CLASSROOM OPERATION AND ROUTINES

Carol Ann Tomlinson points out 

4 classroom rules that classrooms can grow from,Those are:

* WE WILL SHOW RESPECT FOR PEOPLE, THEIR IDEAS, AND THEIR PROPERTY

*WE WILL WORK HARD TO ENSURE OUR OWN GROWTH 

AND TO ASSIST THE GROWTH OF OTHERS.

*WE WILL PERSIST, EVEN WHEN THINGS ARE DIFFICULT AND UNCERTAIN.

*WE WILL ACCEPT RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE QUALITY OF OUR WORK 

AND FOR OUR BEHAVIORS AND ACTIONS

*These rules would be worded differently 

depending on the age of our students.*

I LOVE the ideas that are given in the scenarios from the chapter about helping classroom operation! Those include:

1. Individual Growth is a big deal and should be celebrated!

2. Trying 3 different ways before giving up or asking for help

3. Students take responsibility for their own learning

4. Anchor activities

5. Each person gets what they need to grow 

and develop as fully as possible

"In fact, clear and predictable classroom routines are probably the difference between productivity and chaos for classrooms where teachers attempt to address variations among learners" -Carol Ann Tomlinson 

THE KEY TO CLASSROOM ROUTINES 

AND CLASSROOM OPERATION!

Students need to understand:

•  How the class will begin and end.
• How to get, and put away materials.
• How to keep records of their work.
• How to move around the classroom in acceptable ways.
• How to use time Wisely.
• How to figure out where they should be, and what they should be doing at a given time.
• Where to put work when they finish.
• How to get help when the teacher is working directly with others.

Teach your students exactly what they should be doing at exactly the right time.  If we build routines in our classrooms, it will be so much easier for us to differentiate our classroom.  We will have so much more time to focus on helping our students instead of trying to get our students to stay on task, to be respectful to others, and how to move about the classroom.  If we teach these routines in the very first days of school, they will become habit, and we will be able to focus our time on differentiating our classroom for our students rather than focusing our time on all of our management issues.

  

CLASSROOM ENVIRONMENT

I've been dreaming of the day where I will get to decorate my own classroom.  I'm sure my family is sick of me saying, "Can we just save that??  It might work good in my classroom one day..."  I say that about every piece of furniture that anyone is getting rid of.  I can't wait to make my classroom an exciting inviting learning environment for my students!  The book says, "Environment will support or deter the student's quest for affirmation, contribution, power, purpose, and challenge in the classroom." It also says, "It will often be the first messenger of how learning will be in this place."  and that is what I would like this blog post to be focused on.  

Don't these kids in this class look happy to be there?  My goal is to make all of my students happy in my classroom.  Here are a few things to consider about CLASSROOM ENVIRONMENT

• BULLETIN BOARDS
• FURNITURE ARRANGEMENT
• GROUP WORK 
• CULTURES
• POSTERS

Here are some great examples of inviting classroom environment.

Some strategies that the book lists and I agree with are:

• Study students' cultures
• Commend Creativity
• Make room for all kinds of learners
• Help students know about one another
• Celebrate Success

I would like to end this post that will lead into my next post about communication.  As teachers we need to teach our students to respect all students in our class.  From one of the scenarios in the book it says, "...She teaches her middle schoolers how to listen respectfully to the ideas of peers, how to make suggestions that are positive in tone, how to build on one another's ideas, and how to debate ideas in ways that are respectful of both the ideas and the people who hold them."

I saw a video clip where students were having a classroom discussion, every time a student disagreed with another student they wouldn't just say, "No! You are Wrong!" Or "No! thats not right!"  They would say, "________ I respectfully disagree because___________."  I think that is a good way to set the tone for your classroom environment.  Classroom environment consists of the physical appearance in the classroom as well as the emotional parts in the classroom.  

5 Ways For Teachers To Respond 

To Their Students Needs

The 5 ways that the book mentions to respond to students needs are: 

Invitation
Opportunity
Investment
Persistence 
Reflection

Invitation: Things to think about

• I respect who you are as well as who you can become.
• I want to know you.
• You are unique and valuable.
• I believe in you.
• I learn when I listen to you.
• This place is yours too.
• We need you here.

I would like to share an experience about Invitation that I think one of my field teachers did a very good job at.  Every morning her classroom was full of former students, students from other 1st grade classes, and students from different grades.  She talked with all of the kids that were in her room before school, and sometimes even had them cut things out for her, and boy you would have thought those kids were in heaven.  They LOVED to help her with anything that she would let them do.  As soon as the bell rang her students knew the drill.  They would all line up outside her classroom door and she would greet each and everyone of her students as they came through the door.  She would say, "Good morning ______.  I am so glad you came to school today."  She cared about each one of her students, and her students knew that, and it was amazing to see the classroom unity that her class had.  

Opportunity: Things to think about

• I have important things for you to of here today.
• The things i ask you to do are worthy things.
• The things I ask you to of are often daunting.
• The things I ask you to do open new possibilities for you.
• The things that I give you to do here help you become all you can be.
• You have specific roles that make us all more efficient and effective.

I think as we think about opportunity we need to think about the tasks that we give to our students.  I think to make this applicable to me as a future teacher it means that I will not give out busy work.  I will not assign a task just to fill up time.  If I am going to assign a task I must make it something worthwhile for myself, and my students. I also think that the tasks that we assign need to push our students to their full potential.  

Investment: Things to think about

• I work hard to make this place work for you.
• I work to make this place reflect you.
• I enjoy thinking about what we do here.
• I love to find new paths to success.
• It is my job to help you succeed.
• I am your partner in growth.
• I will do what it takes to ensure your growth.

Persistence: Things to think about

• You're growing, but you're not finished growing.
• When one route doesn't work, there are others we can find.
• Let's figure out what works best.
• There are no excuses here, but there is support.
• There is no finish line in learning.

I have another experience that goes along with persistence.  In one of my field classes we had a little boy named "B."  B struggled, and B did not have a very good home life, and his home life carried over into school.  B struggled in almost every activity that we did in class, but the teacher did not give up on B.  If B wasn't getting it she always came up with an alternative way to teach him, or to explain to him again.  She made sure that if B didn't get it the first time she would try something different to make sure that he got it.  

Reflection: Things to think about.

• I watch you and listen to you carefully and systematically.
• I make sure to use what I learn to help you learn better.
• I try to see things through your eyes.
• I continually ask, "How is this partnership working?"
• I continually, ask, "How can I make this better?" 

I think reflection is the most important piece in teaching.  I've heard so many teachers tell me, "you always need to reflect after you teach a lesson."  It is so true though.  We always need to be thinking, "What can I do better?"  It is also important to be thinking, "What am I doing well?"  I love the statement above that says, "I make sure to use what I learn to help you learn better."  Isn't that key??  If we don't put what we learn into practice what is the point of reflecting??

WHY BECOME A TEACHER?

I'm sure we have all been asked a time or two, WHY do you want to become a teacher?  I remember just before I started the elementary education program and I was at my cousins bridal shower.  I was talking to someone and telling them that I was going to school, and I told them how excited I was to start the program.  She then began to ask me why I wanted to be a teacher, and how awful of a job that would be, and they don't get paid nearly enough, and how she thought that if I was going to be a teacher I should at least teacher junior high or high school because at least then I wouldn't have to be a babysitter...  At first, I didn't really know how to respond?  But then I got thinking, and who was she to tell me that I was choosing an awful career???  What made her think that she needed to tell me that?  I chose to not be offended by her comments to me, because if I was really worried about those things that she was telling me I OBVIOUSLY wouldn't be choosing the career path that I was.  As Chapter 3 clearly states that their are a variety of reasons that people choose to become teachers, and how much light children bring into our lives!  

This quote pretty much sums up one of the many reasons that I have chosen to become a teacher.  Teachers can make so much of a difference in children's lives and it all starts inside the classroom. 

 As teachers... we sense as novices that we are destined  to be much more than just dispensers of information, sergeants of behavior, and captains of the test prep."

As teachers we are preparing our future generations to become valuable and beneficial members of society.  In a way it is up to us to make sure that we are preparing this children to grow up and to become successful.  Another reason that the book mentions why some people choose to become teachers is because they want to give back to our society.  

To end on a high note, Deborah Meier who was a remarkable principal said this when she was told that her faculty was remarkable, "Her school staff is not remarkable because they are more gifted than other teachers or because they have taught longer or because they went to more exclusive colleges.  They are remarkable because they lived what they believe."

That is what it all comes down to.  Care for our students, and living with what we believe.  Keep these things in mind as my next post will be all about teacher responses to students needs.  

5 KEY NEEDS OF STUDENTS

AFFIRMATION:

Question: "Am I going to be okay here?"

Students need to know:

• I am accepted and acceptable here
• I am safe here as I am 
• People listen to me here
• People know how I'm doing, and it matters to them that I do well
• People acknowledge my interests, strengths, and perspectives here and draw on them
• People believe in me here 

We need to build up our students self esteem so that they feel comfortable in our classroom.  We need to teach our class that our classrooms are a place where they can share their thoughts and feelings, and that no matter what each students strengths and weaknesses are we are here to help them achieve their goals, and that EVERYONE will be accepted in our classrooms.

CONTRIBUTION:

"Not only only do people tell me that I am worthwhile, I can actually see that I am."

Question: "Can you do without me here?"

• I can make a difference in this place and in the work in this place
• I bring to this place abilities and strengths that are unique
• Because of these abilities and strengths, I can help others in the class and the class as a whole succeed
• I am connected to others through mutual work on common goals

Each student in the classroom needs to have a role.  Each student needs to know that they matter, and that the class can't function without them.  I think that we can have classroom jobs and so students can take ownership in those jobs.  Classroom jobs is just one simple way that we can make sure our students feel needed in the classroom.  

POWER: 

Question: "Can you show me how this place and it's work give me dominion in my life?"

• What I learn is useful to me now 
• I constantly learn to make choices that contribute to my success
• I understand how this place operates and what is expected of me here and how to achieve it
• There is dependable support for my journey here

A few ideas that could make students feel powerful in the classroom:

• Have a variety of ways students can show what they learned (poster, song, dance, story)
• Let students choose their classroom rules
• As a result of choosing classroom rules, when a rule isn't followed let them come up with their consequence
• Have some choices of activities that they can participate in

PURPOSE:

Question: How come we have to do this?

• I understand what we do here
• What we do here reflects on me and my world
• What we do here helps me make meaning of the subject, my world, and the wider world
• The work here absorbs me 

Connect curriculum, and content areas to things that students are interested in.  Have students participate in worthwhile tasks, have students engage in meaningful activities that are fun, and that require critical thinking skills.

CHALLENGE:

• The work here complements my abilities
• The work stretches me
• I work hard here most of the time
• I am accountable for my own growth and for contributing to the growth of others
• I often accomplish things here and I didn't believe were possible 

Effective differentiation begins with 

the awareness of our students basic needs. 

We need to be aware of our students individual needs, sometimes as teachers we may think we are doing our students a favor by doing certain things such as, partner work, group work, leaders , etc. but if our students don't get the chance to show what they can do in their own way they will be just like the fish in this quote above.  We need to ensure that each of our students have self confidence, and know that they are a genius and that they can do hard things!  It all comes down to really KNOWING our students, and KNOWING what we can do to help them.  Many students have very different cultural backgrounds, and you may think that you are helping a student but in reality you are just hindering their learning, and that is why it is so important to KNOW them.  

Safe Place

Making Our Classroom a 

Safe Environment for our Students

Have you ever had to go somewhere new?  

Have you ever felt out of place?  

Have you ever had to go somewhere not really knowing what to expect, what the people will be like, or even if you will like it? 

I know I have, and I am sure that many others have been 

in similar situations that make them to go out of their comfort zone.  

Just as each of us has felt these feelings in a number of situations, many of our students feel this way coming to school.  School is an unfamiliar environment for children as they are just starting school.  Many of our students don't know what to expect, they wonder if they will have any friends, and wonder if their teacher will like the.  

School is distance for many children.  School means that their toys, snacks, bedroom, siblings, and parents are not close to them.  They have to get used to new routines, new people around them, and new ways to learn new things.  

"Come play with me," says the teacher.  "Come do what I ask you to do."  "I can't," says the student, "at least not until you connect with me.  Oh, i'll go through the motions, or course.  But give myself to this adult thing called school?  Not unless you connect with me."

How does this quote make you feel?  Can we relate to the way that this student/students are feeling from similar situations that we have been in?  I think this quote puts school and classroom environment into perspective for us as teachers.  

Our students need certain things from us as teachers.  We can provide those needs for our students.  I would like to end this post with a quote from chapter 2, 

"If a child feels unsafe, threatened, or insecure, the brain blocks odd the pathways to learning and attends to the more basic human needs instead."

In the next post, we will learn about the 5 key needs of learners, and how we can use these 5 key needs in order to make our classroom a safe place for our students.  

It is our job to make sure our students succeed! On that note, since we have already talked about student traits, let's continue on to learn about elements in our classroom that will help us to be able to differentiate our students!

There are 4 classroom elements that we as teachers can modify for our students to help them with their various needs.  They are, CONTENT, PROCESS, PRODUCT, and LEARNING ENVIRONMENT.  

CONTENT: Content may seem pretty self explanatory but just for a quick review... Content is all about what a teacher teaches, and what we want our students to learn.  The main goal of a teacher is for all of their students to be able to learn the content/information that they want them to learn.  In order for all students to learn specific content and information sometimes teachers need to do certain things to ensure that all of their students have access to the same content.  On the flip side, if a student is in first grade and they are already reading on a 3rd grade level that student would not need the same reading skills instruction as a student who is reading on a 1st grade reading level.  

PROCESS: Learning is a process.  A lot of times everyone's learning process is different too.  Process is how a student makes sense of and comes to understand the information that is given within a lesson.  For a teacher to be effective they need to make sure that every student makes meaning of the information that is given to them in a lesson.  

PRODUCT: product can mean many different things.  A product of learning can be a sort of assessment, demonstration, or something that shows what a student has learned.  A product is an opportunity for students to show what they have learned!  Effective products hold students accountable.  I think that as teachers we can use a variety of products when assessing our students.  Maybe we can use a variety of products so that we are not just always giving paper and pencil tests. Imagine how much good we can do for students if we allow them to produce the information that they have learned in a way that they enjoy and understand clearly.  

LEARNING ENVIRONMENT: 

I really like the analogy that the book uses to explain learning environment.  It says, "Learning environment is the weather that affects virtually everything that transpires in a classroom."  




The book also points out a key ingredient in a classroom for learning environment.  Can you guess what that would be??

 The answer is..... MOOD.  The Mood of a classroom effects the learning environment significantly.  The key to a good learning environment relating to mood is that you need to have a balance in the mood in your classroom.  We need to have a fun learning environment, but we also need to balance that with seriousness, responsibility, and respect.  

I think this statement from the book is key. "In differentiated classrooms. teachers continually assess students readiness, interest, learning profile,and affect.  Teachers then use what they learn to modify content, process, product, and learning environment to ensure maximum learning for each member of the class."

Learning should be fun for our students!  As we use these strategies to differentiate our instruction, we will make sure that our students are having fun, and successful moments as they learn!

STUDENT TALK

Let's talk about student traits. There are four student traits that teachers often need to consider when ensuring effective and efficient learning.  

THE FOUR TRAITS ARE...

• READINESS
• INTREST
• LEARNING PROFILE 
• AFFECT

But what do these student traits mean to us??  

Readiness refers to a students knowledge, understanding, and skill related to a particular sequence of learning.  Let's take a quick journey back to Educational Psychology.. Remember when we talked about ZPD?  Zone of Proximal Development does that ring a bell? Meaning that a student learns best when in their ZPD. Well that relates to readiness.  Students learn best, and learning only occurs when a student works at a level of difficulty that is both challenging and attainable.

Interest refers to those topics or pursuits that evoke curiosity and passion in a learner. I really love where Tomlinson address this about interest,"highly effective teachers address to both developing interests and as yet undiscovered interests in their students.  

Learning Profile refers to how students learn best.  Learning profile refers to students learning style, intelligence preference, culture, and gender.  I think it is essential for us as teachers to teach in different ways based on learning profile.  Because all students learn best in different ways there is no way that we can justify teaching in just one way!

Affect has to do with how students feel about themselves.  What works for one doesn't mean it will work for all!  I love what Tomlinson says, " A teacher in a differentiated classroom attends to students emotions or feelings (affect) as well as to student cognition." 

WHAT DO WE DO????

Here are some teacher tips that help us out 

when dealing with the 4 student traits!

• Use visuals or graphic organizers while lecturing thus engaging both visual and auditory learners.
• Ask students to use manipulatives or role playing as a way of understanding a text or oral explanation thus combining kinesthetic and visual or auditory learners
• Provide taped passages of text, completely taped chapters of books, or use small group instruction to enable students with encoding difficulties to hear rather than read material that would otherwise be inaccessible.  
• Provide some text or supplementary materials in a students native language, while that student learns to read and speak in english, to assist in understanding of required english materials.  

It may seem overwhelming to make accommodations, and may seem like extra work for you to do these things that will help students as we are aware of the 4 student traits.  But just think of how much more students are getting out of lessons, concepts, and information when you are doing these extra things to help students learn best.  I can only imagine how much time it will save in the long run as students won't have to be retaught again and again because we are delivering them information in a way that they are not able to understand easily.  It's really eye-opening to me to read about these strategies, and helpful hints that will help our students out so much!  I am so excited to go into a classroom of my own someday, and provide students with resources that will really help them learn best!

STAY TUNED! MORE ON DIFFERENTIATION COMING UP NEXT!

Definition: Active planning for student differences in a classroom. 

Differentiation is essential in a classroom. As we keep becoming more and more diverse as a society differentiation is going to becoming more and more essential in our classrooms.  

This image really puts differentiation into perspective for me.  All of our students are going to be different.  Some good at math, some struggle with math, some will have bigger hands, some will have different colors that will stand out, and some that have many strengths, some that have many struggles with academics.  This image leads me into what Carol Tomlinson says in the textbook, "Teachers must take into account WHO they are teaching as well as WHAT they are teaching."What teachers may have thought previously is not going to work anymore.  Teaching to the "middle" of the class is not enough.  The one size fits all motto is not going to work in our classrooms today.  

Just like this shirt doesn't fit this boy, some of the ways that we teach, or the content that we teach won't fit all of our students so we will need to make our classroom differentiated so that we can "FIT" all the needs of our students.  

To create a classroom of differentiation there are some things that us as teachers can do, Responsive instruction is when teachers become increasingly proficient in understanding their students as individuals, increasingly comfortable with the meaning and structure with the disciplines they teach, and increasingly expert at teaching flexibly.  

Our students will be on a variety of levels in academics, and our classroom will have academic diversity.  It is our job as teachers to embrace those diversities and be flexible in our instruction, and learn as many strategies as we can so that we can help ALL of our students in growing and becoming successful in their educational career!