Joy in the Classroom

"Keeping happiness in the classroom one smile at a time"

What is Joy in the Classroom?

Joy in the classroom is creating an environment where students feel safe, comfortable, and respected in order to feel happy at school.

What does the research say?

A sense of belonging is a major component of happiness (WGU). When students feel they belong in their classroom through personal connections made with the teacher and peers, the student is happier in school.

Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs states that love and belonging is a need that needs to be met in order for a person to reach self-actualization. Students need to feel they belong in order to feel joy to be the best version of themself.

Key Terms

Joy: A feeling of great pleasure and happiness

Positive Reinforcement: Giving something to the subject when they perform the desired action so they associate the action with the reward and do it more often. This can be praise, a smile, or an award

Social and Emotional Development: A Specific domain of child development. It is a gradual, integrative process through which children acquire the capacity to understand, experience, express, and manage emotions and to develop meaningful relationships with others.

Feeling's Chart: A chart where students could express their emotion for the day

Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs- A motivational theory in psychology, represented by a five-tier model of human needs, often depicted as hierarchical levels within a pyramid.

Active Listening- It requires the listener to fully concentrate, understand, respond and then remember what is being said

Strategies

Strategy #1

Build a Positive Learning Environment

Let students know it is okay to make mistakes
Develop a mutual respect with students
Let students know their feelings are valid
Personal Connections with students

Strategy #2

Model Joy

Have high energy levels
Engaging lesson plans
"Leave Baggage at the Door"

Strategy #3

Students Role in the Classroom

Have students have ownership of their classroom
Student art work on walls.
This will make students feel more connected to the classroom and feel apart of their classroom community

Differentiation

-Joy in the classroom is about including all students. Students that struggle with socialization skills may need help making those personal connections with you and the class. Do not give up on them. Keep encouraging them to socialize with peers and feel apart of the classroom.

Assessment

-Feeling chart (to assess how students are feeling each day)

-Mood meter (to assess how students mood changes throughout the day)

Anchor Charts

Videos

Screencast of me teaching this topic

Resources to learn more

Tales From the Classroom: This website shares how teacher's can keep joy in the classroom whether the classroom is in person learning or virtual learning. https://www.talesfromtheclassroom.com/single-post/three-resources-for-bringing-the-joy-factor-to-your-online-classroom

Bringing Joy Back into the Classroom: This book is by Danny Brassell and aims to motivate teachers through keeping joy in their classrooms.

Working Hard, Working Happy: This book is by Rita Platt and guides teachers through the importance and steps to creating a joyful classroom

References

Building a Joyful Classroom: Top 10 Strategies Based on Education in Finland. (2019, December 24). https://www.wgu.edu/heyteach/article/building-joyful-classroom-top-10-strategies-based-education-finland1812.html

Santrock, John W. Child Development, New York, New York, McGraw-Hill Education, 2014.

The Importance of Joy. (2015, December 23). https://www.responsiveclassroom.org/the-importance-of-joy/

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