H3- Honor the classroom/school community as a milieu for learning

H3- Honor the classroom/school community as a milieu for learning

Teacher-candidates implement classroom/school centered instruction, including sheltered instruction that is connected to communities within the classroom and the school, and include knowledge and skills for working with others.

When thinking about the environment that we set up in our classroom for our students, I realize that this is a crucial piece to our student’s success. The way a student feels or views the classroom will affect how they behave and absorb knowledge while in that room. This is a reason why two different teachers can have the same students and have different experiences with that student. This is why it is so important to have a community across the school, not just in each individual classroom. When thinking about our students we want to set up a classroom environment that maximizes the student learning and creates a community within our room and across our school.

The way that I start creating a warm, inviting classroom community is by having clear expectations and the understanding that my goal is for the students to learn. At the beginning of the year I typically develop expectations with my students. This communicates to them that I value their opinions and want to include them as team members in my classroom. This is not to say that there is not an understanding that I am the teacher and that the students are expected to respect and treat me as such, but the more the students feel they have a voice, the more they will be inclined to learn and participate. For example, I typically let the students in my classroom choose which seats they will be sitting in. I let them know though that I have the authority to change their seats, no questions asked if I decide the arrangement is not working. By giving the students some choice, they feel that I trust them and they in turn trust me. I have rarely had an argument when I have changed the seat of a student. Since the expectations are incredibly clear and were agreed upon by all, there is little room for argument if I change their seat.

A wonderful aspect of the school I teach at is that we are a PBIS school (positive behavior intervention support; link to a video explaining the system here-http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I5_ttGPa4nk). Essentially this means that across our school there are expectations for every room or situation. There are expectations in the classrooms, but also, in the hallways, lunchroom and even the playground. At the beginning of the year teachers take time to walk students through the behaviors and expectations in each of these areas. These expectations are typically revisited after breaks as well. I have been teaching at this school for almost nine years. When we introduced this program to our school four years ago, it seemed like a monumental task, and it was hard to see how putting in all this time was going to produce the results we want. However, I see a marked different in our students and the way they conduct themselves. By having all these structures in place the school has created a learning environment that is conducive to student success. I also see a marked difference in our teachers and by having this common language that we teachers all use; we have created a closer more trusting teacher learning environment as well.

EDU 6657 How can we improve behavior outcomes for students?

The first step in setting up a situation where students can be behaviorally successful is to have clear expectations. I think the School-Wide Positive Behavior Support s (SWPBS) system is an excellent program that sets students up for success and understands that there will be students at different behavior levels. SWPBS uses a tiered system. In class we learned that the idea is that most kids (about 80%) will fall in Tier 1. If the school has clear and easy to remember expectations that are practice and are routine. As well as positive reinforcement built in, most students will see success. There is also a tier 2 and 3. Tier 2 typically represents 10%-15% of the student body and tier 3 about 5%-10%. What makes SWPBS unique, I think, is that there is still a SWPBS plan for the tier 2 and 3 students. They do not just get thrown into a different program. The program is for everyone, it just may need to be adjusted according to the needs of those students. “Within an SWPBS framework, these evidence-based interventions are organized further into a continuum that first considers what all students require for behavior support and then sequences interventions into an array of increasingly specialized intensity to accommodate students whose behaviors are not responsive to a given intervention (Sugai and Horner, 2009, p.229).

Another way to improve behavior outcomes is to look at an Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) approach. In this approach there are four ways of explaining behavior. These are:

1. Escape- This is where students try to avoid a difficult task

2. Wants attention – This can be from peers or adults

3. Access to a Tangible-Which is seeking monetary or social reinforcements

4. Self-reinforcement- Giving self a reward, like you get to go for a walk if you do this

By using this approach and explaining why students are engaging in certain behaviors, the circumstances can be modified to get better behavior outcomes.

Sugai, G., & Horner, R. H. (2009). Responsiveness-to-intervention and school-wide positive behavior supports: Integration of multi-tiered system approaches. Exceptionality, 17, 223-237.