Positive and Productive Classroom Notes

Positive Class Community:

• Icebreaker games and activities are a great way to start getting to know each other.
• Throughout the school year, taking time for things like class check-ins or meetings can help these relationships continue to build.

Teacher Attitude:

• A positive teacher promotes a positive classroom. Teachers should have positive attitudes towards both their students and their instruction.
• Teacher should strive for all students to have a positive classroom experience.

Active Engagement:

• Showing enthusiasm in your instruction is a great step towards leading your students to active engagement.

Culture of High Expectations:

• Students tend to meet expectations set for them. Consequently, if a teacher has low expectations for their students, their performance will reflect that; if a teacher has high expectations, they will rise to the occasion.
• It is responsibility of the classroom teacher to create a culture of high expectations.
• Giving students autonomy to discuss and make some decisions as a class will not only reinforce expectations but will also encourage self-monitoring.
• ​​​​​​​ With older students, teachers can provide and explain a syllabus to explain the course curriculum, expectations, and major assignment due dates. Students are set up for success when they clearly know what to expect.

Physical Spaces for Learning:

• Ask these questions to guide the physical layout of the classroom:
• Are all students able to access what they need in the space?
• ​​​​​​​Do all students have a clear view of what or who they need to see?
• Can the teacher see and easily reach all students?
• Teachers should also consider special needs students may have.

Seating Arrangement:

• Different set-ups lend themselves best to different tasks, such as:
• When listening to any type of presentation, whether it be from the teacher, a guest speaker, or fellow classmates, students should be able to see. Facing front typically works best.
• When the whole class is having a discussion, it its helpful for everyone to be seen.
• When collaborating on a group assignment, it is beneficial for students to sit together. The walkways should be open to the teacher can easily move to check on each group.
• When the teacher is working with a small group of students, the rest of the class should sit still be in view.
• No matter the arrangement, the teachers should remember that proximity and visibility are imperative tools for monitoring students' needs and behavior. You should always be able to and walk to your students.

Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs

• 
• The needs in order are:
• Physiological needs: food, water, and sleep.
• Safety: Security, freedom from fear.
• Love/belonging: relationships, family.
• Esteem: confidence, feeling of achievement.
• Self-actualization: meeting potential, creative abilities.

Are students ready to learn?

• Some questions that teachers can ask themselves to assure their students are ready to learn include:
• Are my students fed and hydrated?
• Do my students feel safe and secure in the classroom?
• Do my students have a sense of belonging in the classroom?
• Are my students recognized for their achievements and positive qualities?

Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs

• Abraham Maslow was an American psychologist who focused on humanistic psychology. Maslow theorized that all people have a hierarchy of needs. In order for people to meet their full potential, they must meet a series of needs. Of one or some of the needs at a more basic level are not met, it is difficult to begin meeting needs at a higher level.