On Building Classroom Culture

It’s the start of a new academic year, so it’s time to forge those classroom communities. In my experience (filled with success and failure), to build a community you need to give students a sense of belonging, a recognition of potential adversity, ownership, and a vision that binds them together. To do this, try my 13 To Dos:

1. Meet and greet students at the door, and be present to wish your students well as they leave. Always. Get to know what makes them wonderful.
2. It sounds counter-intuitive, but make your classroom focused on embracing challenge, the possibility of failure and the potential uncertainties on the way to a common goal (aka students learning things). Nothing forges a group more than adversity.
3. Be sure students understand that their individual input is required for any group success.
4. Ask for, and act upon, student feedback on how the class is run.
5. Be the passion you expect and…
6. …. regularly allow students to share theirs in student-led presentations from their favourite book to current affairs. I have used this protocol – Hot Reads.
7. Have fun together, with whole class quizzes and low-stake, friendly competitions, e.g. Kahoot or Quizlet Live. Even better, compete with other classes…
8. Actively and intentionally coach students to collaborate in whole class, small group and paired discussions, for example with the 7 norms of collaboration.
9. Reminisce at least once a year. I’ve run this Memory Cafe lesson to do this.
10. Place student work on your walls, showcasing both exemplary work and on-going, imperfect products.
11. Allow students to work in ways that honour the differences in how they might best contribute to the community. Sometimes this is alone. Often it’s as part of a group. Create classroom space for both.
12. Maintain a comfortable, clean, welcoming classroom.
13. Take and display photos of students working, smiling, having fun. The Google+ photo assistant will even create a GIF if you photo burst your target.

In summary, ask yourself the following three questions:

• Do you have routines in place that allow the group to experience a sense of community?
• Do you have a shared vision for success? 
• Does the classroom space mirror and promote a community you all value?