Learning Environments

Based on our readings and class discussion, how will you create a learning environment that is conducive to learning?
Creating a learning environment that is conducive to learning I'm sure will take some time to perfect, but I have ideas of what I will do as a teacher to facilitate the creation of this learning environment. In this post I will cover two ways that I can make a positive learning environment: physical set up of my classroom and relationships within my classroom.
The physical set up of classrooms is something that we spent some time in class discussing, and I think it was worth the discussion! In my Reading Education 430 class I did my inquiry project on what makes an effective classroom set up. I e-mailed three teachers that I know and got their opinions. Overall, I found that a color scheme, organization and desks set up either in clusters or in a circle works the best. I will have centers in my classroom for things like reading and science, both with appropriate decoration. For example, in my classroom library I of course want to have many different types of books available to students, but also create a comfortable environment where students feel as thought they can relax and enjoy their reading time. Something that I have learned in my classes this semester is to eliminate anything that doesn't have a purpose. I think that this will come in big when setting up my classroom, for I will probably have students who may get distracted easily and don't need all of the extra posters of teddy bears hanging on the walls. I will place students in a location that works for them, maybe if student A is very talkative I will seat them away from their best friend or if student B has a hard time hearing, I will place them near the front of the classroom.
The second topic I would like to cover in regards to creating a positive learning environment is relationships within my classroom. From day one I would like to create a classroom community that pushes for collaborate work and learning. From what I have experienced in school and what I have read I think that some of the best work gets done when bouncing ideas off of your peers. I want to make my students feel comfortable around each other and around me because otherwise they may not be working together at their full potentials. I would like to extend this idea of a classroom community to the parents as well. Children need support at both school and home, and I would love to work alongside of parents to make sure that their children are getting enough support at home. Another reason for getting to know the parents of my students is to give me an insight into any pre existing problems or disabilities the student may have.
Here is a website with 10 tips for creating community in the classroom I found very helpful and realistic.
Now consider your CSEL case study. Develop a full continuum of responses for dealing with the misbehavior of your case.
This prompt in regards to our CSEL case study presents a potential problem that I may face by trying to implement a lot of group work in my classroom. The problem is about a girl, Lisa, who is not cooperating with her learning group and is causing them problems staying on task and contributing to learning. My first step with Lisa would be to make myself present around her group, tapping my hand on her desk every time I notice she is either off topic or taking away from her group's learning. If the problem persists, I would pull her aside and explain the objective of group work and the different roles that students play. I would make it known that the groups must work together with each team member doing their part and point out that she will get the chance to switch jobs in the next rotation. My next step would be to switch Lisa's team. There may be a reason why she's having so much trouble in her group, she has problems with one of the other students, the location of her desk cluster is bad, etc. If after switching groups she continues to cause problems in her new group I would have Lisa work alone. Hopefully I wouldn't get to this point, but if I did maybe she will realize that working with a group is much more fun and exciting than working alone.

Motivation

Overall Instructions: Write a PLE post that explores the following questions and includes a link (or links) to websites, videos, articles, or other authoritative online sources that provide examples or research to support your answer. Chapter 11 Consider the theories of motivation that we discussed in class. Which theories of motivation are most helpful and instructive for you? How can they enhance motivation and affect your students? Before reading Chapter 11 and having our discussion on motivation, I never knew there were so many different theories! I had previously learned about intrinsic and extrinsic motivation, but hadn't thought too hard beyond that. The various motivation theories were really interesting, and I think there are definitely theories that work better than others and that there is a correct way that we should use rewards as teachers. Personally, I really enjoy the goal theory and think that this applies to me the most. I am the type of person who likes to make lists for myself and gets probably far too much satisfaction out of crossing something off of one of my millions of lists. I like to see my goals and accomplish them. Like we discussed in class I think that specific, short term goals are easiest and more likely to be attained. Putting this in terms of my future students, I think I'll write down individual goals for each of them and put them somewhere that they can see the goals every day... maybe put a copy pasted into their folders or planners and give them small rewards for checking things off of the list once they reach enough goals. Here is a link to a page that has some great motivational activities you could apply in the classroom. I know we talked about how short term goals are better than long term, but I still really liked the 100 day party idea. I think that it gives kids something to look forward to and stay motivated, especially if they had a daily reminder of what day they were on and how much longer they had until day 100. http://www.ehow.com/info_7943287_motivational-activities-classroom.html

Overall Instructions: Write a PLE post that explores the following questions and includes a link (or links) to websites, videos, articles, or other authoritative online sources that provide examples or research to support your answer. After the first class, take a moment to reflect on what was discussed. What are your personal objectives for the class? What do you want to explore deeper? What questions or concerns do you have? I am very excited about this class! I think that a lot of the things touched on in chapter 1 were things that seemed to be very relevant to real world teaching. One thing I'd really love to learn more about is classroom management. The idea of 20-25 nine year olds running around in a small space whom are all supposed to be controlled by me is a little daunting. At the beginning of the class I was also curious about motivation, but we talked about that in class today.As of right now I don't have any concerns... I am really excited for our teaching projects. I think it will be really neat to see what everyone comes up with.