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Classroom Culture Workbook Classroom culture can be defined as: the shared assumptions about how the teacher and the students should behave in the classroom. Without a plan, you will have to spend instructional time deciding what is the right course of action. Build your classroom culture muscle memory by writing it out now!
Contents Procedures: the steps that students take to complete a specific task. Page 2 Routines: the tasks or chores we regularly do. Page 5 Rituals: the detailed act to relieve or forestall the development of anxiety. Page 7 Breaches: the actions that go against the culture of the classroom. Page 10 Motivation: the willingness, need, desire, and compulsion to participate in, and be successful in, the learning process. Page 14 Feedback Cycle: how teachers and students communicate about progress towards goals Page 12 Access (aka Seating Charts): how students are located in the classroom to maximize learning Page 16
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PROCEDURES Classroom procedures should happen without constant teacher direction. Teach it once, revisit the expectations, then watch the magic happen!
Action
Procedure
Asking for a Hall Pass: How do students ask for a pass out of class? To the restroom? The office? The nurse?
Collecting Assignments: How will students turn in their completed papers to you? Bin in the classroom? When should they turn them in? All at once, as soon as they are done, or at the end of class? Collecting Materials: How will notebooks/binders/books/manipulatives be collected and put away? Where will they live in the classroom?
Entering the Classroom: How should students enter your room? What should they expect to have done within the first five minutes?
Exchanging Papers: How will students exchange papers with other students? (“trade and grade,” partner feedback, etc.)
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Action
Procedure
Exiting the Classroom: How will you indicate to students that they can exit the room?
Late assignments: How, when, and where will students turn in late assignments?
Makeup work: How will students get assignments for days that they missed? How will they get the materials to complete the assignment?
Out of Seat: When are students allowed to get out of their seats? How should they ask?
Passing Out Lesson Materials: Where will they get materials for the lesson that day? Passed out by teacher or student? Available at seat? In a particular place to pick up as they walk in?
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Action
Procedure
Pencils: How will students ask to sharpen pencils? What should a student do if his/her pencil breaks? What are appropriate times to ask? How do students ask to get a pencil? Student Belongings (jackets, book bags, etc.): Where will students store the belongings they don’t need for the lesson?
Tissue: What should students do if they need a tissue? How and where should they blow their nose?
Trash: How will students indicate they need to throw something away? What are appropriate times to ask?
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ROUTINES Routines should work the same way every single time. Changes in circumstance like time of day, number of students in the class, or even a different teacher should not require a change in the routine.
Action
Routine
Desk Set-up: What should students have out on their desk as soon as every class starts?
Entering Late: When a student enters class late, where will he/she get the materials for the day? Exiting the Classroom: What will exiting the classroom sound like? How long will it take? What signals will be used? Missing assignments: How will students be notified they have missing assignments? How will they receive the materials, if needed? Moving Tables/Desks: How will students rearrange the seating in the classroom, if needed?
Partner/Group Work: How will students transition to partner and/or group work?
Returning Papers: How will graded papers be returned to students? How often?
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Action
Routine
Transitioning within the room: How will students transition to different areas in the room (centers, carpet, small group tables, etc.)?
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RITUALS From the beginning to the end of each day, students benefit from flexible routines in order to reduce anxiety. Make sure that your rituals are not random, but rather emphasize in practice the need for a balance between freedom and safety.
Situation
Ritual
Can’t Hear: What should students do when they can’t hear the person speaking? How will the teacher indicate to students that they need to turn their volume up?
Can’t See: What should students do when they can’t see something posted on the wall or written on the board for a particular lesson?
Too Loud: How will the teacher communicate that the noise level is too loud verbally? Non-verbally?
Class jobs: What are the class jobs? How are they chosen? For how long do students hold the job? What does each job do? When does each job get done?
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Situation
Ritual
Communicating about assignments: How will you communicate what is assigned (poster, list on board, etc.)? How will you communicate when assignments are due? How will you help students benchmark their progress towards completing an assignment? Finishing work early: What should students do to indicate that they are finished with an assignment? What should students do to continue learning after they finish a class assignment? Where should they put a finished “extra” assignment? Extra Credit: How should students ask for extra credit? When is extra credit due? Where are the assignments located? Where should they turn in these assignments?
Getting Student Attention: What verbal cues will you use to get everyone’s attention? What nonverbal technique(s) will you use to get everyone’s attention?
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Situation
Ritual
Grading Each Other’s Work: How should students mark wrong answers? Should students mark correct answers? Should students correct wrong answers? How should students tally the total score – number missed or number correct? How should a student communicate with the teacher if he/she believes there is a mistake in grading? Homework: How and when will students receive homework materials? When will the teacher collect it? How will the teacher check it?
Too Fast: What can students say or do when you’re moving too quickly during instruction?
Writing Utensils: What writing utensils are students allowed to use in class? Which colors? Are they provided by the teacher, or brought to class by the student?
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BREACHES Every breach against the classroom culture should be addressed with a redirection, response, or consequence. Examples: Warnings (verbal/non-verbal), Redirections (verbal/non-verbal), Consequence (classroom/school), Parent Communication (call, email, text, note), Buddy room, etc.
BREACH
REDIRECTION/RESPONSE/CONSEQUENCE
Calls out an answer and/or talks at an inappropriate time Caught cheating
Caught lying
Doing work for another class during your class Enters class incorrectly (talking, whistling, etc.) Fails to correct his/her behavior(s) Gets out of seat without permission Having a side conversation during a discussion Head down
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BREACH
REDIRECTION/RESPONSE/CONSEQUENCE
Making an unnecessary noise (i.e. tapping a pencil, humming) Not doing assignment
Not looking at the teacher while teacher is speaking Replying with “so” or “I don’t care” or “I’m not …” after receiving a consequence Throwing materials
What misbehaviors should result in a trip to an administrator?
Hitting
Stealing
Using inappropriate language
Bullying another student
Blatantly disrespecting an adult, student, or learning environment
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FEEDBACK CYCLE Constructive feedback is the basis of effective teaching. When your feedback is constructive (and students are given time to apply it), you can expect that: •
Your students learn — their work does improve.
•
Your students become more motivated — they believe they can learn, they want to learn, and they take more control over their own learning.
•
Your classroom becomes a place where feedback, including constructive criticism, is valued and viewed as productive.
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Daily Feedback How will you communicate the assignment expectations?
In what way will you provide fedback to students? How will you give students an opportunity to improve their product?
Weekly Feedback How will you communicate the assignment expectations?
In what way will you provide fedback to students? How will you give students an opportunity to improve their product?
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MOTIVATION Intelligence praise made students feel good in the moment, but it made them afraid of challenge and unable to cope with setbacks. Effort praise gives students a more hardy sense of themselves as learners, a more healthy desire for challenge, and the skills to cope effectively with setbacks. It must be made clear to students that their performance reflects their current skills and efforts, not their intelligence or worth.
What will you say to activate student thought in the next level in terms of behavior and academics?
Motivation Level
Based in Performance
Based in Effort
“What will other options are available to you
“What will you be able to achieve if you complete the assignment correctly/ follow the rules?”
Level 1: I don’t want to get in if you do well on this assignment/follow the trouble. rules?”
Level 2: I want a reward.
Level 3: I want to please someone.
Level 4: I follow the rules.
Level 5: I am considerate of other people.
Level 6: I have a personal code of behavior and I follow it.
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Encouragement What will you say to encourage students to ask questions?
What will you say to encourage students to answer questions?
What will you say to encourage students to come up with a different plan of action for solving problems?
What will you say to encourage students to speak their minds?
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ACCESS Every room has a certain energy and flow to it. And practically speaking, you need to have access to your students and your students need to have access to you, each other, and classroom materials. An effective seating chart is planned with student behavior patterns in mind, in addition to the format of the class lessons as well as the procedures, rituals, and routines you hold dear. •
Can you reach every student easily? Make sure wherever you tend to stand, students can see you and you can see students.
•
How or will students work with each other? Make sure that all students can have eye contact with the people they should be focusing on, and those people only.
•
Where is the focus space in the room? Even better, how often are you going to use it? As a math teacher, you'll probably use your chalkboard every minute of the day, so your students need a clear view of it. If you have multiple points of focus in the room, students will need to see all of them without dislocating their spines.
Student Behavior Patterns
Shy Student
Disruptive Student
Students who are shy to participate should be near the teacher, so you can constantly motivate them.
When disruptive students are placed out of the line of sight of other students, the rest of the class will focus less attention on them.
ADD
Unmotivated Student
These students should be close by you so you can redirect them frequently.
Placing unmotivated students in the front allows you to frequently observe what they are doing and to remind them to keep on task.
Redirect them silently and individually so they don’t get embarrassed for having a lot of your attention.
High Performing Student
Talkative Student
High performing students are good models for unmotivated students. Don’t sit these students too close to talkative students, though, as high performers will get done quickly and may interrupt the focus of the talkative student.
Sitting a talkative student next to a shy student might limit excessive talking.
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Plan your students’ space. students sit wherever they want for a couple of If you want to quickly learn who is friends with whom in your class, let Where do you want your teaching to gothey today? days. Write down where they sit and record who talks with whom, how disruptive are and how many times they talk or disrupt. This is great to do on the first days of school since you get to use this data for the whole school year.
Sample Seating Charts based on Student Behavior Patterns “Quads” Four Students Per Desk (Front of Room) ! " ! "
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Key Student Behavior Patterns Disruptive High Performing Unmotivated Talkative
“The Sustainably Organized Teacher”
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Seating Chart: “Quads” Four Students Per Desk (Front of Room)
Shy Student ADD High Performing Student
Disruptive Student Unmotivated Student Talkative Student
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Seating Chart: “Triads” (Three Students Per Desk)
(Front of Room)
Shy Student ADD High Performing Student
Disruptive Student Unmotivated Student Talkative Student
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Seating Chart: “Paired” Two Students Per Desk (Front of Room)
Shy Student ADD High Performing Student
Disruptive Student Unmotivated Student Talkative Student
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Seating Chart: “Partnered” Two Students Per Desk (Front of Room)
Shy Student ADD High Performing Student
Disruptive Student Unmotivated Student Talkative Student
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Seating Chart: “Independent” One Student Per Desk (Front of Room)
Shy Student ADD High Performing Student
Disruptive Student Unmotivated Student Talkative Student
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Seating Chart: “Simulation” One Student Per Desk
(Front of Room)
Shy Student ADD High Performing Student
Disruptive Student Unmotivated Student Talkative Student
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