InTASC+3+Learning+Environments

 Successful teachers carefully plan and create a learning environment that is safe and productive for all students. InTASC Standard 3 explores the way teachers can assemble the physical space of their rooms and the instructional activities conducted there in order to create an environment conducive to student learning and achievement. Before students for the school year, teachers need to consider the physical layout of their classroom. They need to ensure that students can move around the classroom safely, easily reach classroom supplies, and interact with both the teacher and other classmates. Within my classroom, I would like to place student desks into groups to encourage collaborative learning. Additionally, I want to create a student work area where students can use classroom supplies such as staplers, paperclips, hole punches, highlighters, and colored pencils. By doing this, I will lessen the chaos that ensues when students have to travel to multiple places in the classroom in order to complete and turn in an assignment. Finally, I plan on having a student bookshelf in my room that is stocked with a variety of classic and young adult novels. Students will be encouraged to checkout books for extracurricular reading. In addition to carefully setting up the physical classroom, teachers need to consider if they want to create a learning environment centered on themselves or the students. I believe that students learn best through collaborative learning; therefore, I will aim to be a guide of learning instead of a knowledge dictator. When discussing literature, I plan on having student-led discussions. For homework, students will generate at least five questions or topics for class discussion. In class, students will ask their discussion questions and respond to peers. In this way, students are able to discuss the aspects of literature that interest them, motivating students and creating personal connections to the text. I believe that students learn best through constructing their knowledge. Therefore, if I were teaching students how to write an introduction paragraph, I would have them examine a variety of essays, articles, and narratives to see how writers create introductions instead of me lecturing on the requirements for a standard introduction. Not only do I want to create a learning environment in which students construct their knowledge but I also want to encourage students to reflect critically about their own work. Therefore, every time students turn in a formal writing assignment, I will have them fill out a self-reflection. This reflection will ask students to describe the biggest strength and weakness in their writing as well as why they are confident or concerned about these aspects of writing. By doing this, I hope to get students to think critically about their own writing, realizing the skills that they have mastered and recognizing the areas in which they still need to improve. Overall, I want my classroom to be a place of learning and achievement, a place where students feel a personal connection to their learning.

 To demonstrate my master of this InTASC principle, I will refer to my Classroom Management Plan that I created during my internship at Perry Hall Middle School. To view my Classroom Management Plan, please visit Appendix I of this Wiki. While making this management plan, I consciously picked procedures that would lead to a safe and productive student-centered learning environment. In order to create a safe environment, I noted that students keep their personal belongings either under their chairs, on unused desks, or in the baskets under their desks. Making sure the walkways in the classroom are free of items, I lessened the possibility of students injuring themselves as they moved around the classroom. In addition, my number one rule is that students respect the teacher and their peers. This rule covers listening to others, responding to others positively, respecting diversity, and not causing emotional or physical harm to others. When students are respected by the teacher and their peers, they feel emotionally safe to try new things, make mistakes, and be themselves. In addition to making a safe classroom, my management procedures ensure that students are productive. Students are expected to be in their seats and ready to work when the bell rings to maximize the instructional time. Additionally, I plan to hand out materials and collect student work in an efficient manner, reducing the time and distraction needed for these tasks. Also, I plan on addressing student interruptions promptly without calling attention to individual students, eliminating the behavior without antagonizing students. Finally, I made these procedures for a student-centered classroom. I want students to be active learners and participants in my class, so during class discussions, I will make an effort to call on students who have not spoken. Also, I will use techniques like the whip around to ensure that every student has the opportunity to share during the class period. Through making a safe, productive, and student-centered classroom, I hope to increase student learning. If students feel safe and engaged throughout the year, then they will be more motivated to grow as learners and individuals.