Classroom Atmosphere

Many aspects contribute to a good classroom and learning space; amongst others, a good teacher, sufficient resources, and interested students. One aspect that I haven't thought about all too much is the atmosphere you create in your classroom.

This aspect may often be overlooked but in order to make learners feel comfortable, calm, and ready to learn, it is vital to remember. From the article (http://www.edutopia.org//blog/applying-mindfulness-mundane-classroom-tasks-abby-wills), you can see that creating this atmosphere requires exactly that, creativity! It cannot be created by just speaking it into being, or by putting up classroom posters outlining the rules and attitudes expected in your classroom. Thought and time must be spent on this, and the students will most definitely benefit from it.

Think about it, would you be in the mood to learn and discover new information when all everyone is talking about is the games that were played on the break field? On the other extreme, would you want to concentrate when it is the last period of the day and all you can think about is going home? This can all be made worse by a teacher who appears to be oblivious to this all. I guess empathy and compassion comes into the discussion round about now. 

In amongst all the lesson plans, the textbooks, the setting of tests and exams, and the desperate attempt to reach the feared outcomes, one can forget this most important part of lesson preparation.

As teachers we are to cultivate a love for learning and this can only be achieved if the space where learning is to take place is adequate, or better still, exceptional. 

In the context of South Africa, we have extremes in terms of classroom atmosphere. How can we expect learners to concentrate when they are starving or freezing or worrying about ailing parents at home? For teachers in these schools, extreme care must be taken to not overlook these issues. On the other hand, some learners might not have any out-of-school worries. Thus it is important for all teachers (and aspiring teachers) to be aware of the impact that classroom atmosphere can have on the effectiveness of a lesson.

A look at the Independent Project

I've watched the Independent Project before. At the time I was either in High School or just into University. I remember feeling conflicted after watching the clip. Self teaching sounds fantastic, but how do you monitor it? How do you ensure that the learners pass and that by giving them independence in learning, you aren't robbing them of access to higher education?

I remember being one of those kids who 'hated' school. Thinking back, I would rephrase that to say I disliked school...a lot. One of the reasons for that being that I felt like I was learning useless information. I was learning information that didn't interest me. Thankfully some of my teachers fostered in me an inquisitive mind and a search for knowledge in their specific subjects, but I know that wasn't the case for everyone. Often in the subjects I disliked the most, I would learn what I knew I had to in order to pass (and do well) and there I would stop. The thought of learning and discovering more on my own seemed useless to me. I was not going to spend extra time on a subject that I already disliked, especially if the extra effort was not going to result in extra marks.

This is where the Independent project is so fantastic! All school subjects are covered, yet each individual has the opportunity to learn about what fascinates them. This teaches them that when they are curious about something, they have the potential in them to figure it out or learn about it themselves. It reminded me that a teacher should simply be the facilitator of learning and not the sole source of all knowledge. Having the students teach their classmates under no pressure is also a really effective method of teaching. You always learn more when you teach someone else, and since each learner chooses a topic they are interested in, you are left with knowledgeable and enthusiastic teacher-students.

The questions I raised in the first paragraph, however, still remain. How do you monitor independent teaching and learning? I think perhaps the most effective way of monitoring, would be to assess the effort put in by the students. Learning should remain independent, the level of learning or mastery should not be measured, but I do think it is important to monitor effort. By monitoring this aspect of independent learning, I think that it can be effectively implemented in schools as a 'subject'. By adding it as an extra in addition to the existing school curriculum, there is no fear of students missing out on vital information, and by monitoring one aspect, you ensure that the children have reason to be invested in the subject and reason to make an effort to explore knowledge.