How does a culture of learning support a safe, positive learning environment?

In a classroom that has a strong culture of learning, students come in with clear expectations on routines, procedures, behavioral norms, and academic rigor. The teacher helps set the tone, but the students get to find their agency and increase their capacity in a variety of skills. When students recognize that they being challenged to achieve, that learning is a collective effort, and that they have an active role in creating meaning, they will feel safer taking risks (sometimes just speaking publicly ), questioning their assumptions, challenging their peers or teachers, and growing as learners. Further, consistent routines and procedures, along with explicit guidelines and scaffolds from the teacher, allows the classroom culture to be authentically build upon the co-created norms that work to create a sense of community and mutual accountability. A culture of learning is also a culture or error and collaboration, and students should be reminded that mistakes and academic risks are necessary components to learning.

Above image from Project Zero Thinkin Routines video-->

"I welcome your critiques when I am being unaccountable, or less precise than is appropriate for the content at hand - and I want you to know that whatever mistakes I am still making in these pages, in these years, are not without massive effort to do the absolute best I can do. I will not be perfect, I will keep learning. I will also not be silent, I will keep learning."

From "We Will Not Cancel Us: And Other Dreams of Transformative Justice" by adrienne maree brown

adrienne maree brown, abolitionist movement mediator and author

Routinely learning

"I will keep learning" is one of those phrases that every teacher hopes their students internalize. To me, the above quote articulates a deep longing to understand and be understood. Learning is not passive, and often not silent; it is not perfect, but it requires effort. What follows are some routines, procedures, and strategies that will help support a culture of continual learning.

Explicitly referencing voice levels and learning targets

This is a simple routine which can, and should, be applied to basically every class activity. Before starting an activity, the teacher gives a verbal or visual cue for the learning targets and how loud voices should be. In the routines and procedures section, I discussed Victoria Lentfer's Voice-Movement-Task model and how it can be implemented in the class. This is a great model to use while curriculum planning because it allows us teachers to plan for how we will communicate and reinforce essential learning goals and behavioral norms.

Once students are comfortable being directed to a certain voice level (voice level 2 for group work for example), then they will require less redirection once that activity is off and going. This routine can be practiced every class period. If I feel I need to reteach the guidelines, I can also leverage student volunteers to demonstrate what each level looks like, especially because some students may appreciate the model a bit more than others at first.

Voice levels as a routine looks like the teacher briefly describing what the levels should be at, asking questions for clarification, practicing those levels when they are first being established. What it does not look like is a teacher continually having to call attention to the inappropriate voice levels (whether they are too quiet or too loud). This is easy to explain the importance of because students know what a disruptive environment looks and sounds like. Giving a framework for everyone in the class to abide by helps with the flow of the lesson and ensures that classroom time is used as effectively as possible. This also helps student hold each other accountable and sets up a system in which they can keep their peers on task with a simple phrase like "we are suppose to be talking, but not that loud" or "we are being silent right now but can talk when the timer is up".

Norm check-ins and self-assessments

This routine was also discussed previously, but I find it to be crucial to helping students work in groups. Group work is something that has to be taught and students often need reminders about how to participate productively in a group. One way to implement and explain the importance to students is to describe how working together with anyone is a 21st century skill that they will need to develop in any work environment. Building and practicing intra- and inter- personal skills will enable students to be confident in a variety of settings, which can help them maintain a balanced and healthy work/school/social life.

Norms that ask students to be empathetic are helpful to discuss when doing group work, but there is also norms that specifically have students think about how to participate in a group such as "I will not hog the floor" or "I will allow everyone in the group to contribute". Once you unpack a behavior norm before doing an activity, then you can check in and ask the students to give a Fist to Five on how well they feel their group is following the norms. The goal is to establish a reflective culture that is able to quickly self-assess and then make adjustments that support a productive learning environment. This procedure should be done consistently and I should be sure to ask students to back up their self-assessment scores. This also gives students the space to offer critiques to their group without feeling they are causing unnecessary conflict or singling themselves out.

Turn and Talk/ Think-Pair-Share

An oldie and a goodie, turn and talk is an excellent routine to implement in any lesson to have students process information together, often with the goal of reporting their understandings or findings to the class. This is a routine and strategy that allows me to talk less and observe more, which is amazing! I love how you can either give a formal hand out or just ask students to "turn and talk with your neighbor" or "think about it for 2 minutes and then share with your partner for three. And be ready to share with the class at the timer".

This can also be enhanced by Concentric Circles or some other discussion protocol in which students converse and then rotate around the room randomly. which then increases the amount of differing perspectives they hear. This is a priceless routine in a social studies and ELA class because students have many opportunities to practice using academic language and process information with a variety of people who will have similar and different backgrounds and understandings then them. The way I can frame the importance of discussing ideas with their peers is by stating that often times when we feel confused about something, we are not the only one feeling that way. Further, when we feel that we know a topic or idea well, it is always helpful to hear someone else's perspective, which can then build upon and/or expand our own understandings.

This is a routine that needs to be taught to students somewhat directly at first, but becomes easier and easier to gradually release the responsibility to the students. Some of the first lessons that I teach can incorporate Turn in Talk in a variety of ways, and can be framed alongside norm checks, self-assessments, and voice levels. What this looks like in practice is students making eye contact with each other, taking turns talking, sharing ideas, using Talk Moves to build mutual understanding, a louder voice level, and volunteering to report to the class. What is does not look like is the teacher talking, students talking without giving much attention to each other, uninterested body language, and a softer voice level.

Below are some more routines and procedures I think help create a culture of learning.

Do Nows

Giving students a task that they can do right as they enter the room. Typically the presentation format is usually standardized, and the guidelines are posted and require little direction from the teacher. Sometimes the task is group related, but it is often quick individual work that helps frame the lesson for the day or activate prior knowledge.

This is taught to the students explicitly in practice and implicitly by consistency, meaning that a Do Now typically explains what the student have to do and is practiced basically every class period. Some examples I have seen show teachers quickly directing students to the task at hand, stating the voice levels expected (such as "this is silent individual work"), and giving a set time to complete the task.

It is easy to tell if a student is not participating in the Do Now, especially when it is silent/individual work. One clear example of how a Do Now should look is students coming in, gathering their materials, looking at the board, and writing or completing the task. One example of how it should not look is students coming in talking, walking around the rook, asking the teacher for directions, and a general sense of uncertainty.

I will explain to students that Do Nows are important by stating that it is crucial to have a clear expectation at the beginning of each class, and that they should walk into my classroom and know how to get started for the day.

Cold Calls and No Opt. Out

Cold Calls and no or few options to "opt out" is intended to create a culture of learning in which everyone is expected, and should expect to, participate. The importance of this is to ensure that everyone gets to voice their understandings and helps keep a few students from hogging the floor so to speak. One way I plan on incorporating this into every class period is by having my students names on sticks in a jar. That way I can call on students randomly and then take their name out of the running for a short while, which communicates to them that they have to be ready to share, but they're not going to be called on consistently and arbitrarily.

What this practice looks like is of course using the sticks to call on students, but also the teacher making quick decisions on who to call in a fair and random manner, students sharing (even when they feel reluctant), frequent Checks for Understanding (CFUs), the teacher being ready to only accept the full answer and to push to students to share their reasoning and evidence, and support from their peers. What it does not look like is students being surprised or angry to be called on, lack of eye contact and general avoidance of the teacher, accepting half or incomplete answers, short praise no CFU, and not support from their peers.

If the above nonexample is occurring on a regular basis, I need to take the time to explain the importance again and have the class practice being called on. We can practice by me asking simple questions such as "What is your favorite color and why?" just to practice being called on and giving whatever response you can. The next three CLR strategies that I will discuss help build on this routine because they are designed to have each student engage with the teacher.

Here are three Culturally and Linguistically Responsive strategies I plan to implement. I included images straight from Hollie's book because they give a great "How-to" descriptions, pros and cons, and a description of why they are considered CLR. I chose these three in particular because they incorporate the whole class and support a culture of learning in which ALL students have many opportunities to engage.

Finally, here are some strategies that I plan to implement that promote interaction, student voice, and of course, high expectations.

Group Roles

Providing group roles are an awesome way to have students lean into their strengths, and work on their weaknesses. There are many ways to implement group roles but here are a few ways I plan to implement them in the first weeks of school. First, I would like to ask students what type of roles they have done in the past that they enjoyed. This can be gathered in a interest survey but also in conversation with students. Once I have a list of roles that have ben provided by students, and possibly my fellow teachers, I will either post the roles in the class, or create handouts that describe duties of the roles. Below re a list of roles I can implement:

Recorder/Scribe: Takes notes for the absent students, writes information on visual aids like anchor charts
Presenter/Reporter: Has to report to the whole class or teacher on the group work and findings
Questioner: Poses question to the group, helps create a group discussion question to share with the class
Clarifier: Makes sure everyone understands what the task is, asks clarifying questions to the teacher
Summarizer: Takes any information that the group is covering and highlights the main points
Designer: Helps with the overall design of anchor charts or other class resources that the group is making
Poet/Performer: Uses their talents as orator or performers to dramatize the information (if applicable)
Facilitator: Helps keep the group on task with time, activity, and criterions
Main reader: Usually the strongest reader in the group who takes the mantle as the main reader
Supporting reader: Another reader who might not be as confident but can support the main reader
Journalist: Organizes and communicates relevant and current information from lesson activities, student research, and/or credible media sources.

This is not a complete list, and I will tweak these descriptions and titles as time goes on. The point is to create a variety of roles that help students have choice and feel they serve a purpose that is either built off their academic strengths, or building their academic weaknesses. Some norms that lend themselves to this strategy are ones that have students focus on working towards a collective goal, being flexible and open to new roles, and just being a team player.

Fishbowl discussions

This strategy is my favorite discussion protocol. The goal is to create an informal Socratic seminar that has students demonstrate their various understandings. The purpose of fishbowls can vary, as long as they are built off previous content and lessons. My favorite part about fishbowls is that the questions posed can be entirely student generated. Furthermore, students can take active facilitator roles to support the discussion, allowing me to observe and check for understanding when necessary.

The basic set up is as follows, students have an inner circle and an outer circle. The inner circle usually discusses a question or two while the outer circle observes, takes notes, and/or tracks certain academic "moves" like using textual evidence or piggybacking off classmates. Ideally, I would be doing at least one fishbowl for each unit of instruction. Norms regarding how to have an engaging and involved discussion, maintaining eye contact, not hogging the floor, and coming ready to participate would be relevant to discuss anytime I implement this strategy.

Jigsaw activity

Jigsaw activities are often described as being one of the most effective strategies to support student learning. It is a brilliant example of cooperative learning because students are grouped in such a way that they cover different material while working together. The basic structure is this:

Step 1- Students start in their "home group" with a different text than everyone else but is usually on the same general topic. Students read their text and sometimes fill out a note catcher (I notice/I wonder for example).

Step 2 - Students go to their "expert groups" and discuss the topic with their fellow experts who read the same material. Students can then work to produce a summary, analysis, evaluation or something else that they will use to report back to their home group.

Step 3 - Students return to the homegroup and share what they learned as experts.

This process allows me to give students a variety of topics and readings at different levels and have students unpack the information as a group. Some norms that would be helpful to discuss with students would be ones involving working collectively towards a goal, asking clarifying questions, and reflecting back to make sure you understand someone.

Referencing and posting Talk Moves

Below are some images of Talk moves and question stems from Rebecca Stobaugh's "50 Strategies to Boost Cognitive Engagement". These can be posted on the wall, projected or written on the board, and/or printed out and handed to students.

Here is a rubric for creating a culture of learning from The New Teacher Project (TNTP)

Critical-thinking levels of implementation from "Cementing a Culture of Thinking"

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How does a culture of learning support a safe, positive learning environment?

Routinely learning

Get in touch with me at adam.gutierrez@aps.edu

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