Creating a Positive Learning Environment

A positive learning environment must be established and maintained throughout the year. One of the best ways to do this is to try to prevent problems from occurring at al. But when problems arise, as they always do, an appropriate response is important.

Simple rules which are written down makes a lot of difference

Classes are particular kind of environments. They have distinctive features that influence their inhabitants no matter how the students or the desks are organized or what the teacher thinks about education. Classrooms are multi-dimensional and they are crowded with people, tasks, and time pressures. Many individuals all with differing goals, preferences, and abilities must share resources, accomplish various tasks, use and reuse materials without losing them. Even when plans are carefully make the overhead projector in in place, the demonstration is ready, the lesson can still be interrupted by a burnt out bulb, an angry discussion, right outside the room. Students are always noticing if the teacher is always fair.

Gain student cooperation

Even if students do not participate, they must allow others to do so. So the basic management task for teachers is to achieve order and harmony by gaining and maintain student cooperation in class activities. Given the multi-dimensional, fast-paced nature of classrooms this is very challenging.

Gaining student cooperation means much more than dealing effectively with misbehavior. It means planning activities, having materials ready, making appropriate behavioural and academic demands on students, giving clear signals, accomplishing transitions smoothly, foreseeing problems and stopping them before they start.

What are the goals of classroom management?

The aim of classroom management is to maintain a positive, productive learning environment. Why should the teachers be working so hard to manage classrooms?

More time for learning: One important goal of classroom management iis to expand the sheer number of minutes available for learning. Simply making more time for learning will not automatically lead to achievement. To be valuable, it must be used effectively. Time spent actively involved in specific learning tasks is often called engaged time or time on task.

Access to learning: Defining who can talk, what they can talk about, and when to whom and how long they can talk are often called participation structures. In order to participate successfully in a given activity, students must understand the participation structure. But teachers are not necessarily aware of this conflict.

Management of self-management: To help students manage themselves is another goal. Through self-control, students demonstrate responsibility, the ability to fulfill their own needs without interfering with the rights and needs of others. Students learn self-control by making choices and dealing with the consequences, setting goals, managing time, collaborating to learn, mediating disputes and making peace and developing trust with trustworthy teachers and classmates.

A though on recent research on the aspect of student management

It has been found that students become disruptive because the work assigned is too difficult and students are bored by lessons well below their ability levels. They find other interesting activities to occupy their time! What can teachers do? Teachers who apply principles will have fewer problems. Their students spend more time learning and less time disrupting and achievement was higher.

Why are rules and procedure required?

Procedures: How will materials and assignments be distributed and collected? Under what conditions can students leave the room? How will grades be determined? Procedures or routines describe how activities are accomplished in classrooms but they are seldom written down. Routines should be set to cover the following:

• Administrative routines
• Student movement
• Housekeeping
• Routines for accomplishing lessons
• Interactions between teacher and student
• Talking among students

Procedures are important in getting the students to accept orderly ways of doing things.

Rules: These specify expected and forbidden actions in the class. They are the dos and don’ts of classroom life. Unlike procedures rules are often written down and posted. In establishing rules the teacher should consider what kind of atmosphere he/she wants. The rules that are set should be consistent with school rules, and also keep with principles of learning.

Rules like these when put up on the wall formalizes them and therefore  students understand that it will have consequences.

Space in the classroom

In terms of classroom arrangement there are two basic ways of organizing space, interest areas and personal territories. Interest areas are the design of interest areas which can influence the way the areas are used by students. Personal territories are seating areas. Front-seat location does seem to increase participation for students who are predisposed to speak in the class, whereas a seat in the back will make it more difficult to participate and easier to sit back and daydream.

Thoughts that apply or not.

We are aware that some of the options available elsewhere in the world that have been discussed are not possible in most of the classrooms in Maldives. There is some space for arrangement but generally this becomes difficult due to the change of class periods and teacher preferences. Arrangement cannot be change every 30 minutes. But most the issues like self-management skills, maintaining rules and procedures, time management, gaining student cooperation are quite important aspects of classroom management which we can be prepared. A conscious effort in establishing these standards and being aware of student misbehavior or disciplinary issues will make it easier for the teacher to establish law and order in the classroom without major disruptions. School regulations and general procedures that are followed by all teachers if they are present should be known by all teachers. Through proper and informed classroom management techniques the teacher will be able to mould students mentality to a conducive learning environment. Without such skills, students will see inconsistency in the handling of students which will further bring other issues as the teacher will then be associated with ‘unfairness’ which actually the teacher had nothing intentional to be unfair. Human beings err and it is likely that teachers will forget how and when and to what extent they have given adjustments, leeway or excuses to students. Therefore written rules and procedures will make it formal and students will be able to clearly relate to those rules and exercise self-control and adjust their behaviour as the rules are very obvious and the procedures very clear.