III.
Emotion and Cognition: Creating a Positive Classroom Culture KRISTIN WEBSTER
E
very teacher knows how critical the opening days of school are, and in preparation for them, we run around setting up bulletin boards, building websites, composing lesson plans, mapping curricula, writing course expectations, and more often than not, waiting in long lines at the photocopier. It is the time of year when we think carefully about what we want to teach and how we want to teach it, and then take the steps to bring our vision to fruition. I believe that there are two other integral questions, however, that teachers often overlook but need to ask themselves as they head into the school year: how do I want my classroom to feel and what steps can I take to create this feeling in my learning space? Students need to feel safe, seen, and valued in order for deep learning to take place. As Carissa Romero has argued, “students who are confident they belong and are valued by their teachers and peers are able to engage more fully in learning. They have fewer behavior problems, are more open to critical feedback, take greater advantage of learning opportunities, build important relationships, and generally have more positive attitudes about their classwork and teachers. In turn, they are more likely to persevere in the face of difficulty and do better in school.”1 It is our task then as teachers to take deliberate and thoughtful actions to build trust and a sense of community in our learning spaces. What transpires in our classrooms during the opening weeks of
6
T H E
C E N T E R
F O R
instruction—how we speak to our students, the opportunities we offer (or don’t offer) to them—conveys an unspoken and essential narrative. This is when our students develop their understanding of what happens in this space and determine how they want to behave within it. As Lisa Quay has eloquently summarized, “almost every situation is open to interpretation, and how people make sense of things determines their behavior.”2 Building a culture of trust and respect in the classroom begins with empathy, attention, understanding, and most importantly, a willingness to be flexible. Below are three tenets of this process; the list is by no means exhaustive, but will hopefully provide a helpful starting point for conscious and deliberate community building. Focus on the Good and Create Spaces to Shine As the CTTL has noted, “teachers should work to not only increase positive emotions in the classroom, but to also limit negative emotions”3 by using positive, inclusive, and encouraging language. This does not mean that we should stop being critical. Identifying areas for growth, communicating these clearly, and determining strategies that enable students to tackle challenges head-on are all essential practices if we want our students to learn and progress. How we present this feedback to them, however, has a monumental impact on its efficacy,4 and therefore teachers should strive to convey feedback in a way that “forestalls negative interpretations.”5
T R A N S F O R M AT I V E
T E A C H I N G
A N D
L E A R N I N G
