Running Head: WEEK 3 LITERATURE REVIEW
Week 3: Literature Review
Carrie Creger
TED 690
June 23, 2019
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An educator has a significant impact on the environment in which students learn
and the decisions made by the educator or classroom teacher related to environment
and classroom culture can profoundly alter student success. According to Lina Raffaelli,
Author of, 32 Strategies for Building a Positive Learning Environment, she believes that
successful classrooms are made up of certain components that set them apart from
others. Through the discussion of this topic with other educators, Raffaelli came up with
a compilation of assets necessary for a successful learning environment. Three specific
components are believed to be the most critical and necessary in terms of creating a
strong classroom foundation. These three components include; good relationships,
clear communication and trust.
Relationship building is critical with any successful work environment and a
classroom is no different. According to Raffaelli, it is important to “Build positive
relationships with students and parents starting with the first day of school. Let students
get to know you (and each other) by preparing fun icebreakers or exchanging letters.”
Allowing students to get to know the teacher along with peers creates a much more
comfortable environment for all and a little effort such as the implementation of an
icebreaker or other “getting to know you” activity can yield great results.
Communication is another critical piece of a successful classroom. According to
Rafaelli, it is important to use “humor, tech, or other strategies to get on their level.”
Bridging any potential gaps between teacher and parents or teacher and students is an
important aspect when thinking about a positive classroom culture. We all communicate
differently and for some, communication may be a difficult task. If extra effort can be
made with the goal in mind that developing clear communication will help everyone to
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understand expectations and other important details related to the classroom, many
potential pitfalls can be avoided.
Finally, trust is a significant piece when building a strong foundation for a
classroom environment. Trust can be implemented in several critical ways. This
includes trusting yourself as an educator. According to this article, learning to be able to
trust your own instincts and experiences when you are the classroom teacher with make
you more confident in your ability. Additionally, trust your students. Allow students to
have a say in variety of capacities such as floor plan, assignment details or group work.
When students feel as though they are heard and that their thoughts and opinions are
valued, there is an increase in buy in and students are much more engaged with the
classroom activities. Last, trust technology. Creating a digital classroom by
implementing a website or an electronic newsletter will allow parents to stay up to date
with the current events of the classroom.
There are a variety of details that an educator can implement in their classroom,
but the most critical piece is to begin building a solid foundation based on a few basic
principles. For Raffaelli, this came down to three main pieces, however each teacher
can be the ultimate judge as to what will work best in their particular classroom. The
ultimate goal is to keep the best interested of each student in mind and to create the
best possible learning environment for all who enter your classroom.
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Resources
Raffaelli, Lina. (September 3, 2014). 32 Strategies for Building a Positive Learning
Environment. Edutopia. George Lucas Educational Foundation. Retrieved
from: https://www.edutopia.org/discussion/32-strategies-building-positive-learning-
environment
