Culture of the Group

My biggest “takeaway” from the reading was the idea of collectiveness and “groupness” in the classroom. Of course, we still need to know our learners individually, but building a community of learners in the classroom allows for the students to feel of sense of unity and acceptance. If the students view their classmates as family, they are more likely to participate in discussion and their fear of risk-taking will decrease immensely. There are many ways to cultivate a close-knit classroom environment, including (but not limited to) group circles, morning meetings, group pledge, sitting close together on a carpet, and arranging students’ desks in clusters of four. Togetherness releases stress, and the feel more confident, which leads to optimal learning. One way to help relieve stress is to take brain breaks throughout the day. In my classroom, I introducedn"Go Noodle," which has videos, songs and dance movements to help the students take a breather when their minds feel way to clustered. These fun brain breaks allow the students to move around a little, and also interact with eachother.

Levin, J., & Nolan, J. F. (2010). Principles of classroom management: A professional decision-making model, (6th Ed.). Boston: Pearson.

Weinstein, C. S., Romano, M. E., & Mignano, A. J. (2011). Elementary classroom management: Lessons from research and practice, (5th Ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill.

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