“A Climate of Curiosity, A Community of Learners, A Culture of Dignity”
Classroom Environment Plan Essay
Daniel Rickabus
GVSU GTC Program – 2022-23 Cohort
EDI 636 – Dr. Cleveland
27 October 2022
Before embarking on my journey to become a High School Social Studies
educator, I used to dream about having an impact on the young people who will direct the future
of this diverse 21 st century democracy. Perhaps a more apt depiction would be that I worried and
fretted that I wasn’t having enough impact on the world. Once I found a passion for teaching, I
realized just how powerful the relatively “small” impact that educators have on individual
students in the fifty or ninety minutes we spend together each day can be. During my recent
journey through Social Studies education at Grand Valley, I was lucky enough to have mentors
who gave me a philosophical lodestar of what collaborative education in History, Government,
Political Science and Geography could and should mean for young people in these volatile times.
The goal of Social Studies teaching is to help students grow into critically thinking, adeptly
informed, engaged, active and empathetic participants in our ever-changing society. To achieve
this, we teachers must not only be experts of our disciplines, but also intellectuals who are
curious about the world, and engaged, responsible citizens ourselves. As we guide young people
toward deep learning, we must model what it looks like to be an empathetic, dedicated member
of a community, a practiced socio-cultural problem solver, and someone who loves both
intellectual conversation and provocative thought. We must be constantly learning and growing
ourselves and willing to show students that being wrong is part of the process. In my own
classroom, I hope to nurture what my mentor Dr. David Zwart called a “culture of curiosity” for
our burgeoning student minds to flourish in.
Studying the influential theorists of classroom management has given me tangible
building blocks to construct this dream into a reality. My time at my placement school, City
High, working with the IB Diploma Programme under my mentor Mark VanGoor, has shown me
what that reality can look like, where the nuances are, and just how rewarding a meaningful
classroom environment can be.
Among the most important tenets I’ve learned is that everything that leads to a successful
learning environment has roots in healthy, open, respectful relationships with students. In the
high-stakes school environment, Richard Curwin and Allen Mendler assert that “students do all
they can to prevent damage to their dignity, meaning their sense of self-worth” (Charles, 2005,
p.130). A sense of personal dignity, or respect for life and oneself, is vital for students to have if
we want them to be able to step out of survival mode and into deep learning. It is crucial that we
respect each student as an individual, valued member of the class community, that we are
concerned about their needs and that we listen with the intent of understanding when they are
sharing their viewpoints. As Haim Ginott’s teachings implore, “the key to working effectively
with students is communication, and the style teachers should use is called congruent
communication, which is communication that is harmonious with students' feelings about
situations and themselves” (Charles, 2005, p.61). Relationships are everything.
By prioritizing dignity, respecting individuality, and building rapport in this open-
communication-centered way, we empower students. “The beauty of empowering another human
being,” Barbara Coloroso posits, “is that we never lose our own power in the process” (Coloroso,
1994, p.25). That shared sense of power through a rapport that makes students feel like equally
empowered partners in learning creates a much healthier classroom environment than belittling
or degrading students with punitive authority ever could. I have witnessed this in my placement
classroom. These students, who have a host of near-adult responsibilities, are treated with the
respect that they will be self-determined and self-disciplined enough to complete their work with
a genuine intellectual effort. The rapport that Mr. VanGoor has developed with them feels more
like a professional relationship with a trusted colleague, while still being casual and fun to
promote a sense of joy and ease. As a result, they respond by showing up ready to intentionally
dig in to learning. Left to their own devices during group-work, they are able to collaborate in a
“work-oriented atmosphere” that feels pleasant, positive, and productive (Wong & Wong, 2018,
p.98).
An important expression of this dignified empowerment is defined when teachers react to
situations that require discipline. Remembering the value of each young human being, we must
ensure that constructive discipline never devolves into punishment, that consequences are clear
and reasonable, and that students have a say in the resolution of issues. Zero-tolerance policies
that ignore the specific circumstances at play disregard the necessary empathy each student
deserves to be treated with. In my classroom, I will be diligent about setting very clear
procedures and expectations for behavior on the first day that students will be respectfully
expected to adhere to. When intervention is necessary, I can ask myself how it is “consistent with
the principles in my plan and my posted expectations” (Love & Logic, p.24).
Although this condition exists to an extent in my placement classroom, I can see where it
could be much clearer and more intentionally conveyed to students. There have been instances
where the friction between teacher and student only exists because expectations were not
unmistakably clear. “To provide behavioral direction, the teacher must have well-designed
rules and procedures (usually established at the beginning of the school year) that he or she
continually updates and reinforces throughout the year” (Marzano, 2011). Additionally, while I
believe humor is key to a comfortable learning environment, I have also seen how my mentor’s
teasing and playful sparring could sometimes be internalized in the wrong way by students.
However, last week, we had a wonderful moment when a student expressed why our class was
her favorite “classroom vibe.” Referring to Mr. VanGoor, she said “you are the chill-est teacher,
and the strictest teacher at the same time.” She explained that those two energies were applied to
all the right things. Students are expected to be responsible, get work done, and be respectful
enough of VanGoor’s very generous and lenient policies not to take advantage of them. I hope to
take this approach into my own future classroom.
Once grounded, supportive relationships are built with dignity for all learners, we can
together engage in cooperative learning that fosters a climate of curiosity. This comes from the
way we learn in class, which in my view must be driven by inquiry, supported by evidence, and
heavily weighted toward deliberative discussion. Meaning should be constructed collaboratively
about the pieces of the past we assemble as a community of people doing the discipline of
history. I deeply resonate with theories of constructivism that argue student learning is best
internalized when it is first incited by questions, then comes from their own efforts. “...The
process of social construction … enables teachers and children to become co-constructionists of
curriculum in the Vygotskian sense, that is, mediating or reconstructing it as a set of
competences and capacities” (Thompson, 2020, p.97). This way of learning is inseparable from
the learning environment, since learning is most often sparked between cohorts in the physical
space, giving more meaning and ownership to the knowledge acquired. Because of this
relationship between the learning environment and the learner in constructivism, I agree with
psychologist P. C. Lippman when he suggest that “20 th century constructivist concepts which
view the learner as active and the environment as passive should be replaced with a new
perspective” (Lippman, 2010, p.2).
It has been wonderful to witness this kind of connective, active, cooperative learning
taking place at my placement. Students do their own research, analyzing primary and secondary
sources for use as evidence in their essay arguments. They work in table groups for more than
half of all assignments, often deliberating over compelling questions, which gives them practice
in agreeing, disagreeing, and reaching a compromise. Any lectures that Mr. VanGoor gives are
short, and mostly consist of questions to prompt vigorous discussion. Perhaps most excitingly,
there is a constantly active element of creativity at play. Mr. VanGoor frequently asks them to
draw on whiteboards, a technique he jokingly aggrandizes as “non-linguistic representation,” but
also calls “drawin’ pretty.” Giving students the chance to express, for example, the impact of a
Cold War foreign policy on the population of a Latin American country, helps them make a fun
memory out of the knowledge, which then solidifies it in their minds. Surely, some of the
drawings I’ve seen have been unforgettable.
In line with that creativity element, I must explicitly mention a lesson I taught on the
music of the Mexican Revolution – the traditional ballad of the Corrido. I asked students to bring
in their musical instruments, and what a riot was had. From toy accordions, to flutes, to violins
and cellos, acoustic guitars and electric basses, our classroom was suddenly filled with the
vibrancy of music. This particular class session created a strong memory for us all and felt like it
took a huge leap in the depth of our relationships. Now, when students go to take on the IB Essay
Exam question, “to what extent do you agree with the statement that Emiliano Zapata was ‘the
father of the Mexican Revolution?’” the kids will remember all the important evidence by
remembering our silly song. Alternative assessments that shake up monotony and bring
excitement, and expression of historical ideas through creativity will surely both be staples of my
classroom.
I plan to employ Project Based Learning whenever I can as well as a way to continue this
self-propelled meaning-making from history. The value of authentic assessments through
projects that face publicly toward an authentic audience cannot be understated in my eyes. When
students “demonstrate their knowledge and skills by creating a public product or presentation for
a real audience …” this kind of learning “unleashes a contagious, creative energy among
students and teachers” (PBL Works, 2022). Rather than simply tell students facts and dates about
the social protest movements of 20 th century America, for example, I intend to ask students to
research them themselves through secondary and primary sources, then create some kind of
multimedia project to present to their colleagues and community what they have learned.
One thing that this brand of collaborative, project-oriented meaning-making requires is
active group participation within our safe and supportive environment. Therefore, there is very
good reason for me to continue in my own classroom the policy that Mr. VanGoor has instated –
which is that curriculum is planned so there will rarely, if ever, be work done outside of class as
homework. Working together in class is proven to be far more effective in creating deep
understanding that assigning busy-work that interferes with students’ home lives. Alfie Kohn
asserts that students’ “…active participation in every stage of the process is consistent with the
overwhelming consensus of experts that learning is a matter of constructing ideas rather than
passively absorbing information or practicing skills” (Kohn, 2015). After asserting that based on
his research, a vast majority of students believe homework is uninteresting and something they
“just need to get through,” Kohn expressed a sort of wake-up-call for teachers that stuck with
me. “What must we be assuming about learning, or about children, to believe that their attitudes
about what they’re doing are irrelevant?” he asked potently in a speech.
The physical arrangement of a class can work toward this idea of “active participation” to
“construct ideas” as well. One thing I love about our classroom that I would carry on is that the
walls are plastered with student work – the posters, drawings, and other creative assessments
they have completed. This creates an air of student ownership and makes the class feel like one
big ongoing project. I have always dreamed of hanging a sign at the front of my room that says,
“being wrong is the fertile ground for growth.” Additionally, I would differ from VanGoor’s
sense of decoration by adding prominent photos of important social justice figures in history.
Although I enjoy Mr. VanGoor’s physical set-up because of the way it keeps table-groups
together, I would personally choose to set my room up like my mentor Dr. David Zwart set up
his college classrooms, in a circular formation with students facing one another. This would
optimize student collaborative discussion, which would in turn support cooperative meaning
making.
However, there is an even more important part of the physical design of a classroom than
just inciting group discussion. Unlike my current placement, my future classroom will be
arranged and designed in a way that supports the needs of our disabled students. Just like it is
important for teachers to examine our implicit biases, utilize a culturally relevant and culturally
responsive pedagogical lens that honors student diversity, and teach in a way that does not
contribute to the ongoing oppression and marginalization of different races and ethnicities, it is
vital that we tackle ableism as well. “Schools are increasingly recognizing the need to explicitly
address diversity issues as the country becomes more racially and ethnically diverse,” Harvard
educator Thomas Hehir relates. “Some schools are expanding diversity efforts to include
disability” (Hehir, 2002, p.3). This is a necessity for a just classroom environment, especially
one that is engaged in the disciplines of Social Studies. To meet this end, I would design my
classroom with real, full accessibility and least-restrictive-environment in mind, collaborating
closely with my differently abled students to make sure their needs are met.
Another aspect that can enrich the classroom environment is the active, daily utilization
of useful technology. At City High, each student uses a laptop, where they can do their own
research, build digital projects, write essays, and collaborate digitally and seamlessly with google
docs. Additionally, the computer usage supports differentiation since many of the more
introverted students would rather type out their responses than express them out loud. This is
possible on nearly every assignment that Mr. VanGoor and I create for students. In class, we
often watch videos on history, and engage with interactive media, such as a virtual tour of the
Mexican statehouse to showcase their mural depicting the revolution. Students are connected
directly to the gradebook via Schoology, which is something I wish I had when I was in high
school. This promotes transparency, clear communication and students always knowing their
standing. It also endows them with a sense of responsibility since they can actively keep track of
their own grades. All these technologies are invaluable, and definitely things I will take with me
into the future. “The truth,” however, as Wong & Wong assert, is that “teachers teach, not the
technology” (Wong & Wong, 2018, p.21). Technology is a powerful tool but must not be relied
upon to the detriment of the active collaboration through the potential for distraction and
disengagement. I am unsure as to whether my classroom will follow Mr. VanGoor’s strict no cell
phone policy. These are important considerations for a 21 st century learning environment.
While respectful relationships, empowerment and dignity, student collaboration,
constructivist inquiry, disciplinary thinking, creativity, project-based units, useful technological
engagement, and a well-designed physical space are all vital, so much of the success of student
learning depends simply on my in-the-moment performance as a teacher. Providing a backbone
for this classroom environment, I will strive to show up every day with enthusiasm, mindfulness,
responsiveness, and attention. One teacher I observed this semester made me think of the phrase
“an athlete of attention.” That’s what a teacher is required to be; someone who jumps, dashes and
dives with her/his/their attention, tending to every student need, inquiry, behavioral issue, and
nuance of the learning process while simultaneously moving the curriculum along and providing
feedback. I hope to work toward embodying the “withitness” that Jacob Kounin described in his
work. “He found that such teachers were able to monitor and interact with groups of students
doing independent work even while the teacher was teaching lessons to smaller groups”
(Charles, 2005, p.58). That is the kind of effort that collaborative learning in a community of
curious learners requires. Kounin also discusses the value of momentum, which I really
appreciate. The lessons that I’ve taught in my placement that flow well with determined
momentum seem to sweep students up in learning, where big gaps in the direction of lesson can
leave them disengaged. The less chance for them to tune out, the more they will continue the
process of developing deeper understanding.
There is a metaphor that has stuck with me about the impact teachers can create, and the
nature of a classroom environment that is crafted to help create that impact. This image was
conveyed to me by my mentor Dr. David Zwart, who inspired me in the undergraduate courses
he taught. The metaphor depicts the classroom as a sandbox. If a teacher is cognizant of context,
they understand that there are always limitations to what learning we can build in the classroom.
However, my career as a musical artist has taught me about how limitation breeds innovation.
We may not be able to make a grand, widespread impact on the world at large, but within our
sandbox of the classroom environment, we can guide students to build truly beautiful and
important “sandcastles” of deep understanding collaboratively. We can use what we have in front
of us to make meaning out of history, culture, and society together. Social Studies teachers can
influence the way students see and interpret the world by nurturing a respectful, meaningful,
collaborative, curious, welcoming, well-structured, and clearly executed classroom environment.
References
Carlson, J., Kotowski, E., & Smith, K. (n.d.). Discipline with Love and Logic—Jim Fay [PowerPoint].
GVSU GTC Program.
Charles, C. M. (2005). Building Classroom Discipline (8th edition). Pearson; Washington University
Libraries. https://faculty.washington.edu/cadavis1/503%20Readings/CurwinMendlerChapter.pdf
Coloroso, Barbara. (1994). Kids are worth it! Avon Books.
Hehir, T. (2002). Eliminating Ableism in Education. Harvard Educational Review, 74(1).
https://web.colby.edu/ed374-fall2017/files/2016/09/Hehir-Eliminating-Ableism-.pdf
Kohn, A. (2015). Progressive Education—Why It’s Hard to Beat, but Also Hard to Find". Bank Street
College of Education - Educate: Progressive Education in Context, College History and
Archives.
Lippman, P. C. (2010). Can the Physical Environment Have an Impact on the Learning Environment?
Center for Effective Learning Environments Exchange - OECD, 2010/13, 1–5.
Marzano, R. J. (2011). Art and science of teaching / classroom management: Whose job is it? ASCD;
Vol 69 #2. https://www.ascd.org/el/articles/classroom-management-whose-job-is-it
Thompson, M. S. (2020). Growth Mindset and Constructivism in Irish Primary Schools: Implications
of a qualitative study. Constructivist Foundations, 15(2), 95–98.
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