to your room receive the modeling of expectations?

Are all students showing mastery of the expectaions each day?

Are the students showing mastery of the expectations when you are not around?

How do new students to your room build relationships with you and other students?

Are we starting to identify the treasure's and talents of the students in our room?

As you reflect on the above questions, please identify the area's that could to be improved on in your classroom to ensure each student is receiving the support they need to be successful.

While the above is all well and good, there is more to consider. What do we each think of when we think effective learning environment?  Some obvious components are common to each of us. Others are more nuanced and need to be identified. I will deliver my understanding of an effective learning environment below and provide links for additional reading.

The Room/Physical Space -

The classroom and physical space that learning takes place in is an important component of effective learning. Research identifies the following components be addressed-

Clutter Free- Indicates teacher respect of the classroom and learning space

Furniture Arranged For Success Of Each Learner- Indication of teacher reflection about the needs of each learner

Furniture At Appropriate Height And Size For Learners - Indicates respect for physical comfort and optimal ability to focus while engaged in learning

Student Work Displayed - Indicates focus on learning and emphasizes individual student thinking

Anchor Charts- Indicates understanding of concrete models needed for long term retention

Class Rules Posted- Indicates the class worked on rules together and posts them to indicate their importance

Individual Behavior Plans for Students That Need This - Indicates the teacher has taken the time to work with and develop individual plans for students struggling with "school" behaviors. Additionally indicates the teachers understanding that some children need visual clues for optimal success

Supports In Place For Learning Depending on Age and Grade Level - Indicates teacher's understanding of developmentally appropriate supports for students. Example - name tags for all students in Kinder and First grade.

The Teacher-

It is very important to understand that the teacher is the single most important person to set the learning environment in the classroom. Classroom management is important for a successful learning environment. Because of it's importance, I would like to invite you to read the following short article identifying the 8 most common classroom management problems that teachers can learn to avoid right away.

http://www.smartclassroommanagement.com/2010/12/04/8-things-teachers-do-to-encourage-misbehavior/

Outside of classroom management the teacher has other responsibilities in creating a positive learning environment. Both the teacher's attitude and willingness to provide a positive climate for learning impact each of our students everyday.

Research indicates the following components to be addressed -

Respectful Interactions - Indicates teacher's understanding of human motivational techniques

Relationships- Teacher to Students, Students to Teacher, and Student to Student - Indicates understanding of the importance of community and relationships to the ability and willingness to learn

Teacher Empathy - Indicates understanding of outside circumstances that effect learning and willingness to provide support in the classroom when necessary

Teacher Preparation - Indicates teacher understanding of how time on task can influence student behavior in classroom. Clear plans that identify the learning, the grouping of students, and the materials needed to be successful are necessary to ensure reduction of lag/down time for students while teacher is trying to get everything together

Kind Actions - Indicates the understanding that our actions speak much louder then our words. Our body language can deliver a very strong message to students about the teachers attitude toward them. In addition to body language, teacher actions surrounding how they pick helpers, who they call on for answers, and where they stand during instruction are examples of nonverbal messages sent to students everyday

Celebrations of Success - Indicates the understanding of how the power of celebrating success along the way positively effects student learning

Opportunities to Express Learning Safely- Indicates the understanding that all thoughts are important and that it is more important to think then to get the answer right 

Welcomed and Acknowledged Everyday - Indicates an understanding of human relationships and we each have a  desire for a personal connection

We, at Holiday Park, owe it to all of our students to ensure that the learning environment is effective and safe.  If we encounter an enviroemnt that is in conflict with the above understandings, we owe it to the kids, and the adult responsible, to articulate the observations and offer support. Each of us that hear negative, angry words said to children by adults at the school need to be prepared to kindly address it. Each of us that walk into a chaotic learning space that is filled with clutter and unorganized need to be prepared to kindly address it. Each of us that know that the teacher in the room next to us does not greet his/her students each day needs to kindly address it. Each of us that knows students are being put down or ridiculed by an adult at the school needs to be prepared to kindly address it. Each of us that sees resources not available to students in a classroom needs to be prepared to kindly address it. A good example of this would be a colleague you know that refuses to put out more pencils because the students keep loosing them. The conversation each of us needs to be prepared to have is the effect of not having needed tools has on a safe and effective learning environment. It will take us all to ensure the learning environment at Holiday Park. It is not something that I alone can do. It takes us all. the kids deserve it! Each time we look the other way, keep our silence, pretend we didn't hear or see, we are contributing to the negative impact that will have on the students.

Please take a moment and reflect on the rubric found in the link below. How are we doing, both individually and collectively for our students?

http://wps.ablongman.com/wps/media/objects/1531/1568290/rub_temp/Ch%202%20-Learning%20Space%20Rubric.pdf

My commitment to our students is that we will ensure a safe and effective learning environment for every classroom. That is who we are, and this is the line in the sand!