Module 4 Unit 1 Activity 1: Introduction to Classroom Climate
Report requirements
- Video annotation that evaluates factors leading to and records strategies for creating a positive classroom climate.
- Discuss positive classroom climate in the Virtual Classroom and/or Discussion Forum
Grade: 4.0
Time - 00:13
Annotation
Students were a bit shocked and caught off guard seeing the teacher standing inside the room by the door, perhaps he could wait at or outside the door and greet the students there. Also, a bit more energy, more vocal posture, and a smile might help here. Also, his answer to the students question seemed a bit uncertain, like he forgot about the test. Address the question properly from the get go, and put a positive twist on it. There is a lot of research that shows the influence of teacher's nonverbal behaviors such as tone of voice and body language on students perceptions and performance: Babad, E., Bernieri, F., & Rosenthal, R. (1991). Students as Judges of Teachers’ Verbal and Nonverbal Behavior. American Educational Research Journal, 28(1), 211–234. https://doi.org/10.3102/00028312028001211 Bambaeeroo F, Shokrpour N. The impact of the teachers' non-verbal communication on success in teaching. J Adv Med Educ Prof. 2017;5(2):51–59. Retrieved from Anita E. Woolfolk and Douglas M. Brooks, "The Influence of Teachers' Nonverbal Behaviors on Students' Perceptions and Performance," The Elementary School Journal 85, no. 4 (Mar., 1985): 513-528. Retrieved from https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/abs/10.1086/461418?journalCode=esj Woolfolk, R. L., & Woolfolk, A. E. (1974). Debate: Effects of Teacher Verbal and Nonverbal Behaviors on Student Perceptions and Attitudes1. American Educational Research Journal, 11(3), 297–303. https://doi.org/10.3102/00028312011003297 Wubbles, T. and Brrekelmans, M. (2006) Two decades of research on teacher-student relationships in class. International Journal of Educational Research. 43(1-2) pages 6-24. This approach does, however, show an attempt at personalization, and the instructor is showing a level of professional concern for this students' welfare.
Instructor's Feedback
Time - 00:40
Annotation
I like the fact that he uses names here, and addresses something positive, that the students brought the materials. Also, students start to problem solve how to deal with the student without the materials. This demonstrates two dimensions of classroom climate cited by Barr (2016): Personalization (showing concern for the students' welfare) and Student Cohesiveness (students helping each other).
Instructor's Feedback
I really like the research that you provided here to support this strategy. Using the "Two Dimensions of Classroom Climate" helps students to feel comfortable in the classroom environment.
Time - 00:43
Annotation
I did like the greeting activity, though for first grade students I would try to be more energetic, and perhaps use a method where students choose their greeting method (high five versus dance, versus special handshake, or hug - I've seen this type of greeting activity used before). However, realistically I may have to find alternative ways to improve in this area. For me, I am a homeroom teacher, but I arrive later than most the students. A homeroom teacher has a very close proximity to their students all day, though we are also kept very busy with more work that we can feasibly handle. Still, we need to seize every opportunity that we get for student-teacher interaction and to show concern for our students.
Instructor's Feedback
Time - 01:08
Annotation
teacher talking time is too high here, he is asking for student interaction but not getting any, he is not giving them space to answer or making it easy to answer and then he is rewarding them for not answering. His question almost seems rhetorical, the students don't see the point of answering. In these situations, it can be helpful to ask open questions, like "what is this?" or "how did we end the last class" and if that fails, call on individual students. Asking the opposite question, "who doesn't remember this..." can also work. One of the dimensions of classroom climate cited by Barr (2016) is Involvement. Students should be actively encouraged to participate, and while this teacher has attempted to do this, he is not doing so effectively.
Instructor's Feedback
Time - 01:31
Annotation
Here the teacher hands out all the papers and says each of their names as he does so, This shows that he is being respectful role model. He also gives positive feedback in some instances,this will help to develop intrinsic motivation as it helps the students feel good about themselves, Allred (2008) highlights the importance of instilling intrinsic motivation in students. Allred (2008) Seven Strategies for Building Positive Classrooms. The Positive Classroom. 66(1).
Instructor's Feedback
Time - 02:23
Annotation
Here again, the teacher tries to encourage student involvement. This particular group of students is not very responsive, but the teacher remains respectful and tries to use his tone of voice to make class enjoyable despite this. Student satisfaction is another trait that Barr (2008) highlights as important for developing a positive classroom climate.
Instructor's Feedback
Time - 02:34
Annotation
The teacher tries to relate to the students, he understands they are tired because they have just had a double period of math. He knows their timetable. This demonstrates Personalization as cited by Barr (2008). He is trying to provide opportunities for interaction and to show concern for his students.
Instructor's Feedback
Time - 03:10
Annotation
Lots of student interaction here, the ratio of student talking time is going up. There is increased Involvement. He is also demonstrating a degree of Innovation, a trait also highlighted by Barr (2016). The teacher demonstrates this trait by going beyond the textbox and supplementing the material with a a dynamic image of earth's diurnal cycle, something that is much easier to understand and much more interesting when presented this way. The material so far seems to be well organized too, so his Task Orientation is good, again this is another quality highlighted as important by Barr (2016).
Instructor's Feedback
Time - 04:59
Annotation
Here we see Student Cohesiveness being developed, the students are clearly friendly with one another. Student Cohesiveness is another trait highlighted by Barr (2016). Interestingly, although the students are quite friendly with each other and probably selected their own seats, we have not seen any disruptive behavior (such as off topic talking or use of their mother tongue) so far. This type of activity could, in some instances, lead to off topic discussions in larger groups or poorly managed classes, but there seems to be a good and positive atmosphere here and the students seem to be motivated.
Instructor's Feedback
Time - 06:15
Annotation
The teacher is clearly mindful of the importance of 21st century skills, in particular, collaboration. Collaboration will also help with Student Cohesiveness. 10 minutes seems a bit long for a brainstorm activity, presumably there should also be a feedback session where all the answers are pooled and the work is shared with the class. Depending on the length of his class, this seems like a long period of time, but I can understand that it may also have positive benefits, and perhaps the teacher believes that the students can adequately make use of the time. If the activity is too long though, it will lead to decreased participation an involvement in the class. A mindmap activity also has the benefit of utilizing a broad skillset. It also allows for Individualization, as students can choose what their mindmap will look like an what skills they will use and how they will collaborate in groups.
Instructor's Feedback
Time - 06:35
Annotation
Collaboration and Involvement: I definitely liked the amount of collaboration we saw in his class and I would like to use more collaborative activities in my classroom. We can see how he managed to do it successfully to increase student cohesiveness. It is not always problem free, however. Students can sometimes get distracted and off task in collaboration activities as it can be easier to chat without being noticed, especially in environments where English is a second language. I do feel as if my students are very involved, but we always want to continue to improve and collaboration might be another way to improve on this. Of course we always try to get the students involved as much as possible. I would like to use more collaboration, though I feel less confident about doing it with my first grade students this year (I did it much more frequently with my 6th grade students). I'd also like to do something that we did not see in the video, and that was implement a method for choosing random students (such as drawing sticks etc.) Students love this, especially when you alternate who gets to select the sticks. There can be disadvantages to this method too however
Instructor's Feedback
Time - 06:54
Annotation
I like how the teacher again uses names to address each of the students and tries to encourage respect and attention by, respectfully, asking the girls to stop working and listen to their peer's feedback. Here again we see the teacher as a role model who respects the students and is trying to increase Student Cohesiveness and Involvement. The way the teacher still commands their respect while keeping a respectful tone of voice is admiral.
Instructor's Feedback
Time - 07:20
Annotation
At this stage we have already seen all 7 factors highlighted by Barr (2016) as contributing positively to classroom climate, but we see them used repeatedly. The teacher is again encouraging Student Cohesiveness and collaboration.
Instructor's Feedback
Time - 08:55
Annotation
Another demonstration of Innovation, this game will also increase student Satisfaction, both qualities mentioned by Barr (2016). He is able to do more of these types of activities as he gives the students reading and research assignments for homework (he alluded to this at the beginning of the mindmap activity earlier). Otherwise, it might be difficult to use so much of the time in class for such activities.
Instructor's Feedback
Time - 09:30
Annotation
Another attempt to increase Student Cohesiveness by encouraging new mixed gender groups. Students may feel awkward at first, but it should also help to break down the boundaries that are forming in his class.
Instructor's Feedback
Time - 09:37
Annotation
The teacher was respectful while making his request here, but and he managed to make the process of the forming new groups enjoyable for all the students. Classroom Climate Traits: Satisfaction (Barr, 2016), Role Model (Intervention Central, n.d.).
Instructor's Feedback
Time - 10:36
Annotation
Another game. Traits: Innovation, Satisfaction, Involvement, task orientation, student cohesiveness (Barr, 2016)
Instructor's Feedback
Time - 11:45
Annotation
Games, I would definitely like to use more games. Games require planning and preparation, but they can make class more enjoyable. Where possible, this is something I think we all strive for. Different schools, teaching environments and curricula can support this to different extents. In Japan, elementary schools in Tokyo were all about games, so much so that the classes were about 85% fun, active, educational games. One drawback though, my students in Taiwan definitely learn more from our curriculum, but there are other factors involved there too (such as the amount of hours of instruction and the influence of their mother tongue).
Instructor's Feedback
Time - 11:52
Annotation
Joining groups and interacting individually. Traits observed: Personalization, and Involvement. We also see Student Cohesiveness in each of the pairs.
Instructor's Feedback
Time - 14:20
Annotation
The teacher did a very good job of being a role model in his class, and I think this is something I would like to continue to improve on in my own classes. It is important to try to remain calm and treat students with respect at all times. He did a very good job of this. I will try to remember to always speak to the children as I would like them to speak to me if the situation were reversed.
Instructor's Feedback
Time - 14:50
Annotation
By setting the reading as homework, the class can have more activities that allows for the development of a positive classroom climate and the development of 21st century skills.
Instructor's Feedback
REVISE ACTIVITY
Submission Notes
While I felt that the teacher got off to a slow start, once he got into the swing of things he did exceptionally well. He demonstrated all of the 7 traits referenced by Barr (2016) and Fraser and Treagust (1986) and, in fact, he did so multiple times for each trait. He is also consistently respectful and polite to his students and he acts as a role model for them. By treating them this way he shows the students how he wishes the students to treat others in his class. Initially it seemed like both the teacher and students were tired, vocal posture and positive body language was limited, but once they woke up there was definitely a sense of comradery.