Lori Barker
EXC 658
June 2011
What is an optimal classroom environment?
Four Key Areas



Tasks
Movement in the room
Organization of the room & related
materials
Effectiveness is
measured by:



Student behavior
Student engagement
Performance
Mather & Goldstein p.50
An effective & optimal classroom environment
exhibits:
Students are actively engaged in meaningful
assignments.
•
Students are following the basic classroom rules and
procedures.
•
Communicating effectively with each other, teachers,
and parents.
•
Mather & Goldstein p.50
Tasks
A teacher’s effectiveness in managing behavior and choosing instructional
strategies needs to match the learning capacities of students.
•
Mather & Goldstein p. 52
Productive classroom time is a function not only of students’ abilities but
also of the teacher’s personality, teaching style, and management of the
environment.
•
Mather & Goldstein p. 52
Effective environments are created when teachers are interactive, fastpaced, engaging, and directive in their teaching styles.
•
Mather & Goldstein p. 53
A Structure for Instruction
TEACHER RESPONSIBILITY
Teachers establish the lesson’s
purpose and model their own
thinking to illustrate for students
how to approach the new learning.
Teachers strategically use questions and
Assessment informed prompts, cues, direct
explanations, and modeling to guide students
to increasingly complex thinking and facilitate
students’ increased responsibility for task completion.
Focus Lesson
“I do it”
Guided Instruction
Teachers design and supervise tasks
that enable students to consolidate their
thinking and understanding – and that require
student to generate individual products that can
provide formative assessment information.
Teachers design and supervise tasks that
require students to apply information they
have been taught to create new and
authentic products.
“We do it”
Collaborative Work
Productive Group Work
Independent Work
“You do it together”
“You do it alone”
STUDENT RESPONSIBILITY
Sources: From Better Learning Through Structured Teaching (p.4), by D. Fisher and N. Frey, 2008, Alexandria, VA: ASCD.
From Guided Instruction: How to Develop Confident and Successful Learners (p. ix & x), by D. Fisher and N. Frey, 2010, Alexandria, VA: ASCD
Movements in the Room:
Classroom Setup
Rows – less behavior disruptions, ideal for
direct instruction & testing.
Cluster – higher noise level, ideal for
productive group work, small group
instruction, & teamwork.
I like to change the
room around every
3-6 weeks!
Arrangement of the classroom exerts a powerful influences on teachers’ abilities to praise, monitor students,
and supervise effectively.
Mather & Goldstein p.51
Movement in the Room:
Procedures & Routines
Teach the
procedures
and make
sure the
routines are
consistent.
Procedures
and Routines
should be
practiced
daily and
reviewed
after breaks.

Lining up

Walking in a line

Entering the classroom

Leaving the classroom

Small group rotations

Turning in work & homework

Restroom

Student Planners

Classroom jobs
Organization of the Room & Related Materials
1.
Respect yourself, others and property.
Classroom
2.
Take responsibility for your choices and actions.
Rules
3.
Follow directions for the first time.
4.
Always use good manners and language.
5.
Stay on Task!
&
(Stay focused and complete assignments.)
Expectations
6.
Do NOT disrupt the classroom learning.
Organization of the Room & Related Materials
Each student has a clip and starts their day at Super.
Depending on their behavior, the clip moves down, but cannot
move back up until the next day.
Depending on where the student’s clip, a behavior
slip will go home to be signed by the parent and
returned the next day.
•Warning
•Loss of recess
•Behavior Slip
•Loss of recess
•Contact parent
•Time out
•Referral
Organization of the Room & Related Materials
A cushion
added to a
chair.
Makes a hard
plastic chair
comfy.
Communication
Students

Positive communication with students and parents.

Talk to them, don’t yell!

Establish a good rapport with the parents.

Make 2 positive phone calls home every day.
Parents

Make the call to parents, when the student is misbehaving.
Don’t take away your authority.