One thing I came into this semester thinking was how I want to teach like one of my old high school instructors who taught me Advanced Placement English Language and Composition in eleventh grade, and the course work in this class illustrated to me just why his methods still stand out to me after all this time. During that period, I was an anxiety ridden kid, but he was one of the teachers that never made me feel less than anyone else; in fact, he was the first teacher to empathize with me while expecting that I kept up with his high standards, something he knew I could do. I did well in his class, and even though many years have passed, I remember how important he was, and continues to be, in my educational career. My teacher taught me how to be a good teacher, but I never realized until this class why his style worked so well. Over the course of the semester, our readings have explained to us how vital student engagement is in maintaining classroom management. In order to provide the best education possible, I hope to instruct my classroom in a similar way: I believe in leading a student-centered, engaging, and active classroom where I can offer my genuine care, patience, and support whenever possible. 

Students learn best when they are an active participant, both mentally and physically, of their education, and I will lead my classroom with empathy and respect. Himmele and Himmele (2017) articulated that total participation techniques that involve moving around the classroom can lead to less distracted, and quality thinking, involvement from the students. For my classroom, I will use one of the ideas we saw in Himmele and Himmele’s book called chalkboard splash, and specifically for an English course, I will place large papers around the room for students to write their own thoughts on certain characterizations or themes we have been learning about. Being student-centered will follow shortly when, after I first give them a moment or two to get their own thoughts together, we will conduct a large-scale classroom discussion about the differences and similarities they had come up with. Milner et al. (2019) explained that when I allow the students to lead the discussion it moves “the power from being solely that of the teacher to that of the students, creating a more relevant, engaging environment that clearly reflects the needs, cultures, interests, perspectives, and brilliance of its students” (p. 101). For me personally, kindness, as cliché as it sounds, is also another facet that I will take with me when managing my classroom. A caring classroom lets my students feel comfortable interacting with me, and this is another technique that gets the students more involved with the instruction and material. An easy, perfect example of this would simply be standing outside the classroom and saying good morning to each student as they walk in. And, to further prove this would be effective, Milner et al. agreed as they wrote this one act sets the atmosphere of readiness, letting the students feel at ease that I am here to support them, not drag them down. Additionally, according to Marzano et al. (2003) when “a teacher has a good relationship with students, then students more readily accept the rules and procedures and the disciplinary actions that follow their violations” (p. 41), therefore the care I show not only helps them feel safe, but it also works to help me maintain control of the environment in an effective way. For developing rules and procedures, I plan to have a document projected on the front of the room where I can type and, as a class, we will agree on each rule on the list, making each part unanimously agreed upon. At the end, they will all sign at the bottom of the printed-out paper. This again shifts the power to be student-centered, and with these expectations made as one, they will understand the procedures and standards I hold them to while keeping both of us accountable.

Lastly, for my classroom setup, I want to do something akin to this following visual:

[Untitled illustration of a horseshoe shaped classroom]

I find that a U-shaped, or horseshoe shaped, classroom allows the students to do a few things more efficiently. As someone who has always worn glasses, I can safely say that seeing the board was always a potential issue for me, but with this layout, all students have an easier accessibility to see the board at the front. Secondly, it allows me more space to move about the students so I can engage the students with a more active, exciting lesson. Thirdly, Milner et al. informed us that U-shaped classrooms facilitate open and easy discussions about readings or to encourage students to interact with one another about their own work (p. 86). Connecting to that last point, Himmele and Himmele stressed the importance of using pair-group work that permits students to share their thoughts with one another in an accessible way, allowing new ideas to flow between them, since the desks are closer together. When doing group pairs, it gives the students some time to gather their thoughts for the group discussion soon following (Himmele & Himmele, 2017). So, overall, I think this shape of the classroom would work the best for my style of teaching.

My biggest hope in my future career as an educator is that I can leave the same impact that my own teachers left on me. I want to make a difference, to show students that learning can be fun and enjoyable and amazing while being educational all at once. This class has demonstrated to me so many wonderful techniques that I will carry into my work in the not-so-distant future that will keep my students engaged and excited for the content. From everything I have learned, I think I have a strong foundation to start and build upon, and I am more than eager to begin this path I have chosen.

References

Himmele, P., & Himmele, W. (2017). Total participation techniques: Making every student an active learner (2nd ed.). ASCD.

Marzano, R. J., Marzano, J. S., & Pickering, D. J. (2003). Classroom management that works: Research-based strategies for every teacher. ASCD

Milner, R., Cunningham, H. B., Delale-O’connor, L., & Erika Gold Kestenberg. (2019). “These kids are out of control”: Why we must reimagine “classroom management” for equity (Kindle). Corwin.

[Untitled illustration of horseshoe shaped classroom]. National Business Furniture. https://www.nationalbusinessfurniture.com/blog/classroom-arrangement-tips