Through my beliefs in education together with my philosophies of maintaining it do my pedagogical practices emerge. I believe education is what is left after we have forgotten most of the facts learned and that education in the public sector at the high school level should be geared toward developing better people. Therefore the following 6 pedagogical practices that make up my craft are derived from how I will establish a positive classroom environment.
1. Overarching Societal Beliefs—Diverse, Safe, Open and Accepting Environment.
2. Going Beyond Classroom Management—Long & Happy Road.
3. Student Rapport—Building Relationships
4. Guide & Scaffold Learning through a Variety of Modalities & Literacies
5. A Holistic Curriculum—Beyond Content.
6. Teacher’s Role—Foster Citizenship, Social-Emotional Learning and Connectedness.
- Overarching Societal Beliefs—Diverse, Safe, Open and Accepting Environment.
As long as society contains a variety of individuals with a variety of needs and wants, who am I to impose any set of narrow beliefs over the society which I serve. Who am I to impose any set of beliefs that would stifle a student’s progress. While I want all my students to graduate and obtain a university degree, public schools are supposed to prepare students for adulthood, membership in society and the world of work. As an educator it is my job to create an air of openness and acceptance that encompasses society’s diversity and to protect those who might feel marginalized. Students need to feel both comfortable in expressing their view while being assured that they are safe for true learning to occur.
- Going Beyond Classroom Management—Long & Happy Road.
Being a teacher this refers to how I manage my classroom and students in a productive and efficient. However, if classroom management entails managerial practices designed to obtain compliance to practices then management is the wrong word. I plan to move away from authoritarian control for the simple reason that it doesn’t always work and when it fails, it fails miserably. Unfortunately, a lot of disruptive behavior originates from the very tools implemented for the sake of the students’ own good. So, teachers must be very selective in the choice of tools used to promote learning and allow students to understand why a particular is desirable. The pursuit of education is a long road, but the journey can be one of happiness or exhaustion; a choice that resides with the teacher and begins with how the teacher decides to control what he or she cannot—their students. Teacher strain (burnout) is a serious issue that can affect a classroom environment and be avoided. The process begins with how a teacher accepts his or her students. A teacher should always put their students’ needs and priorities first, but must align those needs with a school’s policies and be aware of peer and administration position on topics in order to present a strong, unified front to the student body regarding what is acceptable. Lastly, a common misconception regarding classroom management is that it has to be teacher centered and routinized to keep calm and order. While there are many benefits to teacher centered and routinized instruction, extensive use can take a toll on the actual amount of learning that takes place in the class.
- Student Rapport—Building Relationships
A truly positive classroom environment begins with a teacher’s rapport with their students. It is vital to remember that students are people with names and want to feel connected and be engaged. This does not preclude interaction outside of the classroom walls. All interaction, like in the hallways between classes, chaperoning at the Halloween dance, conversation regarding participation in intermural badminton and acknowledgment at the local Dairy Queen down the street, will translate into huge rewards in the classroom. In addition, students want to be part of the process and they want to feel that they matter. Even if a student prefers solitude, everybody requires a certain level of connectedness, which means that systems should be in place that recognize these students and allow them to partake if and when they finally choose to—building bridges.
- Guide & Scaffold Learning through a Variety of Modalities & Literacies
Teaching is about helping students in their quest for knowledge and self-actualization and does not necessarily mean that a teacher must lecture to facilitate these goals—guide & scaffold. A problem I see in schools, especially being a science teacher, often revolves around the narrow practices that teachers engage in; lecture, homework, lecture, quiz, lecture, test, and then repeat with a new batch of kids. Learning should also be varied so as to give students the opportunity to learn new skill sets that they did not know existed. Learning should not only favor those who know how to read, write, perform well on tests, or know how to talk in front of crowds. Students should be given an opportunity to work with, hands-on, a variety of modalities and literacies—incorporation in to every aspect of learning.
- A Holistic Curriculum—Beyond Content.
Furthermore, as much as I like my discipline, most students might not feel the same way. Most students are just passing through, acquiescing a few skills along the way. Therefore there should be a lot more to learn in a class than the specific content I teach in order for it to be beneficial to the masses. A good curriculum should incorporate aspects of healthy lifestyles, social-emotional learning, community, volunteering opportunities and interdisciplinary projects tied to society, but our current discipline focused curriculum implies that a joint effort is needed. Each discipline must contribute their share to the pot of this holistic view of the curriculum or nothing will be done. A determent to society through the improper rearing of its children.
Besides the deliberate insertion of holistic content within a specific discipline, there are opportune moments of genuine learning that cater to a student’s social, emotional and psychological development. For example, if a student does not learn how to work well with people in high school then when will that student develop that skill or many others like it? Students need to be able to work well with friends as well as strangers and foes on a project with a common goal. Students should be put into situations that will allow them to grow mentally, socially and psychologically. Not every student will embrace every situation, but empathy and self-regulation must be scaffolded too. Students need to be exposed to a variety of situations. Students should know what it feels like to succeed and to fail, but more importantly learn how to succeed from failure and that failure is a common overcome-able obstacle in everyone’s life.
- Teacher’s Role—Foster Citizenship, Social-Emotional Learning and Connectedness.
Although learning should be student centered, a teacher still stands at the heart of the class. A teacher is a mentor, whom students turn to for knowledge and support. Even though teachers want students to learn how to pursue knowledge on their own, teachers are still responsible for their classrooms and for cultivating the classroom environment. Important to a students learning is the environment. Important to the environment is the need to establish caring, trusting relationships between students and teachers and among students. For this to occur requires a person with a heightened sensitivity to a person’s emotional intelligence (EI), and with social and emotional competence (SEC). At the minimum, the establishment of a positive classroom environment requires a teacher who embodies an ethic of care. One important aspect of my pedagogical practice is the focus on connectedness. The idea of connectedness will be instilled in my class through the varied learning formats, group work and a connection of content to the real world. In addition I will ensure that time will be taken as needed to deal with and address classroom issues and that the class will be allowed to be involved in the process. If we want people to become involved in society, then this must begin with student involvement in the classroom—citizenship. One way I try to instill citizenship in the classroom is through the creation of an inclusive environment that involve students in all the processes of the classroom. This refers to both the daily operations of the classroom and any issues of restitution. This is how I envision my profession to be. This is how I imagine my classroom and how I intend to maintain a positive classroom environment.
