Written by Alice Vigors
the culture throughout the year. We need to think carefully about the kind of culture we want to manifest in our classrooms and how we might go about fostering this culture, because as Sean Slade (2014) highlights “what you do and how you do it affects how your students interact, inquire, respond, cooperate, collaborate, discover, and it develops the dominant culture of learning for your classroom.” At the beginning of the school year there are a number of things teachers can do to help foster a strong culture, including taking the time to build strong relationships, set expectations and develop positive routines and structures. Therefore, it must begin from day one! First Impressions Matter! There’s an age old saying that ‘children don’t learn from teachers they don’t like’, and this begins from the first moment they meet you and enter your classroom. This does not mean that you have to have a Pinterest worthy classroom to wow them. It does, however; mean that we create a welcoming classroom environment from the moment they walk through the door. This encompasses things like the way we greet students, incorporating student voice in the way the classroom is arranged and operates, and the routines we put in place. Playing get to know you games and undertaking team-building exercises can all help you and the students work towards building a strong positive culture. Relationships come first! At the beginning of every new school year building positive, respectful relationships must come first. I know many teachers feel the pressure to jump straight into teaching the curriculum. Tempting as that may be, we need to allow ourselves time as teachers to build relationships and lay solid foundations that will support the development of the classroom culture over the course of the year. This signals to students that this is not just a place of learning but a place where their voice, opinions, thinking and skills matter, and are vital to a successful classroom. Trust me, you’ll thank me later! Some of the ways I lay this foundation from day one is through:
With every interaction in a school, we are either building community or destroying it.
Stay tuned for the next post in this series Building a thinking culture. References:
2 Comments
Vanessa Simpson
3/1/2020 11:02:45 am
Thanks Alice, wise words. I have definitely found a "no hands classroom" - you only put up your hand to ask a question has many benefits. I can target differentiated questions to particular students, and if I need to I let them know in advance that I am going to ask them to share their thinking (students who experience anxiety, selective mutism, EAL/D) . Accountable talk is also a useful structure to use from the beginning of the year. Mini whiteboards, think, pair share, pounce and bounce and me developing better questionning and longer wait times have also helped to increase substantive discourse.
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Alice Vigors
3/1/2020 11:22:06 pm
Thanks for sharing your thoughts Vanessa. I always value your thoughts and feedback. I loved the examples that you shared, and agree giving 'thinking time' is such a vital component to fostering a community of learners willing to share their thinking in a non-judgmental environment. It's definitely not an easy skill to master amongst the hustle and bustle of a classroom environment. I'm curious what is 'pounce and bounce'?
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AuthorHi, I am Alice. I am a primary teacher and leader in New South Wales, Australia. I have been teaching for the past 14 years in both the Public and Catholic school systems. I am passionate about supporting and mentoring colleagues to think deeply about their efforts to cultivate thinking and learning opportunities for students. Read more Archives
August 2023
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