How To Create a Positive K-12 Classroom Climate
Develop a Learning-Centered, Team-Based Culture in Every Classroom
Nov 15, 2009
Even teachers with difficult classes can develop a classroom climate where conflict and negativity are not welcome. By using plenty of positive reinforcement for desired behaviors, structuring group work to focus on team-building and specific social skills, and promoting thinking behaviors in their students, teachers will achieve the positive classroom culture they desire, and enjoy a much more peaceful and productive school year.
Using Positive Reinforcement
Positive reinforcement, or the offering of praise, encouragement, or other rewards for a desired behavior is a basic tenet of behavior modification. By specifically identifying the desired behavior when praising students, rather than saying something like "good job", teachers give students specific knowledge of the types of behavior that are valued in this particular classroom, which helps establish the climate of the room.
When poor behaviors continue to increase despite the teacher's reinforcement of desired behaviors, then something else, such as peer pressure, is reinforcing the undesirable behavior, and it is up to the teacher to determine where the reinforcement is coming from and to eliminate it. Working with the class to develop a sense of team spirit will encourage peers to reinforce desired behaviors themselves, and one way to do this is through the use of cooperative learning.
Structuring Cooperative Group Work
Using cooperative learning instructional techniques could be the single best way to build a sense of teamwork in the classroom and to focus on specific social skills that individuals, or the class as a whole, may be lacking. Group work should be structured to promote positive interdependence, a situation where in order to be successful, the group must work as a team and complete the task with every member participating.
Social skills, such as taking turns, active listening, and sharing can be built into the task. Others such as compromise, agreeing to disagree, and encouraging others, which are particularly important with a difficult class, may need to be purposefully modeled and assessed in order to become part of the classroom vernacular. But deliberate teaching of these skills early on will enhance learning for the rest of the year.
Promoting Thinking Behaviors
Teaching students to think metacognitively about their own behaviors is also an effective strategy because it forces them to take ownership of their feelings and reactions to others. By modeling, assessing, and expecting behaviors such as self-monitoring, strategizing, and self-evaluation, teachers will improve individual behavior and student relationships, as well as the overall academic performance of students as they begin to apply these behaviors to their learning as well.
One way teachers promote better thinking about behavior is to recognize and elaborate on desired behaviors at the time they are noticed. By asking students how they feel after studying for a test and succeeding, or if they noticed the smile on a friend's face after they paid him or her a compliment, teachers help students be aware of the effects of their behavior on others, while promoting the good choices that improve classroom climate.
By taking the time to purposefully develop a positive classroom climate early in the school year, teachers can avoid many of the stresses that come later when students have difficulty getting along or other conflicts arise. More importantly, children of all ages can learn the social skills and the behaviors associated with emotional intelligence that will later contribute to their success as adults.
Further Reading
Hensley, Michele, and others. The Well-Managed Classroom: Strategies to Create a Productive and Cooperative Social Climate in Your Learning Community. Boys Town, NE: Boys Town Press, 2007.
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