Safe Learning Environment

About Safe Learning Environments

Maintaining a safe learning environment in the classroom is key for students to learn to the best of their ability. A safe learning environment is a place where students can be comfortable learning and not afraid to take risks or make mistakes. “Safe” is both in terms of emotional safety and physical safety. Safe learning environments can be produced in a number of different ways. Teacher expectations and classroom routines foster an environment for students to succeed. Behavioral expectations promote a safe learning environment – for example, respectfulness. Many teachers have some form of “be respectful” as a classroom expectation. If everyone in the classroom is respectful of one another, then students will be more open to answering/asking questions in class. By doing so, they are able to learn more since they are not worried about what others might think. Behavioral expectations often are for the student to work productively, which means their learning would increase. Setting the classroom expectations should be done on the first day, so the students know from the very beginning how they should act. Classroom routines should also be established on the first day. These routines (i.e. take out your notebook right away, daily “do now” activity, etc.) will give students structure and comfort in the class. The structure and comfort then promote their learning in a safe space.

Classroom Expectations

One way that I provide a safe learning environment is through the classroom expectations posted on the wall. These expectations were also discussed the first day of classes. The expectations are to be prepared, be respectful, work productively, and maintain a safe and healthy learning environment. Maintaining a clean and safe classroom pertains to a physically safe learning environment. By making sure the aisles are clear, in case of an emergency, the students can quickly and easily leave the classroom. Another important aspect of the physical safety of my classroom is that the room is nut free. I have one student who has a very severe nut allergy; the allergy is airborne, and he will have reaction even if nuts are in the same room as him. For this reason, it was very important in the beginning of the year to stress that the classroom was nut free and make sure that no one had a snack that contained nuts during the snack period. Also, I made sure that everyone properly cleans up their snacks to make sure the classroom does not get any ants or bugs. For emotional safety, I mainly ensured that everyone follows the "be respectful" expectation. If students started to laugh if someone said the wrong answer, I would remind them of the expectation and explain to them why how they were acting was not respectful. By doing this a few times, the students learned what it meant to be respectful and limited the number of outbursts that occurred.

Mental Health First Aid Training

As a part of professional development days at WRHS, there was a day spent on training to be a certified Mental Health First Aider. We discussed non-crisis and crisis situations pertaining to mental health. The majority of the day was spent discussing non-crisis situations. It is more predominately encountered and can often be confused with normal teenage behavior. For example, while moodiness and a desire for privacy can be normal teenage behaviors, they can also be signs of a mental health problem. We discussed how since these signs are so similar, it is important to take note of them but perhaps not do anything drastic until more signs or concerning behavior appears. Also, we were trained on how to handle a crisis situation (i.e. if a student were self-harming or discussing self-harm). By learning these different signs and procedures, I am able to recognize when students are in need of help in my classroom.