Classroom Environment

2a. Creating an Environment of Respect and Rapport

An essential skill of teaching is that of managing relationships with students and ensuring that relationships among students are positive and supportive. Teachers create an environment of respect and rapport in their classrooms by the ways they interact with students and by the interactions they encourage and cultivate among students. An important aspect of respect and rapport relates to how the teacher responds to students and how students are permitted to treat one another. Patterns of interactions are critical to the overall tone of the class. In a respectful environment, all students feel valued, safe, and comfortable taking intellectual risks. They do not fear put-downs or ridicule from either the teacher or other students.

"Respect" shown to the teacher by students should be distinguished from students complying with standards of conduct and behavior. Caring interactions among teachers and students are the hallmark of component 2a (Creating an Environment of Respect and Rapport), while adherence to the established classroom rules characterizes success in component 2d (Managing Student Behavior).

The elements of component 2a:

Teacher interactions with students, including both words and actions
Student interactions with other students, including both words and actions

Document Description: At South Fork Elementary these posters were displayed in the hallways to prevent bullying between students. They state what bullying is and ways to prevent it from happening. I love how direct and informative these posters. As a future educator, I must be mindful of the signs of bullying to help reduce it from occurring the school I work at. I will display posters like these and enforce a strict no bullying policy my future school or classroom.

Document Description: For my Legal Issues class, I made this poster that explains what bullying is, what bullying looks like, and laws that protect students with disabilities from being bullied. During this course, I learned that both teachers and students have responsibilities in order to keep others safe. There are laws in place if teachers or students ever bully a child with a disability. According to IDEA, all students with disabilities deserve a free and Appropriate education which includes a safe environment for learning. As I begin my teaching career, I will continue to be mindful of these laws and create a bullying free classroom environment for my students.

2b. Establishing a Culture for Learning

A "culture for learning" refers to the atmosphere in the classroom that reflects the educational importance of the work undertaken by both student and teacher. The phrase describes the norms that govern the interactions among individuals about the activities and assignments, the value of hard work and perseverance, and the general tone of the class. The classroom is characterized by high cognitive energy, by a sense that what is happening there is important, and by a shared belief that it is essential, and rewarding, to get it right. There are high expectations for all students; the classroom is a place where the teacher and students value learning and hard work.

The elements of component 2b:

Importance of the content and of learning
Expectations for learning and achievement
Student pride in work

*Student names are blacked out to ensure confidentiality.

Document Description: At Rigby High-school, this poster was displayed on my mentor teacher's classroom door. This is a great way to promote student learning and to encourage students to keep trying. I learned that creating a positive learning environment helps students to feel welcomed and valued. I will put up posters in my future classroom to stress the importance of the content and of learning in general. Displaying helpful and uplifting posters around the classroom is a classroom management technique I plan on implementing in my future classroom.

Document Description: In the art inclusion room, at Temple View Elementary, they display the expectations for learning on the wall. From Conscious Classroom Management, by Rick Smith, I learned that clearly stating expectations for students helps them to be accountable for their actions. I also learned that displaying more than six student expectations can confuse students and take away the importance of the key rules to follow. Knowing how to specificly state student outcomes is a classroom management strategy I plan to take with me in my future career.

Document Description: In the kindergarten through 6th grade DACC classroom at Temple View Elementary, the students feel pride when they receive stamps on their punch cards for working hard. For every stamp a student gets, they receive coins in their banks. The coins allows them to buy things from the class store on Fridays. The students are excited to earn stamps and like to show all their peers and teachers how many stamps they have earned. This is a great way to promote student learning and to help motivate children to work hard to reach their goals. As a future special education teacher, I plan to implement ways for students to feel proud in their accomplishments at school.

2c. Managing Classroom Procedures

A smoothly functioning classroom is a prerequisite to good instruction and high levels of student engagement. Teachers establish and monitor routines and procedures for the smooth operation of the classroom and the efficient use of time. Hallmarks of a well-managed classroom are that instructional groups are used effectively, non-instructional tasks are completed efficiently, and transitions between activities and management of materials and supplies are skillfully accomplished in order to maintain momentum and maximize instructional time. That a teacher has established efficient routines, and has taught students to employ them, may be inferred from the sense that the class "runs itself."

The elements of component 2c:

Management of instructional groups
Management of transitions
Management of materials and supplies
Performance of classroom routines

*Student names are blacked out to ensure confidentiality.

longhurst scheduale

Document Description: This is the weekly routine for the kindergarten through 6th grade DACC classroom at Temple View Elementary. It clearly lays out the lessons and activities done throughout the day. Each day instructional groups are arranged and implemented. During reading and math instruction, students are split up into groups based off of their ability levels. All students are also assigned a general education classroom where they are mainstreamed throughout the week. From my mentor teacher, I learned the importance of following a daily routine and making sure each group of students transitions to their correct groups or classrooms. As I become a future educator, I plan to create and implement a weekly schedule to help the classroom run smoothly.

Document Description: In the kindergarten through 6th grade DACC classroom at Temple View Elementary, students transition to speech therapy, physical therapy, and occupational therapy sessions throughout the day. Since each student has specific services minutes a week, they are all pulled out at random times throughout each day to receive those services. The students place their name under the designated service area they will be leaving for. I learned that making the students responsible in recording their transitions, helps their teacher to easily understand where they are. Overall, I learned that having a running record of where each student is, helps the classroom to run smoothly and efficiently. In my future classroom, I will implement a system to create smooth transitions throughout the day.

2d. Managing Student Behavior

In order for students to be able to engage deeply with content, the classroom environment must be orderly; the atmosphere must feel businesslike and productive, without being authoritarian. In a productive classroom, standards of conduct are clear to students; they know what they are permitted to do and what they can expect of their classmates. Even when their behavior is being corrected, students feel respected; their dignity is not undermined. Skilled teachers regard positive student behavior not as an end in itself, but as a prerequisite to high levels of engagement in content.

The elements of component 2d:

Expectations
Monitoring behavior
Response to misbehavior

*Student name is made up to ensure confidentiality.

Document Description: For my Social/Behavior Strategies for Students with Disabilities course, I created a simplified pathway chart to help manage the behavior of a student case study given. This chart shows the antecedent, behavior, and consequences the student displays in a school setting. Not only did I learn how to map out this process, I also learned ways to redirect the student's negative behavior to a functionally equivalent replacement behavior (FERB). Learning how to respond and redirect a student's behavior into a school appropriate behavior is a major skill that will help me as I become a future educator.

BIPtype-in (1)

Document Description: For my Social/Behavior Strategies for Students with Disabilities course, I created a Behavior Intervention Plan (BIP) for a case study student I was assigned. In the BIP, I wrote the problem behavior and the functionally equivalent replacement behavior the team would help the student work towards. The BIP clearly states the expectations of what the student needs, ways to implement the behavior plan, along with all the people who participated in the plan development. A BIP also requires the school staff to monitor the student's behavior and keep data. Being able to write a BIP is a strong skill I will continue to take with me as I become a future special education teacher. Many of my future students will have behaviors that need managing, and I will have to determine the problem behavior and gather the IEP team to create a plan.

Document Description: In my Social/Behavior Strategies for Students with Disabilities course, I learned the seven phases of the acting out cycle. I learned what student behavior looks like at each stage. I also learned what the teacher should do to prevent student outbursts and ways to help the students calm down. Being able to manage student behavior is a challenging yet important skill for a special education teacher. Understanding what the stages of the acting out cycle look like and knowing ways to help my students is a crucial strategy I will take with me into my teaching career.

2e. Organizing Physical Space

The use of the physical environment to promote student learning is a hallmark of an experienced teacher. Its use varies, of course, with the age of the students: in a primary classroom, centers and reading corners may structure class activities, whereas with older students, the position of chairs and desks can facilitate, or inhibit, rich discussion. Naturally, classrooms must be safe (no dangling wires or dangerous traffic patterns), and all students must be able to see and hear what's going on so that they can participate actively. Both the teacher and students must make effective use of electronics and other technology.

The elements of component 2e:

Safety and accessibility
Arrangement of furniture and use of physical resources

Document Description: For my Social/Behavior Strategies for Students with Disabilities course, I created a classroom layout that is safe and accessible. The classroom layout contains an outline of an escape route for both the students and the teacher, a "cool down" area, and tables for students to work independently or in a group. Making sure the classroom is arranged appropriately is key in creating a safe and student friendly classroom. In the future, I plan to arrange my classroom in a way that is emergency friendly and helps students to work efficiently with one another.

Document Description: This is an image of a special education classroom at Temple View Elementary in Idaho Falls. The teacher arranged specific areas for occupational therapists and physical therapists to come in and work on individual goals with students. It also contains horse-shoe tables for children to work together in small groups, and individual desks for independent work. This classroom has a corner area for reading and many posters displayed to promote student success. From observations, I learned that this classroom layout is safe and accessible for students with disabilities. As a future educator, I plan to arrange my classroom in a similar format to create a positive and safe environment for my students.

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