Building positive relationships within the classroom can have a positive impact on the students behavioral and academic success. When students believe that their teacher, respects and values them, they will also respect and value each other. Students cannot be able to concentrate if they do not feel comfortable in a class. If the atmosphere is negative, the student would fear ridicule and neither the student nor the teacher can focus adequately on learning. It is the role of the teaching instructor to create a positive classroom environment. This paper analyzes the proficiency of the instruction in the video “Creating a Community of Learners” by investigating how the instructors address equity and learner diversity, create a culture of learning and positive and environment, and reflect on how the practices are equitable and can be applied in my own practice.
Addressing equity and learner diversity in the classroom
One way that instructors address equity and learner diversity is by taking much of learning as social. The students are able to build their knowledge through a “think-pair-share” mode of learning. This mode of learning begins with an intentional integration of the students into pairs. The instructor in the video intentionally pairs up the students with differing ages, backgrounds, and gender. This ensures that people of different backgrounds and personalities can work together. The students thus learn how to interact with other students of different opinions and gender. This ensures effective learning in the classroom because it builds an environment where every student learns and appreciates diversity (Jenson, 2017).
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The instructor ensures diversity through working in group pairs and switching partners. The discussions made in pairs ensures that the students can learn from someone with differing opinions. The switching of partners ensures that a student in the classroom would work and learn from two other students in a single classroom setting. Many students would enjoy such a group form of learning because it permits them to interact with their friends and to also make new friends. The teacher will find that assigning the student to work in pairs and switching them will enable the student to develop important social skills.
The instructors address learner diversity by building a classroom community which celebrates individual contributions. Everyone contributes equally to the topic being discussed. The first mode of contribution is when students work in pairs and put down their opinions. The instructor then switches them and this ensures that one can contribute about something they learned from the previous pair. The instructor then asks the students to contribute to the discussion they learned from the pairs. Doing this ensures that every student in the classroom feels important and that their opinions are aired out. All students feel that their contributions are equally heard and this builds on learner equity and diversity.
The classroom also addresses learner equity and diversity by accommodating the different learning styles of students. Different students have different learning styles. Some learn best through seeing, others through hearing or hands-on activities, and others by working with others (Rivas, 2018). The instructors in the video have created a classroom environment for team-based and collaborative learning. Students that are too shy to speak up before the class will find this strategy useful. Students that prefer hands-on activities will become highly engaged through the laboratory and practical sessions.
Creation of a culture of learning
Instructors in the video build a culture of learning by building an environment where students can make mistakes. The nature of laboratory work carried out does not have a specific approach and students learn through trying different things. The student is thus able to learn on their own and seek guidance when they make a mistake. Such an environment ensures that students practically learn the right and wrong approach to a specific issue. The students don’t fear ridicule when they find that they are wrong and know that their ideas will receive a thoughtful reception. The students also know that their teachers have a high regard for their abilities and this strengthens their commitment to producing quality work.
The culture of learning is seen in the classroom where everyone is engaged in the pursuit of value. The students and teachers in the class take pride in their work and give the best effort. Students do not have the mentality of trying to get by through checking time to ensure that the lesson is over. Instead, all students have an active role in ensuring that they are learning and engaged in the class. The classroom environment is such that good ideas are valued and that it appears cool to be smart (Alvarez and Anderson-Ketchmark, 2011).
Creation of a positive classroom environment
The classroom environment is positive because the students are able to interact freely with both the teachers and other students. The general nature of the classroom is calm and students appear to be composed. This classroom environment has been built by the instructors through. The learning scientist explains that the entire institution has been built on a community which celebrates individual contributions and that students and instructors can liberate their minds by learning from diversity.
How are those best practices equitable?
The creation of learner equality and diversity, a culture of learning, and a positive classroom environment are all made to ensure adequate student participation. The classroom environment in the video has been carefully created to ensure that most of the learning in the classroom is social. One can watch and see how students build their knowledge through an effective think-pair-share approach. I find the pair approach and switching of partners effective in ensuring adequate student participation. Having mostly used group participation in the past, I find the think-pair-share approach more effective in ensuring adequate participation.
Strengths and weaknesses regarding equity
The approach undertaken by the instructors made me think about my personal strengths and challenges regarding equity. One of my strengths in encouraging equity and diversity is that I can easily integrate with people of different backgrounds, cultures, and personalities. This enables me to understand people that could be different from me in their learning approaches and opinions. However, one of my weakness is that I have preconceived ideas and stereotypes about different people. I frequently find myself forming biased opinions upon meeting them. This can hinder my interaction with people of differing opinions. I may thus find it challenging to create a perfect environment that encourages equity and diversity with those around me.
Action plan for future growth
The instructional video provides a practical example of building a positive classroom environment that ensures equity, diversity, and has a culture of learning. I can apply a similar approach to ensure future growth through ensuring student participation through the twin-pair-share approach, having an interactive classroom, participation in practical work, and creating an avenue where students can comfortably make mistakes. According to the instructional video, the instructor creates an effective environment of trust where students can make mistakes. I will apply this approach and ensure that students have an environment for making mistakes. According to Miller (2015), giving students a chance to fail creates a perfect environment to improve knowledge and understanding of the topic under discussion.
In conclusion, instructors play a big role in ensuring that equity and learner diversity is built in the classroom. The instructors do this by using strategies which ensure effective participation and interactions among the students. The classroom encourages a culture of learning by encouraging mistakes and learning from them. I find the think-pair-share approach as effective in building trust between students and instructors and will apply it in my practice. The environment where students can make mistakes will also be applied to create the best learning environment.
References
Alvarez, M. E., & Anderson-Ketchmark, C. (2011). Danielson's framework for teaching. Children & Schools , 33 (1), 61-63.
Jenson, D. (2017). “The Room Where It Happens”: Teaching Diversity in the Classroom. Journal on Empowering Teaching Excellence , 1 (1), 8.
Miller, A. K. (2015). Freedom to Fail: How do I foster risk-taking and innovation in my classroom? (ASCD Arias) . ASCD.
Rivas, E. E. (2018). Diversity in Today's Classroom.
