Learning Envirnoment

Learning Environment

As an aspiring teacher, one of the joys that I am anticipating is to be able to design my classroom, implement a classroom management system, and set the mood for my very own learning environment. Two years ago, I would have imagined my classroom completely different than the classroom that I envision now. In my opinion, the learning environment silently tells all about the teacher and students that occupy the space. If I could use one word to describe my ideal classroom, it would be the word "community." The word community speaks volumes about how I envision the organization of my classroom, social interaction within the classroom, and the expected behaviors in the classroom. When I contemplate the word community, I think of a place where individuals are working cooperatively together to support a common goal. Metaphorically, a community reminds me a lot of an ideal classroom setting. In my future classroom, I envision students and the teacher working together to ensure a positive learning environment.

From the very first day of school, community should be established in the classroom. The expectations of the classroom should be developed as a whole class. The teacher and students brainstorm how they expect the learning environment to appear. The teacher upholds this classroom agreement through constantly modeling and praising students for being mindful of the classroom expectations. Also, a sense of respect, openness, and unity should be built into the classroom routine. The classroom management approach should be one that supports the sense of community in the classroom. The approach should view behavior as a whole group practice rather than from an individual monitoring approach. Many times I have seen individual behavior systems as ineffective because they tend to focus on negative behaviors and punishments. Throughout my field experiences, research, colleague discussions, I have formed the belief that everything is taught to students. When students can't read, we teach them to read. When students are unable to write, we teach them to write. When students don't communicate effectively, we teach them ways to communicate. I feel if we want students to behave appropriately in a classroom setting, then we must teach them to behave.

Uniting together to develop a set of classroom expectations is the beginning of a responsible classroom community. When the classroom community seems to be experiencing difficulties, it is important to come together as a community to determine the strengths and weaknesses. Once again, it is important to discuss whole group rewards, whole group consequences, and changes that need to be implemented to enhance the success of the learning environment. As far as the actual class appearance, I believe in a bright and colorful classroom that sets a cheerful spirit throughout the room. Learning is evident through displays of student