m4 u1 a3 - Yanan Hu
 |
Establishing
a Positive Classroom Climate
“People
will forget what you said. They will forget what you did. But they will never
forget how you made them feel.” – Anna
Quindlen, 2002.
Establish positive
relationships with students, especially with students, who have challenging
behaviors.
The
climate of classroom relates to how to build positive relationships with
students. Teachers build positive relationships with students by the ways they
interact with students and by the interaction they encourage and cultivate
among students. Here are some my viewpoints about how to build positive
relationships with students.
Ø To treat
students with respect will prompt them to appreciate and like you. In a
respectful environment, all students feel valued and safe. In Chinese class I
show my respect to all students, and I am sure they can feel it.
Ø Set clear
expectations and practicing class procedures. (Derrick
Meador. 2017)Expectations exert a huge impact on student academic
performance. At the first days of school, I will let students know what I
expect from them, and make them familiar with class procedures.
Ø Be a
caring teacher. When students feel their teacher is a caring person, then the classroom
becomes a happier place for everyone. A less stressful classroom will boost
creative ideas to emerge.
Ø Students
will respond positively when a teacher is enthusiastic and passionate about the
content they are teaching. As soon as the class starts, I will put 100 percent
passion in teaching.
Ø Make
Learning Fun. Teaching and learning should not be boring. In Chinese class,
students learn by playing games. To integrate PBL, GBL, MBL in my class engage
students in learning. Every Friday story telling keeps students interested in
learning. It is also critical that share an appropriate joke related to the
content you will be teaching that day.
Ø Get to
know my students as individuals. Talk to students and listen to what's on their
minds, and find out their interests. Use these interests and passions to their
advantage by incorporating them into Chinese language lessons. By collecting
information of my students, for example what is your color (food, animal, sport
etc.)? All these useful information can motivate students to learn.
Ø Treat each
student the same. I can’t play favorites. I must call on all students
equitably. It is critical to deal with problems individually, in a respectful,
yet direct and authoritative manner.
Ø Smile
conveys positive attitude. Keep smiling. No matter what happen, I smile to my
students. I believe that smiling can let students feel peace and happy.
Ø Develop
positive classroom pride. I use panda stickers as reward for good behavior in
class. All my students take it as a pride. Positive classroom pride accelerates
students’ achievements. (M.Boynton&Christine
Boynton.Nov. 2005)
Ø Display
student work. I post students’ work on bulletin board. It is a good way to let them
know that I value the work they do and that I take pride in their work products.
Ø Open to
receiving feedback, this can bring about a better level of mutual respect. I
use survey to collect students’ feedback.
Bullying
Bullying
Bullying
is harmful; it will destroy positive climate of school. In order to establish a
caring, inclusive, and respectful climate, here are some strategies for
decreasing bullying behavior.
1. Strategies for
stopping the bully
Ø Keep calm
down. Don’t let students’ bullying behaviors surprise you.
Ø Make sure
the bullying student apologizes for the disruption.
Ø Let the
bullying student knows what his behavior did to the rest of the class.
Ø Redirection
is often more effective than punishment for very young students.
Ø It is
important to develop students’ empathy- Role- play bullying situations with
students. Then ask them how they feel if someone did that to you?
Ø Communicate
with bullying student’s parents, ask parents to let you know of any family
reasons that might be causing the bullying behavior.
Ø Communicate
with the bullying student; try to figure out what is bothering him or her.
Ø If the
bully is acting out in class, diffuse the situation as soon as possible.
Ø Give a
bully a special responsibility that doesn’t involve classmates. It is a good
way to connect teacher and bully. (K. Gunzenhauser, D. W.
Kitzmann, 2012)
Ø Encourage
students report bullying.
2. Help the student who is the frequent
target of bullying. (K. Gunzenhauser, D. W.
Kitzmann, 2012)
Ø Create a
differentiated and positive environment in the classroom. Let students be
familiar with their classmates and also know the differences between each
other.
Ø Find out
students who are likely bullying targets as early as possible.
Ø Encourage
students who is or likely bullying targets communicate with you. It should be
individual and private.
Ø Deepen the
students’ friendship by group work or group activity. Make sure that each
student has to contribute to the assigned work equally.
Ø Release
students from the competition in learning. Instead, do more teamwork.
Cultural difference
A
positive classroom climate dignifies the differences that students’ bring with
them. We should value the diversity of students, which means value the rich
cultural, ethnic, and linguistic variety that our students bring with to the
school. (W.Powell,
O.Kusuma-Powell, 2012). Each student, as an individual, has
difference. Teachers need to understand, respect and utilize these differences.
1.
Students consistently report that one of the characteristics they most value in
their teachers is that of respecting them and their lives outside school. (Charlotte Danielson, 2007).Because
ways of showing respect in one culture may be offensive in another, so it is
necessary and urgent for teachers to develop intercultural communicational
skills. We should open our hearts and learn. We learn to respect the wide
variety of backgrounds represented by their students; we learn to see the world
from our students’ perspectives. Students with different cultural context
should be valued.
In
Chinese class, students come from different countries. It is always better that
to get to know students’ different cultural background before the new school
year start. It will be benefit for creating an inclusive and caring learning
environment
2.
It is important to develop a broad understanding of socio-cultural contexts of
your students. Students and parents appreciate it when teachers have taken the
time to get to know something about their cultural backgrounds.
Take
my Chinese language class as an example. In order to facilitate students
further know and understand each other, when we learn nationality, I will give
brief information of students’ countries. It is an effective way to utilize
slides to present the name of students’ countries in Chinese characters, and
show them pictures of flags and the most famous animals in their countries. At
the end let them say “Hello” in Chinese, and then say it in their mother
languages. Students love to share and learn from classmates. Throughout the
whole process, not only can students read and write their countries’ names, but
also prompt to build classroom climate with harmony.
3. Students’ cultural
backgrounds influence their thinking. Languages convey thinking. The students
with different cultural context in Chinese class indicate that their cultural
background will influence their gaining Chinese language. So creating caring
climates also request teachers become familiar with the types of errors made by
specific language groups. Quite often, we will find that some typical
linguistic errors are made due to interference from native languages or
cultures. For example, English native speakers often say “I met with you yesterday.”
When they learn Chinese language, they shift their mother language into Chinese
language negatively, they say it in Chinese “我明天见面你。”
The expression is incorrect.
Above all, the prerequisite
of creating caring, respectful climate is to get to know students cultural
background, recognize the difference, and make differentiated classroom.
How important to
create a caring and concern climate.
Teaching
depends on the quality of relationships among individuals, so it is critical to
create a climate of respect, and rapport.
1.
Students aspect
Students have
feelings and aspirations, hopes and fears- and those deserve careful attention.
They can’t concentrate on the academic content if they do not feel comfortable
in the classroom.
Researchers
have found that a positive school climate can help solve a lot of problems.
Studies find that it decreases absenteeism, suspensions, substance abuse, and
bullying, and increases students’ academic achievement, motivation to learn,
and psychological well-being. It can even mitigate the negative effects of
self-criticism and socioeconomic status on academic success. (Vicki Zakrzewski, 2013)
2.
Teachers aspect
To
work in a caring and concern climate, teachers will be more effective.
Conclusions
All
in all, the classroom environment is a critical aspect of a teacher’s skill in
promoting learning. It exerts deep impact on students’ academic achievements. Let’s
work together to create a caring and concern classroom climate.
Reference
1. Derrick Meador. (May,
2017). “Strategies for teachers to develop
positive relationships with students”. Retrieved from
2. Mark Boynton &
Christine Boynton.(Nov. 2005).
"Educator's Guide to Preventing and Solving Discipline Problems".
Retrieved from
3. Dave Foley, “5 Tips for Better Relationships With Your
Students”. Retrieved from
4. K. Gunzenhauser,
D. W. Kitzmann, 2012, “Teaching Tips for
Challenging Behaviors”. Carson-Dellosa Publishing LLC.
5. W. Powell, O.
Kusuma-Powell. 2012 “Making the Difference: Differentiation in International
Schools”. William Powell & Ochan Kusuma-Powell.
6. Charlotte
Danielson. 2007. “Enhancing professional
practice”. ASCD.
7. Vicki Zakrzewski. August,
2013. "How to Create a Positive
School Climate". Retrieved from
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