This past week, I had to complete an assignment for one of my graduate classes, Supervision of Instruction. I was posed with the discussion post: "describe a positive classroom environment that I am familiar with--what does it look, sound, and function like?"
I quickly knew of a classroom in Cozad that I felt fit the best "positive classroom environment". The classroom is set up is not in rows with the teacher desk up front. The desks are moved frequently and always in groups. There is alternate seating (other than standard desks) for students, the teacher’s desk is mixed in with the student’s desks, and the teacher is always moving around the room. The teacher uses a variety of technology integrated into her lessons. She uses video, screen capturing, sharing students screens, smartboard, etc. The teachers expectations are posted and they are different than most classroom rules. They state: “This will be like no class you have taken before. You will have the opportunity to move and work at your own pace with a few limits and guidelines. You’ll get to have me as your coach, helping you train to become mathletes.” Students’ successes are celebrated as they meet chapter objectives. Students are collaborating and are engaged. The classroom definitely has a positive environment and is conducive to learning.
When I posted this answer on my discussion board, one of my peers responded that they love to refer to their students as "mathletes" and that they use many of the skills they have learned in coaching to engage, motivate, and teach their students. As I was reading their response, I thought that is exactly how I want to approach the teachers and students that I work with. One of my duties as Technology Integration is to offer professional development to our staff. I want to be more of a technology coach and encourage and engage our teachers. As I thought about this, I thought of what I want my blog to be--I want to provide information for "Techletes". In searching, I found that there is a company already named "Techletes" so I edited it to "Tech-letes"......thus the beginning of my blog site. I hope that I can create a positive environment just as our math teacher did here. I want to give my teachers the opportunity to move and work at their own pace with few limits and guidelines. My Blog site is finally named and now I have no more excuses. Wish me luck!
