Chapter 13

Chapter 13

1. 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).