Creating a Positive Learning Environment

1.  Stanbridge University

2.  Encourage all students to participate in class discussion.
 Monitor your own behavior when responding to students.
 Maintain control of the room.
 Encourage students to be inquisitive
 Be sensitive to students whose first language is not
English

3.  Invite viewpoints that present different approaches and values
 Make it clear that you value all comments
 Do not allow individuals or groups of students monopolize the
discussion
 If necessary call on students by name to have them become
involved
 When a student makes a comment or responds to a question, to
continue their engagement, respond with a “follow-up” question

4.  Listen attentively and respond directly to students' comments and
questions
 Address students by name (and with the correct pronunciation)
 Prompt students to provide a fuller answer or an explanation
 Give students time to answer a question before moving on
 Credit student comments during your summary ("As ‘Jose’ said . . . ")
 Give feedback and balance criticism and praise
 Make eye contact

5.  One stumbling block for
new teachers is to
respond with mixed
messages
◦ Respond to students
questions in a clear and
concise manner
◦ Avoid humor (what you
think is funny may be
offensive to others)
◦ There is no place for
sarcasm in the classroom
“Mixed Message”

6.  Set your standards
◦ Expect students to treat you and their classmates with respect - by doing this
they can expect the same treatment in return
◦ Arrive on time to class (and return from breaks) and have the same
expectation from the students
◦ Eliminate all disruptions by simply saying “silence your cell phones”
◦ Follow campus protocol by having a book-bags & phones brought to the front
of the room during tests
 If a student makes a distasteful remark even jokingly….
◦ Explain why a comment is offensive or insensitive. Let your students know
that racist, sexist, and other types of discriminatory remarks are unacceptable
in class (or the profession they are entering). For example, "What you said
made me feel uncomfortable. Although you didn't mean it, it could be
interpreted as saying.... "

7.  “Trust” equates to “Respect” and this is modeled
by the instructor
 Do not let “small issues” fester and divide the
class into cliques
 If you are experiencing problems immediately
contact your Program Director or a College
administrator

8. Encourage Students to be Inquisitive

9.  Dialogue is the key to “active learning”
◦ Rather than saying “Any questions?” before moving on, ask a student to
summarize what has just been discussed
◦ Start with one student and have them ask the student to their right a
question pertaining to the previous topic – after the student responds to
the question, they ask another question to the student to their right, etc.
◦ Just before students are going to break, assign one student to create
three questions from the material just presented and when the class
returns, that student then asks these questions to his fellow students
◦ Most students love games – use your imagination to create your version
of “Jeopardy” using questions from students’ readings

10.  In today’s environment
teachers must remain sensitive
to cultural differences
 Show tolerance for students
experiencing difficulty (help
them find a study group where
they are comfortable)
 Immediately deal with any
displays of intolerance in the
classroom