ENSURING POSITIVE CLASSROOM ENVIRONMENT

DESPITE CHALLENGES AND DISRUPTIONS

JHS LAC SESSION 3 NOVEMBER 24, 2023
 CLASSROOM
CHALLENGES???
WHAT IS A POSITIVE CLASSROOM ENVIRONMENT?

 A positive classroom environment is one in which students feel comfortable sharing

their thoughts, taking risks, asking questions and confronting challenges in their
learning. An educator can create this type of environment by presenting clear
classroom expectations, providing opportunities to improve social skills, building
relationships with their students and offering relevant content. In this type of
classroom setting, students feel as though educators value their input. From here,
students can become more active participants in the learning process, which makes
for a more productive learning environment.
13 WAYS TO CREATE A POSITIVE CLASSROOM
ENVIRONMENT
BUILD POSITIVE RELATIONSHIPS

 Building positive relationships with your students helps them feel as though they can
come to you with questions on assignments or when they're facing a challenge. Many
of them may appreciate knowing they have someone they can trust and to whom they
can confide. You can build rapport with your students by taking time to interact with
them individually, listening to their comments or concerns and showing enthusiasm
when they come to you to share their experiences and stories.
ARRANGE THE PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENT

 The physical environment of a classroom provides a structure for students, which can decrease stress levels and
help them feel more comfortable in class. Consider organizing your classroom by assigning seats to students,
establishing routines for passing out and collecting work and ensuring all desks face the front of the room so they
can see the board.

 Another important aspect of the physical environment is the classroom aesthetic. You may add some extra soft
lighting, hang some paintings or photos and add some of your own personal flair to your room. Students may be
able to get a better understanding of your personality or preferences based on the visuals in your classroom and
you can set the tone based on your classroom decor.
SET HIGH ACADEMIC EXPECTATIONS

 It's important to set high academic expectations for your students early in the school year. Explain your
expectations by letting them know you're going to do your best to help them learn and are always
available if they need assistance, but in return, you expect them to do their best on their work.

 It's beneficial to elaborate on your grading policy so they understand what you permit in terms of
grading. For example, you can tell them if you allow them to redo tests if they didn't do well the first
time or how much time you permit them to turn in late work.
PROVIDE POSITIVE REINFORCEMENT

 Providing positive reinforcement helps to promote a strong classroom culture. One method of positive
reinforcement is through providing extrinsic motivators. Extrinsic motivators are external factors that
motivate students to behave positively, such as giving students candy for doing well on a test or
allowing them five minutes of free time at the end of class. Providing students with public praise is
also a good extrinsic motivator. You can compliment a student's behavior or academic performance in
front of their classmates or take the time to contact their parents and let them know the positive
behaviors their child has been exhibiting.
BE OPEN TO FEEDBACK

 Throughout the school year, teachers usually provide a lot of feedback regarding
students' work and behavior. It's beneficial to consider asking for feedback from your
students as well. Receiving feedback from your learners about how you manage your
class, the content you're teaching and your general mannerisms can give you insight
into what you're doing well and how you can improve. In addition, many students
appreciate when you value their opinion, which can strengthen your positive
classroom environment.
ENCOURAGE COLLABORATION

 Collaboration among students can lead to a more engaged class of students. In order to foster
collaboration that's productive, consider clarifying the expectations and reasons for collaboration
before you allow them to work in groups or pairs. It's beneficial for them to understand their objective
and why they're working together. You may want to create groups based on the different skills and
interest levels of each group's members so that all students working together can contribute to the
overall objective of the assignment or project.
USE CURRENT CURRICULUM AND TEACHING METHODS

 Most students find learning more engaging and easier to comprehend when the
curriculum and lessons are relevant to them. They can become more emotionally
invested in the content they're learning if they understand how they're connected to it
culturally, socially and personally. As the school year progresses and you begin to
learn more about each individual student, you can adapt your teaching methods or
strategies to make the curriculum more meaningful to them.
BE THERE FOR THEM

 A simple, yet effective component of creating a positive classroom environment is to

provide support for your students when they need it. Some students face academic
challenges or need someone to talk to about a personal situation they're handling at
home. With this, students often appreciate having someone they can trust listen to
them and give advice when appropriate. It reassures many students to know they have
someone that listens to them and comforts them.
GIVE STUDENTS A VOICE AND A CHOICE

 When students feel their opinion matters, they're more likely to share during class discussions.
Promoting student empowerment begins with providing opportunities for students to share their
opinions, take risks and decide how they learn best. This builds self-confidence, which supports a more
positive learning environment.

 Student-centered learning focuses on allowing learners to share in class decisions and gives them more
opportunities to learn in a way that feels most comfortable to them. Offering them more choices in
how they learn helps them to be involved in decisions that impact their learning. If they feel that their
input matters, they may seem more connected and put in greater effort into their classwork.
ESTABLISH A ROUTINE

 A lot of students thrive on having a dependable daily routine in some aspects of their lives. Knowing
what to expect when they enter your classroom can create a sense of normalcy for students. Classroom
routines can consist of starting each day with a bell ringer, reviewing the day's objectives or ending
each class with an exit ticket.

 You may also consider doing the same activities on the same day each week. For example, you can go
to the library to use technology every Tuesday and have a reading day in class each Friday.
Establishing a routine allows students to know what to expect each day when they enter your
classroom.
CREATE RULES AND EXPECTATIONS

 Setting guidelines such as classroom rules and expectations is an important way to let students know
what's acceptable behavior. If your students are old enough, you may consider letting them discuss one
or two rules they want to add to the classroom rules so they feel they have input on an important aspect
of your class.

 Setting expectations helps maintain the daily structure of your classroom and can aid significantly with
classroom management. When students know that you intend to follow through with consequences if
they disobey your rules and expectations, they tend to behave more positively.
REVIEW CLASSROOM PROCEDURES

 Creating classroom procedures can be a beneficial way to create a routine and help
establish a pattern of predictability for your students. Procedures can be academic,
such as how you collect student work or grade their assignments. They can also be
more general routines such as how to come into your classroom, what materials they
need for your class or when they can use the restroom.
PROVIDE FLEXIBILITY

 While it's beneficial to provide students with routines and procedures, it's important to
know when to be flexible with your expectations. Adjusting your expectations to each
situation that arises gives students the opportunity to see that you can encounter
challenging situations and provide them and yourself with flexibility if needed. You
can be flexible during unexpected situations such as when a student has a crisis and
needs to use their phone to call a parent, in case of a fire drill or if you need to revise
a rule for one class because it doesn't apply to their behavior.
HOW TO PREVENT AND ADDRESS CLASSROOM
DISRUPTIONS
 Teachers use classroom management to help keep students engage in learning. Over
the years teachers have determined the importance of being prepared, having
classroom arrangement strategies, rules of conduct, disruption prevention strategies
and making classroom connections with students, among others. Classroom
management practices reduce occurrences of students disrupting the classroom, and
the result is a classroom more conducive to learning. Here are six ways to prevent and
address classroom disruptions:
BE PREPARED

 If you don’t know the material or aren’t sure about how your lesson will progress,
you’ll create an uncertain atmosphere during instruction time. The students will pick
up on it, and it could lead to disruptions such as distractions, unwanted student
activity and general misbehavior. Know how the day and each lesson will flow ahead
of time. This will help students to stay focused, and you’ll reduce incidents of student
disruptions.
FOSTER CLASSROOM CONNECTIONS

 Teachers are most effective when they know their students and their students know
and like them. Take some time to make genuine connections with your students.
You’ll create trust, and the students will become easier to teach. Create monthly
birthday celebrations to let them know you care. Set aside weekly talk times that
allow you to get to know students more personally, and they can learn a bit more
about you. Share your hobbies, perhaps a bit about your family life, future hopes and
plans — and ask students to do the same.
CLASSROOM ARRANGEMENT STRATEGIES

 One theory states that teacher mobility should be the top objective for classroom
arrangement. The seating arrangement should provide easy discipline and focus the
student’s attention toward the teacher. Students likely won’t see the seating
arrangement as a classroom management tool, but distractions will be minimized.
Allow for each student to clearly view the front of the room. The classroom seating
arrangement should be fluid, flexible and organized.
STATE CLEAR RULES

 Try and compress your main classroom rules into 3 to 5 simple, concise guidelines for
student behavior. Post them in the classroom and refer to them occasionally. A small
number of simple classroom rules can help students remember and focus on what’s
expected of them. However, too many complicated rules will just confuse them. Keep
it simple, concise and to the point. Let students know the consequences of breaking
the rules as well.
ENFORCE THE RULES

 It’s not enough just to have rules; make sure you enforce your rules consistently and
fairly. Students should know and be able to predict reliably what consequence will
occur if they break the rules. Practice common and consistent procedures. If students
know what is expected for daily routines such as filing out for recess, unpacking
books, lining up or taking a bathroom break, there will be far less chaos, confusion
and disruption. It’s also a great idea to offer rewards, praise and incentives too if
students consistently follow the class rules.
MINIMIZE DISTRACTIONS

 Take steps to prevent both yourself and your students from becoming distracted. Remove distracting items such
as sporting equipment, games and art materials during classroom instruction. Turn off your cellphone and avoid
using your computer during class time. Post a “Do Not Disturb” sign on your classroom door during important
activities such as tests or exercises that require a great deal of concentration. Make sure other teachers and
school staff honor your classroom rules and boundaries.

 Disruptions waste valuable teaching time within a classroom. When a disruption happens, it may take quite
some time to get the class back on track. Teachers can be very effective classroom managers if they know how
to be proactive. Following these six steps will help keep disrupting the classroom to a minimum, allowing much
more quality work to be done.
  Deal with disruptive behaviour – have a clear code of conduct
PRINCIPLES  Teach students to manage their own behaviour

FOR 

Focus attention on entire class
Direct your instruction so students know what is going to happen
SUCCESSFUL  Monitor all groups – move around the room so students have to pay attention
more readily
CLASSROOM  Make sure classroom is comfortable and safe

MANAGEMEN  Over-plan your lesson so that learning takes place

 Keep a steady pace
T  Show confidence in your teaching
 Make class expectations clear and realistic and stick to them
 Be consistent – set realistic goals
 Work to engage all students