I for some reason thought we were still doing whatever we wanted for blog posts… than I looked at Blackboard and realized I should have posted something relating to creating a productive learning environment. Here is what I got.
In any team sport, the players rely on proven, repetitive methods, strategies, and routines that have been proven successful over time. As an educator, and ‘coach’ of my classroom management, the part of my strategy for creating an effective learning environment must build on a foundation of proven methods developed on the success of veteran teachers. In the book, The First Days of School: How to be an effective teacher, the authors note that “people who know what to do and people who know how to do it will always be working for those who know why it is being done.’ (pg. 29). By learning from the wisdom of others, many errors and pitfalls can be negated.
However, as in sports, a strategy implemented continuously over time yields bad results. A sports team will lose to their opponents if they keep repeating the same strategies. Although a consistent, predictable classroom environment creates a foundation and sense of safety for students, the value in these practices will go nowhere if not continually developed. If a teacher commits to doing an everyday, every year routine, inevitably, the learning environment will become stale. My classroom management plan seeks to combine traditional, proven elements, and at the same time bring new elements in order that I might bring the best learning environment to my students.