Ima Sample
February 6, 200x
Journal 11

Learning Environment

I think that the most important factor in having a positive learning environment is to create a classroom where students are excited about learning. The teacher has a lot of the responsibility to instill this kind of mindset by the way he/she interacts with students and presents new learning experiences. When a teacher is excited about the concepts being taught, this same mindset will filter to the students. And when students are excited about the concepts being taught, it creates an environment that supports questions, inquiry, and interest not just in the subject currently being taught, but in all aspects of life.

Another very important factor is a feeling of community. Students should feel as sense of unity between the classmates. The classroom should be working towards a common goal of learning by helping and encouraging each other. I think that one way to promote this is for the teacher to simply mention it often. It is important to refer to the class as a team and to design activities and goals that help promote teambuilding and togetherness. When this sense of community is present, students are willing to protect one another and also respect each other’s learning.

Students should also clearly understand that the learning environment must be a safe place and that the teacher will do what is needed to create safety in the classroom. Students need to understand that when they are disruptive, they are preventing other students in the community from learning—and that cannot happen. Consequences should be logical and make sense. If a student is talking and preventing another student from completing work, they will be moved in order to let each student learn.

Lastly, learning should be guarded as something very important. Students should see this in the way class time is spent, in how students are treated, and in consequences in result of behavior that prevents learning. The teacher should view the students as learners and respect their learning process. When a positive learning environment is in place, students will see the high regard that their teacher has for learning and begin to hold the same regard in their own lives.

Hallway picture: This is a picture of student work that I hung in the hallway. I feel that it is very important to display work that students create in order to show them that it is fabulous enough to share with others. I also think it is important for classrooms within a building to celebrate work with one another.

Bulletin Board: I created this board during our plant unit as a way to review vocabulary words. I feel that the more exposure students have to what they are studying, the better they will learn it. I think it is important to be able to tell what a class is learning about by looking around the room.

Whole group incentive: I created this poem as a way for the class to earn a treat as a community. When I caught students being good, I added a word to the poem. It worked well to create a positive environment. Instead of constant reminders for students to be on their jobs, I was able to just say "I hope I can give you a word after this transition". It also strengthened the class as a community as students helped each other to clean up and reminded each other of classroom rules.

Journal: This is an excerpt of a journal entry about a song that I created. It immediately made the classroom environment more friendly and created much smoother transitions.

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