Chapter
13
- Based on our readings and class discussion, how will you create a learning environment that is conducive to learning?
Now
consider your CSEL case study. Develop a full continuum of responses
for dealing with the misbehavior of your case.
In my opinion you should never put a
limit on a child’s ability to learn. As in the example's used in
Ormrod's book (Ormrod 460) “Mr. Durocher's” students may be
completely quiet and obedient, but they are not allowed or encouraged
to stretch their knowledge beyond the basic classroom material.
Children learn by asking questions even if they are not relevant to
the current topic. If a teacher limits the child's ability to ask
questions that are only relevant then this restrictive environment
will not only limit the student's ability to grow intellectually, but
it will discourage the student from being as interested in the class
or coursework at hand. I would rather have to redirect students back
to the material being covered and allow their minds to expand then to
forbid them the access to grow as individual's. I plan to keep my
students engaged with class projects, activities and group
discussions. I am a strong believer in making learning fun while
keeping each individual's energy direction in an outlet that will be
productive yet still enjoyable.
Your classroom climate is a very
important factor and you need to remember it is long term. Therefore
if your classroom gets off on a wrong foot and goes “cold” even
if you turn the “heat” up with adding interactive activities it
will still take the climate some time to recover and warm back up to
a liveable level. You don't want to freeze your student's but you
also don't want to over heat them! So having a nice warm environment
that students can feel comfortable in by being able to ask questions,
interact with other classmates, have some free will with their
projects and listen to the teacher in a format that catches their
attention will produce a better outcome in the long run, even if it
does take time to get the thermostat set.
Now some times there might be that one
student that adds ice or fire to your climate, but that is ok and
normal. If this occurs you need to find a method that will work best
for climate control. If you need to assign seats in order to place
the ice closer to warmer individual's this could work, but keep in
mind that some times the warmer individual's (depending on your age
range) may not understand the transition and that could alter their
chemistry. You really do not want to take your Potassium and then
add it into water do you?
If this ends up being the case for your
class you will need to readjust your rearrangement in order to supply
oil for your Potassium before the reaction can occur. All new
teachers will have some reactions here and there but if you can view
possible reactions before the environmental reaction can occur then
safety measures can be taken to limit the damage to your environment
(such as removing all flammable items that could add fuel to the
fire).
