Kaytlin Furlong EDI 638 November 2, 2017

Classroom Environment Plan

My goal is for students to feel safe and supported, as well as focused and

engaged, by the physical space that surrounds them. Therefore, upon entering my

classroom, they will find their desks in small groups, arranged in a semi-circle and

facing the SmartBoard. The reason behind the semi-circle or “U” arrangement is to

give all students the ability to see the board, for the teacher to easily see all of the

students, and to undoubtedly aid in promoting more active class discussions. The

students will be in small-groups at all times because it allows for group discussion,

cooperative-based learning, as well as sharing skills since they are encouraged to

share and use one another’s materials within the group. (How furniture affects a

classroom learning environment, 2015). Students will find “wiggle seats” on their

chairs, that they may choose to use, because these sensory cushions are great for

providing the movement input and tactile stimulation that many students need in

order to truly be able to concentrate on the task at hand. Young students have a

difficult time sitting still and concentrating throughout the day—movement-based

seating is one way to help them with this.

In addition to movement, music has been proven to aid considerably in human

concentration, so I intend to utilize music in my classroom at almost all times. Soft

instrumentals will play in the background when students are working quietly and

more upbeat music may be used when they are having small-group discussions or

playing games. I want to encourage the use of music as a form of concentration and

motivation—because it will be softly playing in the background at most times, it will

quickly become unnoticeable by many students and not distract from their learning.

Finally, I will have a large classroom library with a variety of multicultural and

multidimensional literature to meet all the needs and desires of my students. The

library will have lamps for adjustable lighting, as well as a variety of seating options

such as beanbags, couches, and sensory seats. It is so important to me that students

are captivated by reading, therefore, it is a goal of mine to make the library a place in

the classroom where students want to spend their time.

While the physical design of a classroom is very important, I believe that in

order for my students to truly feel supported and engaged, it is of utmost importance

for me to establish a community of respect and rapport within our classroom

environment. I want my students to understand that my classroom is their classroom

too and that it is not just a classroom, but also our home away from home. Richard

Curwin and Allen Mendler, in their book Discipline with Dignity (1988), give a simple

and incredibly vital suggestion to teachers: (in summary) Take the time to talk to

each one of your students, even if just for ten minutes, every day. You may be the only

person who takes that time to show them that you care, and remind them that there

is more to life than the chaos that usually surrounds them. I could not agree more

with what they have said here, and I am going to strive to take at least a few minutes

each day to show each one of my students how much they mean to me. This is the

basis of building a community of understanding, respect, and empathy. If students see

that their teacher is making an effort to care about them, they are much more likely to

make the effort to care about one another.

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 Jim Fay and Foster Cline are co-founders of the Love & Logic Theory, which

puts great emphasis on showing empathy in the classroom. One of their suggestions

that I found helpful is to consider delaying consequences until you (as the teacher)

have taken the time to cool down and think about the most appropriate action to take

(Delisio, 2008). Fay and Cline suggest the empathy-with-consequences approach

because it is important that the teacher shows empathy toward his/her students’

situations and considers how his/her words and actions impact the students. I

believe that taking time for everyone to relax is best because it shows the student(s)

that I treat them with respect and do not want to project upon them anger or other

inappropriate emotions. I want my students to understand that I am the teacher, but

also that I highly value their input and that I want our classroom to be a student-

centered learning community. This cannot be done without showing them proper

admiration.

I will establish this student-centered learning community from the beginning

of the academic year. Students are much more likely to feel motivated and excited to

participate in activities throughout the year if they are able to take part in the

development of the classroom community. I am a huge advocate for culturally

responsive teaching. What this means is that teachers create a community, rather

than a classroom, by changing the way that they look at their students as well as the

role that they give to these individuals. Students are not seen as products of an

educator’s instruction, but rather, ‘generative thinkers’ at the center of their learning

experience, who are indeed teachers themselves (Madigan Peercy, 2011). Placing my

students at the center of their learning experience, and inviting them to be ‘teachers’

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themselves, will undoubtedly instill a level of motivation within them and establish a

positive culture for learning.

In addition to the emphasis on student-centered learning, culturally

responsive teaching also “uses the cultural knowledge, prior experiences, and

performance styles of diverse students to make learning more appropriate and

effective for them; it teaches to and through the strengths of these students” (Gay,

2000). Therefore, I plan on spending a lot of time, at the beginning of the year,

fostering relationships between the students and myself as well as the students and

each other. Calvin Terrell, a speaker, educator, and community builder, gave a

presentation to our College of Education in which he spoke about many valuable

topics that I intend to incorporate in my future teaching. One very meaningful thing

that he said was that in order to create courageous and collaborative learning spaces,

students’ names should be said aloud before speaking and all others should repeat

these names until everyone knows each name well. He said that the most important

word in a person’s language is their name, and that taking this little bit of time to say

their name aloud gives every student a sense of identity within the classroom

(Terrell, 2017). This very simple suggestion supports my goal to show respect, love,

and encouragement toward my students in order to foster a community of respectful,

motivated individuals.

The collaborative physical space, emphasis on student-centered learning, and

encouragement of student identity will undoubtedly aid in prevention of behavioral

issues in the classroom; however, I am aware that they are not completely

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preventable. I believe that procedures are necessary for everyday safety as well as for

these circumstances in which unwanted behavior occurs. In their book, Discipline

with Dignity, Curwin and Mendler (1988) discuss the importance of creating a social

contract with your students—this is an agreement, negotiated by both the teacher

and all of the students, which determines acceptable behaviors, procedures,

expectations, and consequences that will be adhered to within the classroom. I see

great value in doing this with my future students because it creates accountability for

all involved, myself included. Because the students participate in the development of

the social contract, and sign the contract after it is written, they are agreeing to all of

its terms and conditions. Therefore, whenever misbehavior occurs, they are expected

to adhere to the consequences previously decided upon in the social contract. I think

that the social contract establishes clarity amongst everyone, shows students that I

expect the same from each of them, and again demonstrates that I value their opinion

in our classroom community. As suggested by Curwin and Mendler, I intend on

making copies for each of my students to preserve accountability, as well as hanging a

large copy on a wall in our room.

Harry and Rosemary Wong, in The First Days of School: How to be an Effective

Teacher (2009), discuss the difference between discipline and procedures and how

the appropriate use of procedures within the classroom creates student success and

achievement. They define procedures as “what the teacher wants done” (p. 170),

explain that procedures create routine, and tell teachers that this routine is desired

by students because it makes them feel safe and secure. If something this simple helps

to create a smooth, effective classroom, then I definitely believe that it is worth

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placing in my management plan. One of the suggestions that I have found most useful

is on this same page (p. 170) in Wong and Wong’s text. It is a classroom procedures

list entitled “What Do I Do Next?” that lists nine constructive suggestions for

students’ use of their time after they have completed an assignment. I believe that this

list would make a world of difference in the third grade classroom, in which I am

currently assisting, because our students are only given the choice of silently reading

after they complete an assignment; thus, they become bored with reading, play with

things around them, talk to their neighbors, etc. I will give my future students a list of

options, such as those on this procedures list, so that they feel that they have agency

within the classroom, and are also being constructive with their additional time.

As discussed throughout this classroom environment plan, I intend to build a

classroom community that embraces student individuality and offers choice by

placing them at the center of their learning experience. I believe that this is the

foundation of all of my goals. If students do not feel that they are respected and

supported as individuals within their classroom, they are much less likely to be

successful academically. I believe that each of the theorists and educators whom I

have referenced throughout this paper believe in the tremendous connection

between student-teacher relationships and academic achievement. Curwin and

Mendler (1988) explain that open communication is vitally important in the

classroom and that one of the main reasons for student misbehavior is the desire for

human connection. None of the things that I have mentioned, as goals for my future

classroom, can happen without creating this open communication and community of

respect and rapport amongst my students and myself.

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 References

(2015, August 19). How furniture affects a classroom learning environment. [Video

file]. Retrieved from http://www.schoolimprovement.com/strategy-of-the-

week/classroom-learning-environment-movement-based-seating/

Curwin, R. & Mendler, A. (1988). Discipline with dignity. Alexandria, VA: Association

for Supervision and Curriculum Development.

Delisio, Ellen R. (2008, Sept. 8). Practicing love & logic can mean happier schools.

Education World. Retrieved from

http://www.educationworld.com/a_admin/admin/admin536.shtml

Gay, G. (2000). Culturally responsive teaching: Theory, research, & practice. New York:

Teachers College Press.

Madigan Peercy, M. (2011). Preparing english language learners for the mainstream:

Academic language and literacy practices in two junior high school ESL

classrooms. Reading & Writing Quarterly, 27(4), 324-362.

Terrell, C. (2017). Lecture on privilege. Personal Collection of Calvin Terrell, Social

Centric, Pheonix, AZ.

Wong, H. & Wong, R. (2009). The first days of school: How to be an effective teacher.

Mountain View, CA: Harry K. Wong Publications.

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