CLASSROOM CULTURE

PART 1: Overview Questions

Instructional Context Overview
Please tell us a little bit about the educational environment you were observing to
complete this micro-credential.

Type of school/program and the grade/subject configuration

(single grade, YMCA afterschool program, etc.)
I observed a single grade classroom.
Grade Age Level Number of Students
Kindergarten 5-6 19
Course
Elementary Field Experience
How long have you been working with this class in an educator role prior to the
featured lesson(s) examined in the micro-credential submission?
I have been working with this class for about one month.

Briefly and specifically describe relevant:

State or district mandates that impact the featured lesson

There are Common Core Standards, along with some of the students having an
Individualized Education Plan.

Type of community

I am observing a classroom in a public school in a suburban area.

Access to current technology

In the classroom I observed, there was access to computers and the classroom also
has a SmartBoard.
 Your relationship with the teacher you observed

I observe this teacher for my Elementary Field Experience class in school and have
a great relationship with the teacher.

Any other information you believe would be important for scorers to know to
understand your micro-credential submission

None

My Perspective Essay
Describe two past experiences you have had as a learner in which your teacher succeeded in
facilitating a sustainable, equitable classroom culture. Describe specific strategies the teacher
implemented to do this and what that meant for you and your peers. Use the Teaching
Tolerance five critical components of classroom culture as a guide for framing the experiences
the teacher facilitated.

Essay
As a learner, I have had multiple experiences in which my teacher succeeded in

facilitating a sustainable, equitable classroom culture. Classroom culture is an extremely

important aspect of teaching that every teacher should implement into their classroom. By

incorporating the five critical components of classroom culture, including honoring student

experience, thoughtful classroom setup and structure, shared inquiry and dialogue, social and

emotional safety, and values-based classroom management, every student can feel safe,

included and respected, while also learning the age-level curriculum.

A teacher that stands out to me the most was my Anatomy teacher. He had a real

passion for teaching, and all of his students can tell. By bringing me and my classmates

experiences into his teaching, we felt valued and respected, as we understood the material

better at the same time. A specific moment that this happened in his classroom was when he

was teaching us about MRIs, and what information can be gathered from this testing. To grab

everyones attention, he asked the class if anyone had ever had an MRI before. I thought it
was extremely interesting to hear other peoples stories, and got to share my story as well. In

this experience, he was using the first critical component, honoring student experience. This

teacher also had discussions, group projects, and other forms of collaboration so that

everyone had a openness for new ideas, and an inclusive classroom filled with respectful

interaction. A specific moment when this happened in his classroom was when he made up a

game called Medical Madness, where we everyone had a partner and we learned over 100

medical terms and their definitions. We would then compete against our classmates to see

how many medical terms we could correctly identify in a minute and the team to get more

terms would win and move up in the bracket, like March Madness. In this experience, he was

using the third component, which is shared inquiry and dialogue.

Classroom culture is an important aspect of the classroom that can overall lead to a

more happy environment and better experience for both the student and teacher. My Anatomy

teacher is one of my favorite teachers to this day, and some part of this is associated with the

fact that he had a great classroom culture where every student felt included, valued, cared for,

and respected.

PART 2: Artifacts
Observation Notes
Use the spaces on this form to type up the notes that you wrote while conducting observations
during your visits to the learning spaces. Your notes should relate directly to the critical
components in each section.

Tips to make your note-taking most effective:

Focus on the critical components of classroom culture. It's impossible to
document everything you observe! Stay focused on what matters, and avoid cluttering
your notes with information that isnt relevant to examples of how the classroom culture
is developed or maintained.
Be specific and descriptive. Use descriptive words to document what you
observe. You can even include quotes from the teacher or students that bring these
concepts
to life.
Make note of your insights and thoughts as you observe. As you observe, jot
 down why you are making note of each activity, quote, classroom set-up, etc. You could
simply write ex. of honoring student experience. This will help you remember the
importance of the event when you write your notes or essays later.

Observation Notes: Visit #1

Date of Observation
February 14th, 2017
Honoring Student Experience
Every week, one student is picked to be the Apple of My Eye, and each of the other

students create a page talking about what they like about the student and draw a picture to go

along with it. All of the pages are then turned into a book that the teacher reads to the class.

This incorporates honoring student experience because it shows every student individually

that they are valued and cared for, by both the teacher and their fellow students.
Thoughtful Classroom Setup and Structure
There are seven tables set up in the classroom, with two or three students at each table, which

supports collaboration and dialogue. Since it was Valentines Day, each of the kids made their

own bag to keep all of their valentine's cards in, which encouraged ownership among the

students.
Shared Inquiry and Dialogue
When the teacher read to the class, she told the students to create a connection sign with their

hands if they related to any of the characters in the book. This honored the student experience

because all of the students felt like they were sharing their own story.
Social and Emotional Safety
During many of the activities, the students go into their previously picked groups to work

around different stations. These groups are randomly picked, so there is no chance of

exclusion, like there could be if the students picked the groups by themselves, and everyone

who did not have close friends in the class did not have a group. This shows social and

emotional safety because it promotes inclusion, since no one is left out in the group.
Values Based Behavior Management
During the Valentines Day party, all of the students went around and handed out their

valentine's cards. This incorporates values based behavior management because it encourages

respectful interaction.
Other Notes on Visit #1

Observation Notes: Visit #2

Date of Observation
March 1st, 2017
Honoring Student Experience
Every week, one student in the class was chosen as the Apple of My Eye, where they are

able to bring in pictures of themselves when they were younger and have a guest reader come

in, which is usually one of their parents, to read a book to the class. This honors the student

experience because it shows all of the students that they are cared for and valued.
Thoughtful Classroom Setup and Structure
Every couple weeks, new students are picked to have various roles in the classroom,

including line leader, caboose, calendar helper, and weather helper. By doing this, every

student has a different role and responsibility in the classroom. Each of the students has a box

of their own supplies with their name on it, their own spot at their table, and their own cubby

with their name on it, which all encourage ownership.

Shared Inquiry and Dialogue
When reading a book, the teacher stopped and asked the students to share with a partner what

they predict will happen next. This made the students have an openness to new ideas and

collective learning, since the students had to listen to what their partner had to say, and give

their own opinion.

Social and Emotional Safety
During one of the activities where the students were making their own March calendars with

leprechauns on them, one of the students told her friend that she was missing one of the paper

pieces needed to make the leprechaun, and her friend decided to give the student her piece of

paper. When this was seen by the teacher, she was praised by the teacher, but also told that

there were more pieces of paper, and handed her one. This shows great social and emotional

safety because the students are able to create a safe and friendly climate for themselves.
Values Based Behavior Management
A third grade class came into the kindergarten classroom to read Dr. Seuss books. Each

kindergartener was paired with a third grader, and the third graders first read Dr. Seuss books

to the kindergarteners, and then the kindergarteners read their own 100 Book Challenge books

to the third graders. This represents values based behavior management because it encouraged

respectful interaction and incorporated a student-generated activity.

Other Notes on Visit #2

PART 3: Reflection
My Reflection Essay
Respond in a fully developed essay to the following guiding questions to reflect on classroom
culture:
In what specific ways did the learning space you observed succeed as
maintaining an equitable classroom culture? In what specific ways did it fall short?
What are your recommendations to strengthen the classroom culture in the
learning space you observed?
What are your specific plans to prepare yourself to implement and sustain an
equitable classroom culture in the future when you have the main responsibility for a
learning space?

Essay
The classroom I observed succeeded in many ways in maintaining an equitable

classroom culture. For example, every week, one student in the class was chosen as the

Apple of My Eye, where they are able to bring in pictures of themselves when they were
younger, have a guest reader come in, and all of the other students create a page about what

they like about the particular student. This honors the student experience because it shows all

of the students that they are cared for and valued. A thoughtful classroom setup and structure

was in place because there were seven tables set up in the classroom, with two or three

students at each table, which supports collaboration and dialogue.

The classroom I observed had great classroom culture, so there are not many ways

in which it fell short. If I had to choose a way in which the classroom culture fell short, it

would be in the area of shared inquiry and dialogue. A recommendation I have to strengthen

this area of classroom culture would be to have more ways in which the students work

together, either in small groups to complete something, or as a class to build teamwork. Other

than this, there was great classroom culture in the classroom I observed.

In the future, when I have the main responsibility for a learning space, I will follow

very closely to the classroom culture I observed, since I believe it was done so well. I would

implement something very similar to the Apple of my Eye because it seems extremely

beneficial every student. I would also have a thoughtful classroom setup, like the teacher I

observed had, with tables set up instead of individual desks to support collaboration and

dialogue between the students. I am excited for what the future holds and how I will be able

to implement the important aspects of classroom culture into my own classroom.