Unfortunately, it is common to hear students say that they hate school and they are never going to use the things that they are learning. With this mindset, it is impossible to learn to one's full potential. This is what makes establishing a culture for learning so meaningful. Establishing a culture for learning means that the teacher creates an environment in which both the students and teacher are excited to learn and see the value in learning. Elements of this include:
Importance of the Content and of Learning
If a student believes that what they are learning is inapplicable to the real world, they will not put their best effort into learning the subject. Thus, it is up to the teacher to convey the importance of the subjects being studied.
Expectations for Learning and Achievement
Often, students will perform to the level expected of them. That is, if a teacher only expects a student to achieve at a basic level, even if the student could perform at an advanced level, they will only perform to the expectation. Similarly, if a teacher expects a student to achieve at an advanced level, they will perform at that advanced level. Therefore, teachers should have high, but realistic expectations for their classroom.
Student Pride in Work
Once a student is confident in their ability to achieve at a high level, they will be proud of their work. This means that they will put more effort into the project, and their pride will be evident in their discussion of their work.
Implementing in the Classroom/Artifacts Demonstrating Competency
- Take time at the beginning or end of each new topic to brainstorm with students how they might use this in real life
- Write down how current topics are relevant and post it somewhere in the classroom
- Encourage pride in student work
- Expect every single student to achieve at a high level, despite past achievements
- Tell students that no matter what mistakes they made in the past, they can still grow
- Display student work
- Make a big deal of excellent work
- All images labeled for reuse
- (2018). Static.pdesas.org. Retrieved 15 February 2018, from http://static.pdesas.org/content/documents/danielson_rubric_32.pdf