How to Create a Positive Learning Environment

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Every morning, millions of young people go to school. The parents, guardians and caretakers believe that these students will be treated with a lot of care, inspired, valued, and educated by the teachers in school. On the other hand, the students hope that they will be happy in school, get along with their peers, enjoy the process of learning and have their work measure up. These are the types of hopes that define a positive classroom for the students and parents.

 

In the recent times, things have changed a lot. The definition of a positive classroom has changed over the years, especially for the educators. According to them, a positive classroom is a place where young people arrive very early in the morning to learn, work extremely hard to master the required academic standard then go home in the afternoon and complete their homework accurately. The next day, the educators expect the students to report early, eager to learn more. Most of the time, the current teacher is only focused on ensuring that the students pass all the achievement tests, and they do not give importance to the emotional and social needs of the students. These educators do not know what is effective teaching.

 

Many teachers do not know how to become an effective teacher. They do not know that education should work for all the stakeholders. A positive learning environment should support the social, emotional and academic needs of a child. This way, there will be improved academic performance. Here are some strategies to make this successful:

 

Make Learning Relevant

If you want all your students to be more engaged in learning and at the same time retain the knowledge better, it is important to ensure that you show them that whatever they are learning is relevant. You can only do this if you discover the type of talents your students have, their learning styles and all their interests. Adjust your teaching strategies and methods according to the interests of your students. When you give your students a say in the way the class is operated, you increase their sense of ownership, and the students learn better.

 

Create a Classroom Code of Conduct

A productive and positive learning environment must have a common understanding of the negative and positive behaviors. If you want to establish this understanding, the first thing to do is ask your students how they want to be treated. It will be easy to elicit some of the behaviors that will be respectful, kind, fair and even empathetic. At the end of the day, they will all realize that treating other people the way you want to be treated is the ideal code of conduct for the classroom.

 

Teach Positive Actions

It is important to teach your students positive behaviors in a consistent and very systematic way. Never assume that the students know them. The school curriculum should have the following:

  • The importance of doing positive things to feel good
  • Some positive actions that can help maintain a healthy body like nutrition sleep and exercise.
  • The positive actions for the intellect like thinking, problem-solving skills, and decision-making.
  • The positive actions for self- management like managing time, emotions, energy and any other personal resource.
  • How to get along with other people positively. The students should learn how to treat their peers kindly, fairly and with respect.
  • How to be honest with themselves and other people. Positive actions such as admitting mistakes, taking responsibility and not blaming others should be incorporated too.
  • The students should be taught how to improve themselves continually by setting and achieving goals.

 

Instill Intrinsic Motivation

Everyone needs to feel good about themselves. The teachers should try to help the students to understand that individuals will most likely feel good about themselves when they are engaging in positive activities. A positive action program should have three steps. The first step is the thought. The second step is acting consistently with the thought. The third step is to experience a feeling about themselves based on the actions they took. This feeling will lead to a different thought, and the cycle will start again. This will help the students understand that if they have any negative thoughts, it is possible to change to a positive one that will bring positive actions and positive feelings about themselves. After repeatedly enforcing this behavior, the students will improve their behaviors and performance.

 

Engage Positive Role Models

Most of the time, communities and families are concerned about the student’s welfare. They too want to be involved in the children’s education, and they have all the resources to offer. As a teacher, it is critical to incorporate them into the learning environment activities such as assemblies, curriculum activities, after- school activities, committees, and homework.

 

Always Be Positive

One of the most important things when creating a positive learning environment is being positive. It is the first and the most important step on how to be an effective teacher. This might seem easy, but it is the most difficult strategy to implement. As a teacher, have a positive approach to everything. Whether you are on the playground or in the class, always respond to situations positively. The positive attitude from the teacher will create a positive learning environment and at the end of the day produce happy and very successful students.

 

If you want to learn how to create a positive learning environment, you could take the online training and assessment certificate IV cert 4 training assessment. The program will help you acquire all the knowledge you need as a teacher. At the end you of the program, you will be able to create the kind of environment that will be loved by the students.

 

References:

NaturalNews Blogs. 2016. How to Develop Career Skills : Why People Keep on Learning. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.naturalnewsblogs.com/develop-career-skills-people-keep-learning/. [Accessed 25 May 2016].

 

Fortress Learning. 2016. Certificate IV in Training and Assessment – Fortress Learning. [ONLINE] Available at: http://fortresslearning.com.au/ourcourses/certificate-iv-in-training-and-assessment. [Accessed 25 May 2016].

 

Study. 2016. 10 Websites Offering Free Online Teacher Education. [ONLINE] Available at:http://study.com/articles/10_Websites_Offering_Free_Online_Teacher_Education.html. [Accessed 25 May 2016].

Archie