What can a positive environment do for you and your students?
Increase learning, that's what! The studies done by researchers such as Howard Gardner, Leslie Hart and other brain-based researchers show us that there are certain elements that increase the chance of learning. I'm going to use a very simplified explanation and application to the classroom, but if you are truly interested in knowing all about how the brain learns best, I strongly suggest that you look up books written by Eric Jenson, Howard Gardner, Leslie Hart, and Susan Kovalik. My favorite tool for looking up books is Amazon.com because they have such an exhaustive list and are easily searchable.
One of the most important aspects of a positive environment is that it must be non-threatening. What is a non-threatening environment and why is it so important that our classrooms be this way? An environment is non-threatening when students feel comfortable sharing their thoughts, ideas, and dreams with the teacher and also with other students. We want to strive to have an atmosphere in the classroom where no one is judged by anyone else. Every idea is welcomed, no one is ridiculed, no one is fearful of harsh punishments, and no one is put down. Our classroom should also be a place where students can make mistakes and still be cherished.
Now, why is this type of environment important?
Well, simply put, our brains are made of 3 parts. This is called the "Triune Brain". There are technical terms for each part, but here are the terms I use at the beginning of the year to explain this to my students. The largest part of our brain is the "Thinking" part. This is where we learn, store, and retrieve knowledge. Our memories are housed here as well as our creativity. The second part which is much smaller and somewhat below the thinking part is our "Regulating" brain. This part of our brain takes care of all our body regulations such as eye blinking, swallowing, digesting, heart beating, eating, etc. The last part, and the smallest of all, is our "Reflex" brain. This is where our emotions reside and is also mostly concerned with the issue of "fight versus flight". In other words, when we get scared, we either try to fight or run and this is the part of our brain that helps us in that manner.
I like to explain this to my students so that they will better understand how they learn and why sometimes it seems so hard to learn and/or remember what they have already learned. There are several things that can keep us from using our "Thinking" brain. For example, if we are starving because we haven't eaten anything all morning, our brain downshifts into the "Regulating" part and all we can think about is our hunger. No learning can take place because every thought we have revolves around food.v
Another strong example is anger. If someone makes us angry, our brain downshifts to the "Reflex" part, and all we are able to do is be angry. All of our thoughts revolve around our anger. No learning can take place while we are still emotional. This goes for all emotions including joy and fear. Take a moment to think about a time someone made you really angry. Were you able to think straight? Often this is how people describe a haze of anger. How can our students learn if their thoughts are consumed by hunger, bodily needs, anger, or other emotions? Also, how can we teach well if we are consumed by these same things?
Let's apply this theory to our classroom. What would happen if our students come into a classroom where they are constantly picked on by other students, often ridiculed by the teacher, and punished for every little mistake they might make. Can learning occur in this classroom? Definitely not! Students will enter the room and immediately downshift to their "Reflex" brain so that they are better able to protect themselves from possible harm, be it physical, emotional, or mental.
Now, what about a classroom where chaos rules and students are allowed to do whatever they want? Before long, the teacher is the one who becomes fearful. The entire class is spent with the teacher trying to protect herself or himself from the students. No quality teaching can take place when the teacher is spending every minute using his/her "Reflex" brain.
One last application of this theory is in the school itself. It is important for an administrator to create the same type of non-threatening environment for his or her teachers. When teachers are fearful for their job, ridiculed or talked about by other staff members, or not allowed to share new ideas, they are not able to do as good of a job of teaching. Every thought and concern is focused on their situation within the school and therefore is NOT focused on teaching where it should be!
Ideas for the Classroom
To help students stay in their "Thinking" brain, I keep a huge jar of pretzels, goldfish crackers, or some other healthy type of snack available for everyone. If a student comes to me and is hungry for whatever reason, I let them grab a handful of crackers to help ease that hunger.
If a student comes to class already angry, I allow them to spend some time in the reading corner to calm down before joining the rest of the class. If I am able, I try to talk with them after I've called roll and while other students are working on their bell assignments. This helps them talk out their anger and let it go.
When my class is having a lot of fun and we are joking, it is necessary to make a deliberate stop and point out to students when "play time" has stopped and "work time" has begun again. This can be done by saying something like, "Well, that was fun! Okay, now we need to get back to work. Everyone focus on…" Most students have trouble moving from play to work without this transition help from the teachers. Joy can be just as effective for keeping students from learning as anger.
When students need to use the restroom, I allow them. All they have to do is let me know they are going (not during my instruction of course) and sign out. When they return, they sign themselves back in. This allows me to keep track of where and when everyone has been gone. Some teachers may need to sign their students in and out, especially if some students are not as trustworthy. However, if nature calls, who are we to deny our students? I know I would be upset if I had to ask my principal permission to go to the bathroom while I teach. Why do we treat our students with so little respect? As long as you explain to them ahead of time what your expectations are, students generally follow whatever guidelines you set. I do not allow anyone to leave for the restroom while I am giving a lesson. However, if they are doing individual or group work, I see no reason why they shouldn't be able to go if they absolutely need to.
All of these strategies have been very effective in my classroom. Of course, students may try to take advantage of a teacher's good will and good intentions. However, if you use your common sense and use your knowledge of the student to judge the truth of the need, you shouldn't have any trouble.
Take some time to brainstorm how you can make your classroom a non-threatening environment for both yourself and your students.
OTHER STRATEGIES FOR MAINTAINING POSITIVE BRAIN LEARNING:
Use:
Ways to Practice Information:
vivid stories and language
graphic organizers for pre-exposure to lesson ideas
