Safe and Healthy Environment through Clear Expectations

 How do you create a safe and healthy learning environment?

“Misbehavior can be a result of a poorly planned activities, inadequate scaffolding and modeling, or insufficient attention to inadequate scaffolding and modeling, or insufficient attention to developing norms and participation routines in the classroom developing norms and participation routines in the class” (Theoretical Bases of Classroom Management PowerPoint)

I thought the above quote summed up an important perspective all teachers should adopt… we should all approach students’ misbehaviors with curiosity rather than judgement. It could be that students don’t understand what is expected of them. It could be that behavior that could be misconstrued as disrespectful is the result of anxiety or lack of confidence. Or it could be that a particular student is unable to follow classroom norms because they aren’t being challenge and are just trying to occupy their mind.

Whatever the reason, I believe teachers should first use misbehavior as a catalyst to problem solve or self-reflect. Because when students understand what is expected of them, they feel more comfortable to freely operate within the confines of those guidelines. In my current placement classroom, they have the above PBIS pictured expectations posted prominently. It is obvious that school wide expectations are not only understood across the student population but also reinforced by the staff. Students use school wide distributed hall passes to use the restroom or go to the nurse’s office. The noise level in the hallways is (typically) at a reasonable level with students walking between classes rather than running. And students show up to their classrooms on time, ready to work. In addition to PBIS, my CT runs her class in a very predictable fashion. Every day, students enter the room and are expected to get their science specific journal to write and answer the “Question of the Day”. Although it sometimes requires a gentle reminder, the majority of students come in and begin working right away. Because of this, the amount of time she has to allocate to providing instruction is reduced dramatically, and students are able to have some autonomy to their work.

I also found the following quote interesting from my reading of the article, “Toward a Conception of Culturally Responsive Classroom Management “. “While most teachers are not blatant racists, many probably are cultural hegemonists. They expect all students to behave according to the school’s cultural standards of normality. When students of color fail to comply, the teachers find them unlovable, problematic, and difficult to honor or embrace without equivocation.” (Et. Al, 2004) I think it is paramount that we, as teachers, understand that each student is bringing their own set of cultural and relational norms from their personal lives. I’ve seen this even as a parent when meeting my son’s friends… When a friend stays for dinner, do they stay seated until everyone is done or do they get up as soon as they are finished? Do they take their dishes to the sink or leave them at the table for us to take care of? Is dinner conversation a free-for-all or do they wait to be called on to talk about their day? As a family, we have our own house norms and when a guest comes into our home, we have to decide what we are going to allow to ignore vs. what we will enforce. And for those rules that are non-negotiable, like we have to keep all doors closed so our dogs don’t run out of the house, how are we going to communicate them so that friends feel welcomed and comfortable? That is the same thought process I want to bring to my own classroom.

Why does any of this matter? Because people of all ages are typically more comfortable when they know what is expected of them. We want students to feel set up for success and one way to do that is for them to understand what successful behavior looks like. This creates a healthy and supportive environment for students to learn and thrive.

As I reflected on the work above, I created a list of steps I would like to take when establishing my own healthy and understood classroom culture in the future:  

1.      Understand school norms and expectations and make sure those are an integral part of classroom expectations.

2.      Recognize those expectations you have as a teacher that are non-negotiables. Decide if you will mandate those expectations up front or find ways to incorporate them into step 3.

3.      Collaborate with students to create classroom norms by brainstorming key attributes and expectations that safe, supportive classrooms provide everyone who enters.

4.      Post all aligned norms and expectations prominently so students can reference them.

5.      Most importantly… Model all expected behaviors.

6.      When issues arise, start with the question: Were my expectations of what was needed clear? And follow that up with, what could have lead to the undesired behavior/outcome? If all else fails, have a conversation with the student and lead with curiosity!