Learning Environment Inquiry Assignment
When investigating how to create an effective learning environment, I feel that I must begin with an examination of the term ‘learning.’ As I wrote earlier this year, the basis for my definition of learning centers on the idea that learning requires “incorporating new knowledge into ones life in a meaningful and useful way” (McCulloch, 2013). When using this broad definition, it becomes difficult to determine or measure if learning is actually happening in our classroom, especially early in the school year. While my definition of learning is changing and deepening as I spend more time with high school aged youth, for this Learning Environment Inquiry assignment, I will evaluate the effectiveness of our learning environment using the following two lenses: development of new content knowledge and development of respectful relationships between student and teacher and between student and student.
Using current class average grades as one measure of student content knowledge development, learning does appear to happen quite productively in our classroom (Appendix A). At this time, the overall average grades for our four freshmen biology classes land in the A- range (91.7%, 92.1%, 92.7%, 90.1%). I find students focused and engaged in our lessons; we rarely need to reprimand students for inattentiveness or distraction. Students participate regularly in class. Because we often have the same students raising their hands to answer questions, we sometimes employ ‘cold-calling’ (Lemov, 2010, p. 111) to check on the level of engagement and understanding of our quieter students (Appendix B – Observation Notes 09.10.13). These students nearly always have an answer to provide, often the right answer. I also notice some students either mouth or quietly vocalize to themselves a correct answer (Appendix B – Observation Notes 09.11.13, 10.10.13), though they rarely raise their hands.
While some of our students remain quiet during lecture and do not raise their hand to answer teacher directed questions, they can be quite talkative and engaged with neighboring students when provided the opportunity to socialize, such as during transitions or when performing group work. At first, the quietness of the freshmen biology classes during the first week of school shocked me (Appendix B – Observation Notes 09.09.13). By the second week, however, students became very chatty with each other; I also noticed more students answering questions, asking questions, and generally engaging in class discussions (Appendix B – Observation Notes 09.16.13, 09.17.13, 09.23.13).
From my observations of the first few weeks of school, it appears that students need time to adjust to the unique environment of each classroom they enter. In each new classroom, students must adjust not only to the teacher and the class material and expectations, but also to their fellow classmates. After the first week of school, students began participating more openly and frequently during class; additionally, I found our need to discipline the students for talking during lecture also increased (Appendix B – Observation Notes 09.17.13, 10.03.13). When setting up for lab activities, I have noted some students choosing the same group members. We employ many inquiry-based techniques for science class instruction; thus, we provide students many opportunities to “work and communicate in thoughtful groups” (Llewelyn, 2005, p. 57). We expect that the frequent use of group activities will help students not only to learn science but also to foster meaningful and respectful relationships with each other.
In addition to the frequent use of group work in class, the physical layout of our classroom lends itself to relationship building. Our desks are arranged in a ‘U’ shape, with 2 rows of desk per side (Appendix C). This set up allows for easy facilitation of whole class discussion; it permits students to visualize each other at all times, which can help students not only see each other when speaking but also hear and value each others ideas, thoughts and opinions – another foundation for any inquiry-based science classroom (Lleyweln, 2005, p. 56). The open classroom area in the middle of the ‘U’ shape provides the teacher an area for utilizing proximity and mobility for classroom management. Finally, when leading group activities, the ‘U’ shape set up allows students to quickly and efficiently turn their desks around to form groups of four or six.
Getting students to quickly and efficiently form groups and begin working with the people around them, however, has required quite a bit of scaffolding (Ormrod, 2008, p.335) for students. After we provide verbal instructions about a group activity to the class as a whole, we still have to remind students two or three times to organize themselves quickly into groups. We always circulate around the classroom as students prepare for the activity; many times we specifically have to tell students “turn your desk to face your partners!” or ask “with whom are you working?” or “where is your group?” We provide students with worksheets containing very specific instructions about the required tasks for each part of an activity; sometimes, we even include a box or line next to a set of instructions and require students to divide up the work and write down the name of the person responsible for each task. Sometimes, we do not hand out these instructions or worksheets until we see that everyone in the group is ready to begin (has put away notebooks and other materials, is seated properly, has turned his or her desk inward to face partners.)
Another aspect of group work that we highly scaffold for students is the preparation of lab materials. Before classes begin, we collect necessary lab materials (graduated cylinders, beakers, rulers, petri dishes, pens, pencils, etc.) and divide them evenly into each of eight baskets (Appendix D). We set out the baskets on the back lab benches. When a group is ready, they send one person to the back to pick up a basket for their group to use. We often check that each group has a basket before providing them the instructions for the lab/activity. Hopefully, scaffolding and organizing activities in this way will minimize transition time, thus maximizing productive learning time (Weinstein, 2010, pp. 192, 197).
While this level of organization takes extra time and effort on the part of the educator, it also provides the educator with the ability to say to students: “I have done my part, now you have to do yours.” Students become accountable (to a degree) for their own learning (Llewellyn, 2005, p.57). For example, when explaining expectations and rules on the third day of school, my classroom mentor emphasized the importance of mutual respect in the classroom:
“I expect you to bring paper and at least 2 pens and pencils to class each day. I don’t give out spare ones: I come prepared and
spend a lot of time planning lessons and I expect you to be prepared as well. Also, don’t cut class, for the same reasons. First,
I will worry about you, that you’re struggling with time management or are overwhelmed. And second, it’s just disrespectful.”
(Appendix B – Observation notes 09.12.13)
In order for respectful, meaningful, growth relationships to develop between student and teacher, teachers must often balance the expression of a genuinely friendly, open, and approachable demeanor with a critically constructive and disciplined attitude. “Even when doling out necessary constructive criticism, the teacher should frame this criticism in a way that says ‘I know you can do better – I want you to succeed – I care about you’” (McCulloch, 2013). I have witnessed my own classroom mentor walk this fine line with students nearly every day, both inside and outside of the classroom (Appendix B).
Another expectation we clearly expressed during the first week of school included the requirement for students to figure out and make up any work that they miss when absent. Students have access to paper copies of any worksheets, handouts, quizzes, or exams, for up to three weeks after they are distributed. We store extra copies of assignments in yellow folders at the front of the room; folders are marked by day of the week (Appendix C). The last three folders contain combined materials from the previous 2 weeks, 3 weeks, and older, respectively. Students also have access to almost any assignment, even when they are not in school, via our class website. Each class has an individual website through which students can access the class syllabus, assignments, notes, grades, and email links for correspondence with my classroom mentor and me (Appendix E).
While we frequently made announcements about these resources, and even included a question about their locations and uses on a class warm-up, students still (four weeks into the school year) will ask if extra copies of certain assignments are available. The redundancy of reminding students daily about their 24/7 access to class assignments sometimes frustrates me. While I gave students some slack the first week of school when they were adjusting to the new high school environment, I eventually decided that I needed to enforce an expectation of responsibility upon each student. Having both an organized physical classroom and web-based assignment system helps me inform students about my high expectations from them. When checking homework, I explain to students that I cannot accept their work if they come to class with missing or incomplete assignments (Appendix B – Observation notes 09.17.13).
While we opted to do an activity on the first day of classes rather than lecture about class rules and regulations (as I observed happening in other science classrooms) (Appendix B – Observation notes 09.09.13), we did eventually discuss class expectations, rules, and regulations on the third day of school. At that time, we provided students with a ‘cheat-sheet’ containing pertinent bulleted class information, similar to that of Christina Lugo Vreeland’s English 10 R Introductory Newspaper (Weinstein, 2010, p. 109). Our ‘cheat sheet’ (Appendix F) contains a great deal of information including: contact information of teachers, supplies students are expected to have each day, specific test days, units of study for the year, the name and ISBN of the class text book, the grading scheme, lab safety, when and how to get tutoring, and general class expectations (do the warm up each day, do not cut class, get materials you missed when absent, keep cell phones off, and other general advice.) The syllabus presented quite a bit of information for freshmen students to absorb; therefore, we carefully try to structure our classes to follow a similar pattern each day, so as to help students also learn class expectations through the use of routines.
Our thorough explanation of expectations, careful scaffolding of assignments, and preparation of engaging activities seem to have helped build a positive rapport with students over the first four weeks of school. Students can trust that they will come to class each day and know what to expect: class starts with a warm up – following this there is a ‘rolling of the dice’ (to determine whether the warm up will be collected) – then we thoroughly review and provide answers to the warm up – then introduce new material – and finally begin our lesson, which may or may not involve group work. We still need to remind some students to begin the warm up as soon as they settle at their desk or remind them to take out their notebooks and begin writing notes once we start discussing new material; however, because we do carefully prepare and structure our class periods and we do provide reminders to students regarding what they should be doing at various times during class, students do not argue with us. If student misunderstandings do arise, they usually stem from student lack of attention during instructions.
Because, in addition to knowing what to expect from our classes, students have come to know us (their teachers) as approachable individuals, our classroom has become a ‘safe space’ for students; it is an environment where students can come and build relationships with each other. We often have students visit our classroom during our prep periods. Students come with questions regarding class material, come to finish an assignment, come during their lunch period to work quietly on other assignments, or come by just to hang out with us and with their friends. Most often freshmen from our seventh period biology class will come halfway through their sixth period lunch just to ‘hang out’. These students will play board games (we have a variety available in our room), will practice their ‘cup game’ skills, will help to clean up the room, or will just sit around at the back tables and talk.
We also receive a great deal of student traffic after school Mondays through Thursdays. Freshmen biology students come for tutoring on Monday and Thursday afternoons, recycling club meets on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons, and the environmental science club meets on Wednesday afternoons. While I have not had an opportunity to fully participate in any afterschool activities with students, I have noted that our classroom is always filled with after school participants, every day of the week; I believe this high extracurricular participation rate speaks volumes about the type of relationships that my classroom mentor fosters between herself and her students as well as between the students themselves. She allows upperclassmen students to take nearly full responsibility for the after school clubs. These students organize their volunteers and provide instructions to them. Sometimes, my mentor will meet with just the club officers to check in and see what the students are planning. She gives advice without assuming an overly managerial or controlling role.
Though, as Llewellyn (2005) notes, “the journey to becoming an inquiry based teacher is a very personal experience” (p.63), I feel that the time I have spent engaged in systematic observation of an inquiry-based classroom has revealed to me numerous key ideas about student engagement, learning, and classroom management. First and foremost, “the best discipline is [indeed] good curriculum” (Salas, 2004). Our use of engaging, diverse, and slightly fast-paced curriculum prevents students from having any extra time to misbehave. Coupled with our alternative classroom arrangement (‘U’ shape), we rarely need to employ any traditional behavior management techniques.
Good curriculum building takes much time; this includes not only time for lesson planning but also time for reflecting, rewriting, and retrying. In addition, educators must make time for learning students’ names and faces, students’ learning styles and learning challenges, students’ family histories, and students’ interests and passions. Relationship building takes time. I have come to understand that it also takes time for students to adjust to each other, to each class, and to you as their teacher as well.
In addition to time, successful execution of an inquiry-based science classroom and learning environment takes pedagogical skill, strong content knowledge and even a little bit of luck. I would like to work on further developing my pedagogical skills and deepening my understanding of student learning during the next eight months in this program and well into my teaching career. In particular, I would like to determine some of the most successful methods for engaging student interest in and excitement about science. Finally, as “monitoring student progress continuously” (p.62), “assisting students in assessing their own progress”(p.62), and encouraging students to “act as ‘reflective friends’ through peer evaluation” (Llewellyn, 2005, p.57) are all assessment based hallmarks of inquiry-based science learning, I would like to investigate how to better implement these strategies in my classroom to assist all students in their quest to learn science.
Using current class average grades as one measure of student content knowledge development, learning does appear to happen quite productively in our classroom (Appendix A). At this time, the overall average grades for our four freshmen biology classes land in the A- range (91.7%, 92.1%, 92.7%, 90.1%). I find students focused and engaged in our lessons; we rarely need to reprimand students for inattentiveness or distraction. Students participate regularly in class. Because we often have the same students raising their hands to answer questions, we sometimes employ ‘cold-calling’ (Lemov, 2010, p. 111) to check on the level of engagement and understanding of our quieter students (Appendix B – Observation Notes 09.10.13). These students nearly always have an answer to provide, often the right answer. I also notice some students either mouth or quietly vocalize to themselves a correct answer (Appendix B – Observation Notes 09.11.13, 10.10.13), though they rarely raise their hands.
While some of our students remain quiet during lecture and do not raise their hand to answer teacher directed questions, they can be quite talkative and engaged with neighboring students when provided the opportunity to socialize, such as during transitions or when performing group work. At first, the quietness of the freshmen biology classes during the first week of school shocked me (Appendix B – Observation Notes 09.09.13). By the second week, however, students became very chatty with each other; I also noticed more students answering questions, asking questions, and generally engaging in class discussions (Appendix B – Observation Notes 09.16.13, 09.17.13, 09.23.13).
From my observations of the first few weeks of school, it appears that students need time to adjust to the unique environment of each classroom they enter. In each new classroom, students must adjust not only to the teacher and the class material and expectations, but also to their fellow classmates. After the first week of school, students began participating more openly and frequently during class; additionally, I found our need to discipline the students for talking during lecture also increased (Appendix B – Observation Notes 09.17.13, 10.03.13). When setting up for lab activities, I have noted some students choosing the same group members. We employ many inquiry-based techniques for science class instruction; thus, we provide students many opportunities to “work and communicate in thoughtful groups” (Llewelyn, 2005, p. 57). We expect that the frequent use of group activities will help students not only to learn science but also to foster meaningful and respectful relationships with each other.
In addition to the frequent use of group work in class, the physical layout of our classroom lends itself to relationship building. Our desks are arranged in a ‘U’ shape, with 2 rows of desk per side (Appendix C). This set up allows for easy facilitation of whole class discussion; it permits students to visualize each other at all times, which can help students not only see each other when speaking but also hear and value each others ideas, thoughts and opinions – another foundation for any inquiry-based science classroom (Lleyweln, 2005, p. 56). The open classroom area in the middle of the ‘U’ shape provides the teacher an area for utilizing proximity and mobility for classroom management. Finally, when leading group activities, the ‘U’ shape set up allows students to quickly and efficiently turn their desks around to form groups of four or six.
Getting students to quickly and efficiently form groups and begin working with the people around them, however, has required quite a bit of scaffolding (Ormrod, 2008, p.335) for students. After we provide verbal instructions about a group activity to the class as a whole, we still have to remind students two or three times to organize themselves quickly into groups. We always circulate around the classroom as students prepare for the activity; many times we specifically have to tell students “turn your desk to face your partners!” or ask “with whom are you working?” or “where is your group?” We provide students with worksheets containing very specific instructions about the required tasks for each part of an activity; sometimes, we even include a box or line next to a set of instructions and require students to divide up the work and write down the name of the person responsible for each task. Sometimes, we do not hand out these instructions or worksheets until we see that everyone in the group is ready to begin (has put away notebooks and other materials, is seated properly, has turned his or her desk inward to face partners.)
Another aspect of group work that we highly scaffold for students is the preparation of lab materials. Before classes begin, we collect necessary lab materials (graduated cylinders, beakers, rulers, petri dishes, pens, pencils, etc.) and divide them evenly into each of eight baskets (Appendix D). We set out the baskets on the back lab benches. When a group is ready, they send one person to the back to pick up a basket for their group to use. We often check that each group has a basket before providing them the instructions for the lab/activity. Hopefully, scaffolding and organizing activities in this way will minimize transition time, thus maximizing productive learning time (Weinstein, 2010, pp. 192, 197).
While this level of organization takes extra time and effort on the part of the educator, it also provides the educator with the ability to say to students: “I have done my part, now you have to do yours.” Students become accountable (to a degree) for their own learning (Llewellyn, 2005, p.57). For example, when explaining expectations and rules on the third day of school, my classroom mentor emphasized the importance of mutual respect in the classroom:
“I expect you to bring paper and at least 2 pens and pencils to class each day. I don’t give out spare ones: I come prepared and
spend a lot of time planning lessons and I expect you to be prepared as well. Also, don’t cut class, for the same reasons. First,
I will worry about you, that you’re struggling with time management or are overwhelmed. And second, it’s just disrespectful.”
(Appendix B – Observation notes 09.12.13)
In order for respectful, meaningful, growth relationships to develop between student and teacher, teachers must often balance the expression of a genuinely friendly, open, and approachable demeanor with a critically constructive and disciplined attitude. “Even when doling out necessary constructive criticism, the teacher should frame this criticism in a way that says ‘I know you can do better – I want you to succeed – I care about you’” (McCulloch, 2013). I have witnessed my own classroom mentor walk this fine line with students nearly every day, both inside and outside of the classroom (Appendix B).
Another expectation we clearly expressed during the first week of school included the requirement for students to figure out and make up any work that they miss when absent. Students have access to paper copies of any worksheets, handouts, quizzes, or exams, for up to three weeks after they are distributed. We store extra copies of assignments in yellow folders at the front of the room; folders are marked by day of the week (Appendix C). The last three folders contain combined materials from the previous 2 weeks, 3 weeks, and older, respectively. Students also have access to almost any assignment, even when they are not in school, via our class website. Each class has an individual website through which students can access the class syllabus, assignments, notes, grades, and email links for correspondence with my classroom mentor and me (Appendix E).
While we frequently made announcements about these resources, and even included a question about their locations and uses on a class warm-up, students still (four weeks into the school year) will ask if extra copies of certain assignments are available. The redundancy of reminding students daily about their 24/7 access to class assignments sometimes frustrates me. While I gave students some slack the first week of school when they were adjusting to the new high school environment, I eventually decided that I needed to enforce an expectation of responsibility upon each student. Having both an organized physical classroom and web-based assignment system helps me inform students about my high expectations from them. When checking homework, I explain to students that I cannot accept their work if they come to class with missing or incomplete assignments (Appendix B – Observation notes 09.17.13).
While we opted to do an activity on the first day of classes rather than lecture about class rules and regulations (as I observed happening in other science classrooms) (Appendix B – Observation notes 09.09.13), we did eventually discuss class expectations, rules, and regulations on the third day of school. At that time, we provided students with a ‘cheat-sheet’ containing pertinent bulleted class information, similar to that of Christina Lugo Vreeland’s English 10 R Introductory Newspaper (Weinstein, 2010, p. 109). Our ‘cheat sheet’ (Appendix F) contains a great deal of information including: contact information of teachers, supplies students are expected to have each day, specific test days, units of study for the year, the name and ISBN of the class text book, the grading scheme, lab safety, when and how to get tutoring, and general class expectations (do the warm up each day, do not cut class, get materials you missed when absent, keep cell phones off, and other general advice.) The syllabus presented quite a bit of information for freshmen students to absorb; therefore, we carefully try to structure our classes to follow a similar pattern each day, so as to help students also learn class expectations through the use of routines.
Our thorough explanation of expectations, careful scaffolding of assignments, and preparation of engaging activities seem to have helped build a positive rapport with students over the first four weeks of school. Students can trust that they will come to class each day and know what to expect: class starts with a warm up – following this there is a ‘rolling of the dice’ (to determine whether the warm up will be collected) – then we thoroughly review and provide answers to the warm up – then introduce new material – and finally begin our lesson, which may or may not involve group work. We still need to remind some students to begin the warm up as soon as they settle at their desk or remind them to take out their notebooks and begin writing notes once we start discussing new material; however, because we do carefully prepare and structure our class periods and we do provide reminders to students regarding what they should be doing at various times during class, students do not argue with us. If student misunderstandings do arise, they usually stem from student lack of attention during instructions.
Because, in addition to knowing what to expect from our classes, students have come to know us (their teachers) as approachable individuals, our classroom has become a ‘safe space’ for students; it is an environment where students can come and build relationships with each other. We often have students visit our classroom during our prep periods. Students come with questions regarding class material, come to finish an assignment, come during their lunch period to work quietly on other assignments, or come by just to hang out with us and with their friends. Most often freshmen from our seventh period biology class will come halfway through their sixth period lunch just to ‘hang out’. These students will play board games (we have a variety available in our room), will practice their ‘cup game’ skills, will help to clean up the room, or will just sit around at the back tables and talk.
We also receive a great deal of student traffic after school Mondays through Thursdays. Freshmen biology students come for tutoring on Monday and Thursday afternoons, recycling club meets on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons, and the environmental science club meets on Wednesday afternoons. While I have not had an opportunity to fully participate in any afterschool activities with students, I have noted that our classroom is always filled with after school participants, every day of the week; I believe this high extracurricular participation rate speaks volumes about the type of relationships that my classroom mentor fosters between herself and her students as well as between the students themselves. She allows upperclassmen students to take nearly full responsibility for the after school clubs. These students organize their volunteers and provide instructions to them. Sometimes, my mentor will meet with just the club officers to check in and see what the students are planning. She gives advice without assuming an overly managerial or controlling role.
Though, as Llewellyn (2005) notes, “the journey to becoming an inquiry based teacher is a very personal experience” (p.63), I feel that the time I have spent engaged in systematic observation of an inquiry-based classroom has revealed to me numerous key ideas about student engagement, learning, and classroom management. First and foremost, “the best discipline is [indeed] good curriculum” (Salas, 2004). Our use of engaging, diverse, and slightly fast-paced curriculum prevents students from having any extra time to misbehave. Coupled with our alternative classroom arrangement (‘U’ shape), we rarely need to employ any traditional behavior management techniques.
Good curriculum building takes much time; this includes not only time for lesson planning but also time for reflecting, rewriting, and retrying. In addition, educators must make time for learning students’ names and faces, students’ learning styles and learning challenges, students’ family histories, and students’ interests and passions. Relationship building takes time. I have come to understand that it also takes time for students to adjust to each other, to each class, and to you as their teacher as well.
In addition to time, successful execution of an inquiry-based science classroom and learning environment takes pedagogical skill, strong content knowledge and even a little bit of luck. I would like to work on further developing my pedagogical skills and deepening my understanding of student learning during the next eight months in this program and well into my teaching career. In particular, I would like to determine some of the most successful methods for engaging student interest in and excitement about science. Finally, as “monitoring student progress continuously” (p.62), “assisting students in assessing their own progress”(p.62), and encouraging students to “act as ‘reflective friends’ through peer evaluation” (Llewellyn, 2005, p.57) are all assessment based hallmarks of inquiry-based science learning, I would like to investigate how to better implement these strategies in my classroom to assist all students in their quest to learn science.
References:
Lemov, D. (2010). Teach like a champion: 49 techniques that put students on the path to college. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Inc Pub
Llewellyn, D. (2005). Teaching high school science through inquiry: A case study approach. Thousand Oaks: Corwin Press.
McCulloch, A.A. (2013). Teaching & Learning. Retrieved from: http://mccam.weebly.com
Ormrod, J. E. (2008). Human learning (5th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Merrill/Prentice Hall.
Sallas, K.D. (2004). The best discipline is good curriculum. The new teacher book: Finding purpose, balance, and hope during your first years in the classroom.
Milwaukee, WI: Rethinking Schools
Weinstein, C.S., Novodvorsky, I. (2010). Middle and Secondary Classroom Management: Lessons from Research and Practice. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill
Humanities/Social Sciences/Languages.
Lemov, D. (2010). Teach like a champion: 49 techniques that put students on the path to college. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Inc Pub
Llewellyn, D. (2005). Teaching high school science through inquiry: A case study approach. Thousand Oaks: Corwin Press.
McCulloch, A.A. (2013). Teaching & Learning. Retrieved from: http://mccam.weebly.com
Ormrod, J. E. (2008). Human learning (5th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Merrill/Prentice Hall.
Sallas, K.D. (2004). The best discipline is good curriculum. The new teacher book: Finding purpose, balance, and hope during your first years in the classroom.
Milwaukee, WI: Rethinking Schools
Weinstein, C.S., Novodvorsky, I. (2010). Middle and Secondary Classroom Management: Lessons from Research and Practice. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill
Humanities/Social Sciences/Languages.