Educators value the success of all students. Educators care for students and act in their best interests.
I believe that an educator can value the success of all students, care for students, and act in their best interest by working to build a positive environment in the classroom
During my Education 490 practicum I spent a lot of time working on my relationship building skills. Something I would try to do each morning was to ask my students an attendance question. This was a way for me to check in with each student every morning, and also a way for me to get to know them a bit better so we could build a trusting environment in our classroom. As an alternative, during some mornings I gave my students the opportunity to ask me a question of their choosing as well to give them the opportunity to facilitate the conversation. I believe that in order to create a positive learning environment where all students feel welcome, it is important to create a conversational dialogue where everyone has the opportunity to feel heard. Here are a few examples of attendance questions that I asked during my 4 weeks with grade 8s and 9s:
Example 1: Where is your favourite place in Prince George?
“The Hart Ski Hill” “My house” “Cottonwood Park”
Example 2: What has been the hardest thing about the COVID-19 pandemic for you to deal with?
Student Answers: “Wearing masks” “Not being able to see my grandparents” “Hand sanitizer when I have a cut on my hand” “Lockdown”
Example 3: What is one tradition that your household has during the holidays?
Student Answers: “Christmas Pajamas” “Turkey dinner” “Christmas Steak”
Example 4: What is a question that you have for me?
Student Questions: “What is your first name?” ” What is your favourite type of goat?” “Have you always wanted to be a teacher?” ”
This worked out well, especially because both of my classes were in the morning block. I believe that asking these types of question gives the students a chance to think and reflect on simple questions before diving into our learning intentions for the day. Some mornings I would intentionally ask a question connected to our learning objectives for the day. This was a great way to get students thinking about topics we would dive into.
I think that asking these questions each morning also gave students a chance to consider what is important/meaningful to them, and it gave everyone the opportunity to have their voices heard because we are all a part of the attendance conversations taking place. Students would often respond or inquire about an answer that one of their classmates provided. This was a great way for students to get to know each other a bit better as well.
To extend my learning about building positive classroom environments, my next step will be to find other ways that I can facilitate social and emotional connections to our learning objections. Instead of a teacher led check-in, is there a way that I can promote student-led relationship building within the classroom?