Writing Piece Domain 2

EDUC 540-903

Christina Miller
February 3, 2015

Creating a classroom that is organized and that is characterized by mutual

respect makes it a lot easier to teach effectively, and one of the most important things
teachers can do to promote learning is to create classroom environments where
students feel safe. Part of building a supportive climate for learning involves teachers
sharing their expectations concerning learning of content, achievement, and social
behavior with their students. For instance, I want to place posters throughout the
classroom that request respect and tolerance, to post class and school rules, the
physical environment of the classroom set a clear tone of what was expected from the
students in terms of behavior. The purpose of this is to guide students to be both
respectful in their conduct and responsible for their actions and work.
Educational research supports creating an atmosphere of mutual respect and
support in the classroom, where students feel safe in expressing concerns or asking
questions, and where tolerance and a sense of common identity and community are
promoted. Everyone has different strengths and students should be shown how they
could work together to succeed. Clearly, individual difference and strengths should be
respected in the classroom.
Beyond promoting tolerance and respect, I also wanted to create a classroom
environment that enhanced social relationships, student motivation, and engagement in
productive work. I hope to try to instill a sense of community among my students
through cooperative learning activities and varied seating arrangements. One way in
which I hope to accomplish this is by changing student seats monthly, this would
allow students the chance to work with different people of varying abilities and to make
new friends. I hope that this would promote new social interactions, motivate students

Writing Piece Domain 2

EDUC 540-903

Christina Miller
February 3, 2015

with a change of scenery, and maximize productive work by splitting up talkative or

easily distracted students. I will also let students know that if they are repeatedly
disruptive; their seats would be changed more frequently. I also plan to organize the
physical space of the classroom for movement and interaction. I want to make it easy
for students to pull their desks together to do small group work, but also so that it is
easy to walk around. This would help make teaching more engaging plus also help with
classroom control.
I also believe one of the keys to an effective functioning classroom lies in
knowing what students should be doing at any moment, and incorporating multiple and
varying hands-on activities into lessons designed to engage students in productive
tasks. Another way in which I plan to manage space and attention to provide equitable
engagement of students was through periodically switching which students sat in the
front of the room. Because students sitting in the front of the room typically receive
more teacher attention, I wanted both low and high-achieving students to have this
experience.
Students need to feel safe in order to learn. They need to feel secure in order to
want to participate. There are a number of things teachers can do to set up classrooms
that feel safe and well-organized. First, I will make sure the classroom is clean, orderly,
and inviting. I will try to arrange the classroom so that I have all the resources, such as
books, calculators and materials, right where I can find them, within easy reach, so that
I do not have to stop teaching or turn my back on my students.
Having students feel safe is important, so I propose to make it safe for students
to participate and ask questions. No matter what a student says, I want to make it a

Writing Piece Domain 2

EDUC 540-903

Christina Miller
February 3, 2015

habit to respond with respect. Modeling respect for students, teaches them to show
respect for one another.
One of the aspects of teaching that makes me the most nervous is establishing
and maintaining discipline. In order to address this problem, I have decided that I will
come up with a plan for discipline. I decided to develop a list of expectations for the
class as well as determine consequences for misbehavior, in order to establish a
clear standard of conduct for the classroom. My expectations include being quiet and
listening while others speak and completing homework on time. Consequences
for disrupting class or failing to complete homework include a loss of recess time or
an inability to participate in lab activities, respectively. I plan to also make myself
available to students to talk about any problem or to provide extra help. Moreover,
I have decided to talk to certain students individually about their conduct, demonstrating
that I was sensitive to students individual needs. I believe that explicitly describing my
expectations and having an open discussion with students will build better teacherstudent communication and ultimately led to a more productive classroom and
successful classroom management.
I have seen great results from a discipline policy for students that will result in
lost recess time. But the main component is rewarding students for their positive
behaviors. I really like the idea of giving students classroom cash that they can use to
buy things such as homework passes, lunch with the teacher, being able to use a pen in
class and other similar rewards. I would also like to set up a system where the class
gets a reward for doing something as a group. In my current classroom, the class with
get a record when: they all do their homework, come prepared to class and no one

Writing Piece Domain 2

EDUC 540-903

Christina Miller
February 3, 2015

loses recess time. After the class collects 10 records, they will get a reward, such as
extra recess time. This has made the students not only accountable to themselves, but
also their classmates. This has led to the students reminding each other about
homework or supplies, plus they remind each other about behaviors that may get them
in trouble.
Some schools feel like prisons, where students may not even be allowed to talk,
and students may seem overly compliant. Other schools can be totally out of control.
Both extremes are likely to take something away from the learning experience. I would
like to work together with other teachers and administrators to encourage positive
interaction among students. If you want students to be interactive and engaged in your
class, what happens at school after they leave your class also matters.
One of the teachers in my current placement has told me Be conscious of the
environment in your school and classroom. When you create a climate of safety and
respect, learning will follow. This is something that I will try to remember when creating
the environment and mood in my classroom.