No Series: Ready to Learn: Creating a Positive Classroom Culture

Ready to Learn: Creating a Positive Classroom Culture

Lesson Objective: Build a safe and inclusive classroom community
All Grades / All Subjects / Community
2 MIN

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Discussion and Supporting Materials

Thought starters

  1. What strategies does Ms. Saul use to create a helpful class pledge?
  2. How does Ms. Saul communicate her beliefs about learning to her students?
  3. What practices and routines could you institute to build your unique classroom culture?

229 Comments

  • Private message to Lidia Pinzon Rincon
  1. What strategies does Ms. Saul use to create a helpful class pledge?

Ms. Saul motivates students to work as a team. She showed them that each is an essential part of the learning environment. By writing a pledge in a collaborative environment, they reinforced the importance of not wasting time on no planned tasks. When students understand they are part of something, they feel they are more than doers and start participating proactively. It also helps students realize what they want and how they want to be treated.

  1. How does Ms. Saul communicate her beliefs about learning to her students?

Ms Saul explains to students that each is responsible for having a safe place to stay while in school and for protecting their learning environment. She also has phrases to repeat, showing her accountability in the classroom. When someone has undesired behaviors, she lets students correct each other in a collaborative and constructive environment. She knows that peer discussions are more effective than corrective actions from the teacher. The class is a place to work collaboratively, respecting others and being responsible for their and the other's learning process.   

  1. What practices and routines could you institute to build your unique classroom culture?

I will let students know my class expectations from the first day to create a routine. Students will help me understand their learning process by participating in writing the class rules. As a team we will identify the most common goals for the class. I will help them understand which task we must perform to achieve those goals, and we will review the class progress frequently.

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  • Private message to Marilyn Marshall

Building a Positive Classroom Culture is very important. The teacher talked about talking with her class and determining that they will normalize the air in the classroom.  The idea of the fact that you can be more successful if you fail often. The teacher shared with her class the responsibility to maintain a learning environment this was the measure of the success of the classroom. If someone is off task their responsibility is to stop and have a discussion about the fact that someone is off task. Hearing about your behavior from your peers is really important for the success of the class. 

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  • Private message to sherry dye

1. Strategy: Is having the class read the pledge aloud together every day.

2. Belief: The teacher let her students know that it is okay to make mistakes. The teacher believes that her students can have a positive future if he/she takes ownership of learning.

3. Practice or Routine: To have the teacher & students recite a contract altogether every day.

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  • Private message to Beto RIncon

 

  1. What strategies does Ms. Saul use to create a helpful class pledge? Ms. Saul has a serious discussion with her students about their own individual role in the making of a positive/beneficial classroom culture.
  2. How does Ms. Saul communicate her beliefs about learning to her students? Ms Saul communicates her beliefs about learning by having the students themselves have conversations about how the class must act in order for all students to achieve their hopes and dreams. 
  3. What practices and routines could you institute to build your unique classroom culture? At the beginning of every year my classes create a community agreement where the students are able to write down ideas for the types of behaviors they expect in the class from their peers as well as those behaviors that they think do not belong in our class. 
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  • Private message to Jordan Johnson

1, Ms. Saul Statement "I can" statement is a pledge the children have that encourages them to believe in themselves while taking accountability for their education

2. Ms. Saul communicates her beliefs with her students by ensuring they understand their future is one they have control over.  Reminding the students that their day as well as class, can impact diffrently by their moods and their standards for themselves.

3. I would incorperate different posters of quotes such as "tomorrow is gone, make today count." I would also have the students turn in journals every class period and in the journal they can write whatever they feel like sharing. This can help me as an educator have independent time with each student and words of encouragement.  

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Transcripts

  • [00:00]
    Interviewer: All right, back in 3, 2, 1.

    Establishing a strong classroom culture is essential because it’s sort of like

    [00:00]
    Interviewer: All right, back in 3, 2, 1.

    Establishing a strong classroom culture is essential because it’s sort of like the bed that you plant the flowers in. You have to have that in order for things to flourish and grow. Students have to feel safe in your classroom. You have to normalize air. They have to know that it’s okay to try and try and try again, that you will actually learn more if you fail often.

    I have a really serious conversation with my students at the beginning of the year about their ownership in our classroom culture, and how each of them is responsible for maintaining our learning environment.

    I believe in myself and my ability to do my best.

    We’ve written a classroom pledge together establishing our hopes and dreams and goals for the year that we then use as a measure for our behavior throughout the rest of the year. If someone’s offending or interrupting or not staying on task, we will actually stop and have a conversation as a class, is this something that’s gonna help us achieve our hopes and dreams or is this something against.

    The students are able to make that judgment and respond to each other. Hearing it from your peer that you’re interrupting my learning is often times more effective than me redirecting. Taking the time to really have students buy into the idea that we’re on a journey, and if we’re all doing the things we’re supposed to do we’re going to get where we need to go.

    I am too focused on my hopes and dreams to waste today. I am college bound.

    [End of Audio]

School Details

East Palo Alto Charter School

Teachers

Jen Saul
English Language Arts Math Science Social Studies Arts / 3 / Teacher