Students feel safe when they know what to expect and trust that their teacher will take care of misbehavior. When students don't have to worry about whether the classroom environment is supportive, they can put their attention fully into learning. I saw many students thrive in sharing their ideas with the class when they knew they would be heard by both me and their peers. 

I always looked forward to our daily literacy centers because I felt this was the time I was able to connect the most with students and learn more about them. Working with small groups of 6-7 students gave me an opportunity to provide more individualized support. I know that students also enjoyed this part of the day because the centers were discussion-based and followed a predictable routine. Many times the students and I would read from the Wonders anthology, discussing and asking questions about the stories we read. It was during these centers that I saw how the students respected one another and wanted to learn from each other. With this, I helped students become better listeners and contributors by modeling what that looks like, asking questions that provide opportunities for further conversation, and teaching helpful phrases to use during discussions (2.2, 2.3). 

Maintaining and creating effective learning environments is something that takes time and consistency. I am thankful to have come into a classroom this semester that already had clear routines established. However, even with those expectations in place, students would test me to see if I would follow through with what I said. For example, when lining up for recess, a specialist class (PE, art, STEAM, etc.), or an assembly, students were expected to line up quietly. The first few times I saw students pushing the boundaries to see how much talking they could get away with. I learned that even though students had already learned the classroom expectations from Vicky, my cooperating teacher, I had to show them that those same expectations mattered to me too. I found myself reminding students to line up quietly and using the same phrase the class was used to: "walk as quiet as a... mouse" (2.6). As we got further into the semester, I worked to continue to hold the students to the same standard.

There were consequences if students did not meet the expectations. As I said, if students were continuously talking in line, they would go back to their seat and try again. One thing I learned this semester is that students respond best to correction when it is quick after the misbehavior and the consequence works to restore what went wrong. With that I often followed the pattern of giving students a quick reminder to get back on track and then having a conversation later if the unwanted behavior continued. The focus of these conversations was to check in on students and make a plan together of how to do better in the future. If there was still no change in behavior, I would bring in another teacher and send a note home if it became an ongoing disruption (2.1). 

However, there were also many times that I was not present when students had conflicts due to behavior. Oftentimes I would hear about situations that happened at recess or lunch. Cases like this can be hard because I did not witness what happened. In these moments I would begin with a conversation with those involved; I would talk to students one on one so they can share their perspective. I think it is especially important to take the time to hear all sides of the story when you are not there to see what happened.