Creating Productive

Learning Environments
Characteristics of Productive Learning
Environments
• A focus on learning
• Effective schools: Academic focus
• A focus on learners
• Classrooms as learning communities
• Personal and social development
• Positive classroom climate

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Classroom as Learning Communities
• Inclusiveness: all students participate and believe they can succeed.
• Respect for others: students respect the teacher and other students.
• Safety and security: students feel safe and protected.
• Trust and connectedness: students count on each other for help and
assistance.

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Personal Development
• Self-discipline and motivation to learn
• Organizational skills and goal setting
• Personal and moral responsibility
• Control of personal impulses
• Self-awareness in terms of personal strengths,
needs, and values

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Social Development
• Students’ ability to interact with and get along
with others
• Perspective taking: the ability to understand the
thoughts and feelings of others
• Social problem solving: the ability to resolve
conflicts in ways that are beneficial to all involved

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Social Skills That Develop in Productive Learning Environments

• Perspective taking
• Social problem solving
• Respect for others
• Working cooperatively with classmates
• Empathy and compassion
• Appreciation of diversity

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Positive Classroom Climate

• Emotional and physical environment of a classroom

• Pleasant surroundings
• Displays respect students
• Procedures for a safe and orderly classroom
• Respectful and friendly

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Essential Human Elements of Productive Learning
Environments
• Caring
• Personal teaching efficacy
• Positive expectations
• Modeling and enthusiasm

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Communicating Caring
• Learning students’ names quickly and calling on
students by their first name
• Greeting students daily and getting to know
them as individuals
• Using effective nonverbal communication such
as making eye contact and smiling
• Using “we” and “our” in reference to class
activities and assignments
• Spending time with students
• Demonstrating respect for students as
individuals
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 Personal Teaching Efficacy
• Belief that you can make a difference as a
teacher
• Internal locus of control
• Transfers to students

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Positive Teacher Expectations
• Teachers’ beliefs in students’
capabilities to learn
• Ways that teachers communicate
positive expectations
• Emotional support
• Teacher effort and demands
• Interactive questioning
• Feedback and evaluation

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Modeling and Enthusiasm

• The tendency of people to observe

and imitate others’ behaviors and
attitudes
• Demonstrate interest and enthusiasm
in topic
• Model appropriate behavior

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Classroom Management

• What impact does classroom

management have on learning?

• As you have observed, have you

seen good and bad examples of
classroom management?
• What made it “good”?
• What made it “bad”?

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Classroom Management Goals
• Developing learner responsibility
• Creating a positive classroom climate
• Maximizing opportunities for learning

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Dimensions of Classroom Time
• Allocated time: amount designated for a particular topic or subject
• Instructional time: amount left for teaching after routine
management and administrative tasks are completed
• Engaged time: time students actually spend actively involved in
learning activities
• Academic learning time: amount of time students are both engaged
and successful

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Elements of Successful Management
• Preventing problems through planning
• Rules
• Procedures
• Intervening effectively
• Handling serious management problems

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Common Classroom Activities Requiring Procedures

• Entering and leaving the classroom

• Handing in and returning papers
• Accessing materials such as scissors and paper
• Sharpening pencils
• Making trips to the bathroom
• Making up work after an absence

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Guidelines for Effective Rules
• State rules positively.
• Emphasize rationales for rules.
• Minimize the number of rules.
• Monitor rules throughout the
school year.

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 Guidelines for Effective Interventions
• Intervene immediately.
• Direct the intervention at the correct
student(s).
• Use the least intrusive intervention.

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Serious Management Problems: Violence and Aggression

• Most management problems are minor and involve day-to-day

logistical and cooperation issues.
• Steps to follow when serious problems arise
• Stop the incident
• Protect the victim
• Get help
• Teachers are legally required to intervene when problems occur.
• Seek the advice of administrators and veteran teachers.

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Benefits of Involving Parents

• Greater willingness to do homework

• Higher long-term achievement
• More positive attitudes and behaviors
• Better attendance and graduation rates
• Greater enrollment in postsecondary
education

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Strategies for Involving Parents
• Communicate early, positively, and often
• Try email communication
• Get to know students
• Use newsletters and individual notes to emphasize positive student
accomplishments.

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