Domain 2: Classroom Environment

Know your students beyond the context of your classroom. Building connections with them helps you to have compassion on them, to tailor the learning to them, and to help them feel more encouraged and loved.

Respect goes not only between the students and the teacher, but also between students themselves. It is the teachers responsibility to help cultivate a positive environment where the students expect and know to show respect.

Powerful ways to signal to someone you respect them is by listening to them, using a kind tone, shutting down bullying of any kind and encouraging tolerance and inclusion, and frequently encourage and uplift people. All of these can be modeled with colleagues to show students what respect looks like.

Learning should be a shared experience as often as possible, since students learn when they are able to collaborate with people in a similar ZPD.

The teacher should demonstrate how they learn from students too, as this promotes the idea that we should all strive to be lifelong learners. They should also encourage revision and teamwork since this can enhance learning.

Nontraditional activities are sometimes helpful to change the pace of learning and help students engage in new ways.

Teachers should encourage a growth mindset, having high (but not unreasonable) expectations for students.

Teachers should be excited and passionate about what they teach; this energy often spreads to students.

Establish clear routines and expectations. Students need to know the rules and teachers needs to make expectations known & be prepared to enforce them.

Teachers must be efficient with time and strive for smooth transitions between activities.

Giving students jobs or tasks around the classroom can really help things run more efficiently and help students feel responsible for the learning that happens there.

Teachers must have clear expectations and consequences laid out for the students. They must have an established plan for dealing with misbehaviors and do so EQUALLY among students. Below are some notes on behavior policies I found helpful from a workshop:

1. The purpose of such procedures is more about how you handle misbehaviors, not that your students will never misbehave.

2. If something is just a problem just for you as the teacher, it's not a problem worth addressing.

3. Restore relationships with students after punishment; start each day fresh and don't bring up past problems.

4. As a teacher, have the "second last word," don't ever battle for the last word.

Teachers must also acknowledge POSITIVE student behaviors!

All of this must be done in the best interest of the students and their learning (not your comfort).

The classroom must be safe, accessible, organized, and clean. It should provide easy access to materials and technology as needed for either teachers or students. The environment should be conducive to learning and limit as many distractions as possible.

Class layout should be influenced by students (this includes décor, accessibility, etc.). They should feel comfortable asking for improved environment (if they can't see, if they don't have space, etc.).

If you're sharing a room with another teacher, this also means leaving the room put together and ready for the colleague's use.