Creating and Maintaining a Positive Classroom Culture (Part 1)

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As we all continue to decompress from our most recent school year, many of us are thinking of ways in which we can improve the culture of our classrooms. Being a Content Specialist (“Department Chair”) for five years, I had the opportunity to observe dozens of teachers and hundreds of lessons. On one hand, I have been fortunate to critically observe incredible teaching, and sadly on the other hand I have had to endure a handful of awful lessons that were simply not good for students and their learning. Believe it or not, one of the most challenging aspects of observing is coming upon the “mediocre lesson.”

Caitrin Blake from Concordia University states: “A positive classroom culture is characterized by a non-threatening atmosphere where students feel that they are able to speak, offer ideas and take risks without fear of reprisal or mockery.”

What are some tenets of building a “positive classroom culture?” The site I have linked lays out why we should be focusing on culture first and content second in our classrooms: student engagement, student discourse and collaboration.

This article is Part 1 of three posts that expand upon these points and brings in others into the fold. I believe we should take a three tiered approach:

1. Regular and structured student discourse
2. 360 degree performance reviews
3. Academic Choice and Reflection

Here are two hypothetical classroom scenarios where learning and achieving could be vastly improved had there been a specific attempt at building a positive classroom culture. In each classroom, learning is indeed taking place, but both are missing a positive classroom culture:

1. Teacher A delivers content as per their collaboratively created “pacing guide” and consistently teaches from their desk or Smart Board. This teacher’s management style is to keep them pacified as much as possible, and tends to be reactive rather than proactive in its approach. This teacher also thinks that making true “connections” with students is talking about the local sports team or the most recent professional sports match.
2. Teacher B delivers content as per their collaboratively created “pacing guide” but the execution of their lessons tends to consist of a litany of activities (i.e., filling time rather than being planned for mastery). This teacher believes that making “connections” with students is using “on the fly” and unplanned pop culture references throughout a given lesson.

Both teachers are “planned,” provisioned and run what most untrained observers would call a “tight ship.” However, both lack meaningful connections between teacher and student and student to student. So what to do now?

Regular and structured student discourse

How can we expect students to know how to talk and discuss with adults and each other if they are not given meaningful opportunities to do so AND we do not show them how?

My core beliefs about student discourse

1. Students should be provided meaningful opportunities to talk with each other about what, how and why they are learning.
   • What: the content that you want students to master.
   • How: the process by which students are learning. E.g., is the current group formation by which students are learning working for the class / everyone? If it is not, do a quick “dipstick” in the form of a thumbs up / thumbs down and make the necessary changes. This possibility for change should be planned in advance!
   • Why: Why is this learning important and relevant? Is there a purpose to learning something in a classroom if it is not applicable to their lives either now or in the near future? I believe it is imperative that we allow students to consider this question – it does not call into question your teaching and planning, but rather helps build a trusting relationship with your students.
2. We must listen (not just hear) to what our students are saying – this is not a time for a break! Repeating what students say in partners or groups validates this assertion: “I heard Jonathan say that he agreed with the side that showed how Julius Caesar was a tyrant. Did anyone else have a similar sentiment, or does anyone disagree and have an explanation as to why?”
   • When you repeat what students have said (sometimes I write down the salient points that I hear as I use Proximity Control throughout the room), it shows students that you care about what they are saying AND are willing to hold them accountable for what is said and accomplished individually and in groups.
3. Provide the structures for students – they will not just come up with it on their own!
   • Create a list of phrases you want to hear, and post them on your Smart Board or your classroom wall.
   • Post a list of Tier 2 or even Tier 3 words that you would anticipate students should be able to use and explain within their discussions.
   • Recently, I had the opportunity to participate in a school meeting that used the “Paired Verbal Fluency” strategy, and I LOVED it! You can use this to end a group activity, to summarize their learning, or just to transition to another section of your lesson.
   • An oldie, but goodie: use the “Think Pair Share” strategy.

For all of the aforementioned strategies, you must plan to practice these with your students with specific directions and preferably Visual Instructional Plans (VIP). If practiced and used with students on a regular basis, students quickly grow to love discussing any content-related topic or concept with their peers!

Teach Norms and Expectations

I do not believe it is equitable for us as teachers to assume that all students know how to appropriately talk to each other – there is never any harm in showing them the way.

In your classroom, what does it look like to listen? To talk? To talk with a partner? What does it sound like? I.e., “if we are following the ‘one person speaks at a time’ classroom norm, it means that 16 students are speaking, 16 are listening.

Prior to beginning any discourse activity, or whenever needed (as they can forget!), quickly review your expectations with your planned VIP – it only takes a few minutes.

Conclusion of Part One: Creating and Maintaining a Positive Classroom Culture

What does it mean to have a positive classroom culture?

• Students are respectful of each other, their teacher and of their learning.
• Students understand and appreciate the viewpoints of others.
• Students are able to appreciate what they are learning and why they are learning it (even if they do not want to readily admit it!).

If we as teachers create an environment that is clear and structured for students on a regular basis, there is nothing stopping our students from having incredibly productive conversations that are conducive to student achievement.

Stay tuned for part two next week!