Setting the tone

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As a middle school math teacher, I strive to interest my students while simultaneously providing meaningful academic experiences for them. This includes combining the study of mathematics with real life, as well as focusing on various group assignments, projects, and simulations. In order to meet these goals, I spend a great deal of time and energy creating a student-centered atmosphere that is conducive to academic exploration and learning.

Classroom culture is more than "rules and regulations." It is the way my students and I interact with each other. From the first day of school, it is important to set a positive tone for the year. I begin this by focusing not on academics but on the most important aspects of middle school, the student-teacher and student-student relationships.

Team building

For the past three years, my core subject teammates and I have begun school with three days of team-building exercises. This is especially beneficial to sixth-grade students who are just beginning their transition from elementary to middle school. During this time, we participate in various activities that allow the teachers and students to form relationships with one another. Last year, for example, we created a team quilt. We randomly assembled the 100 students into groups of four and asked each student to think of one trait that made him or her unique from the other students in the group. Each group was then given a pre-cut fabric square on which each member illustrated one unique trait about himself or herself in one corner. Next, in the center of the square, the four students illustrated a trait they all shared. Participating in this activity helped the students begin making new friendships, respect one another’s similarities and differences, and feel comfortable in our team environment. Making the quilt also afforded the teachers the opportunity to talk with individuals and learn about student interests. Once the fabric squares were completed, we joined them to form a quilt and hung it in our hallway as a reminder of our team unity.

Spending time on team-building exercises has proven to be highly successful each year. By the time core classes begin on the fourth day of school, I feel like I already know a little bit about each individual’s personality. When I meet with my students for math class, I continue to get to know them. The students complete an interest graph and a math autobiography, from which I learn important information about their learning styles and their feelings toward school and math. Although time-consuming, these activities set the glue that holds our relationship together. I have found that once our bonds are established, my classroom becomes a safe place for the students to explore new academic ideas. This familiarity is the foundation on which classroom culture is built.

In the classroom

Although my classroom is student-centered, I began my teaching career with a very different perception of what a successful classroom environment should look like. I imagined I should stand in front of the room, show my students examples of problems and/or give them notes, and then expect them to mimic my problem-solving strategies. I viewed any other method of teaching as a chaotic mess, one in which learning certainly could not take place. This was the model of my own schooling, which included silent math classrooms, desks arranged in perfect rows, students seated alphabetically, and endless practice problems from textbooks. While at times the traditional approach is useful, it is unrealistic to expect young adolescents to be comfortable and successful in such a rigid environment.

To establish an environment that is best for the students while considering my own threshold for chaos, I have learned to create a balanced atmosphere, one in which there is an appropriate time for the students to discuss ideas, move about the room, and explore new concepts. I want the students to feel comfortable sharing ideas with one another and participating in meaningful discussions related to their work. But most importantly, I want them to feel that they belong and that they are safe to take risks. Unfortunately, students will not come to school the first day knowing my beliefs or me. How could they? Therefore, if I want the classroom to run in a certain manner, I have to model it and teach them what I expect along the way.

One situation that I avoid is the "teacher versus student" type classroom. We are all on the same team, and our common goal is their success. I often remind my students of that. I also model it by using phrases such as "our classroom" and "our study of integers" rather than "my classroom" and "your study of integers." I want them to know that I am an active participant in their learning, not just the facilitator of the journey. Most importantly, in order to create an atmosphere that is truly student-centered, it is imperative that the students have the opportunity to suggest their own procedures for our classroom. Because there is still that tiny bit of a traditional teacher inside me, I of course have some idea of how I want this conversation to take place. During our class discussion, I ask leading questions and provide classroom scenarios for them to think about, and we test some of their ideas. I take this conversation very seriously, which in turn makes the students feel that they have accomplished something important. They are then more likely to follow the guidelines and procedures of the classroom because they thought of them.

One classroom procedure that is extremely successful is raising my hand when I want the students’ attention. As they see me do this, they raise their hands as well. I thank them as they do so, which attracts others to do the same. It usually takes less than ten seconds to for everyone in the room to stop their activity and pay attention. This simple procedure works because we agreed as a class from the start that this would be the manner in which we conduct class - and we do it consistently.

Another such classroom procedure that is successful is using appropriate body language when someone is speaking. We often discuss the feelings of the speaker, such as whether or not he or she nervous talking to such a large group. We ask ourselves, "Has the speaker spent much time preparing to talk the group?" or "How do you think he or she feels when some of us are otherwise occupied?" We then discuss ways to show the speaker that we are listening. Students always come up with the same ideas: looking at the speaker, sitting up, and asking questions when appropriate. This also ties into our school’s focus on character education, so it is constantly reinforced for the students.

A picture of our classroom

Creating a student-centered atmosphere required that I make some personal changes. Many of my beliefs simply did not fit into the environment I wished to create. For example, I stopped thinking that a loud classroom is an out-of-control classroom. In order for students to participate in meaningful activities, work cooperatively, share ideas, create projects, and play games, they have to talk. And when twenty-five or more students are talking, it gets loud. As a teacher, I monitor their discussions to be sure they are on task, chime in when necessary, and answer questions, but I never want to stop the students’ discussions. If I do, I stop their learning as well. Again, the students know when and how to interact with one another because I take the time to teach them. We have open discussions throughout the year about classroom procedures and expectations.

Another change I made was to understand that when students work together, they are not necessarily cheating. Students need to communicate their ideas with their peers as they learn. I encourage them to share their ideas and their work with one another. This does not mean that they copy someone else’s work, but rather that they understand one another’s strategies for solving problems. Sharing their work also shows students that there is more than one way to approach a problem and that different people have different ways of thinking.

Our classroom is also one in which the mathematics textbook serves as a reference, not as the curriculum. There are times when drill and practice is beneficial to learning, but those times are few and far between. Students need opportunities to discover their own meanings for concepts. They need to apply what they are learning, regardless of the subject, to their everyday lives. Developmentally, it is the nature of a young adolescent to be self-centered. It is therefore imperative that I successfully illustrate the relationship between what we study and the real world. For example, one of our units is actually called "The Real World." This unit focuses on ratio, proportion, and percent. Students have careers and salaries and must calculate their paychecks, create a budget, buy cars and houses, and deal with an unforeseen circumstance. While participating in this unit, the students are always engaged because it is real and exciting for them.

It would be unrealistic to think that any classroom runs perfectly. There will always be students who push their teachers to the limits. And no, setting up classroom procedures as a group does not guarantee that every student will follow them. But taking the time to create guidelines together and consistently modeling and enforcing them will create a classroom atmosphere in which the students understand what is expected of them. When issues do arise, I simply talk with the students respectfully while referring to our many previous discussions about our classroom culture.

Final thoughts

A student-centered classroom has many advantages. Developmentally, middle school students are ready to assume more responsibilities for their learning. When they have opportunities to explore concepts and discover their own meanings, the material they learn becomes much more valuable to them. I don’t think that my students would remember very much had I given them fifty problems on percents to solve, but they never forget how they calculated their taxes and budgets while working on their "Real World" projects. Taking the time to create positive classroom atmosphere allows us to participate in more in-depth, exciting problem solving activities that result in greater academic success and stronger confidence for students.