Classroom management, teacher collaboration, and relationships between students, schools, families, and communities are all important for student success. When expectations are clear and all parties work together to support learning, students achieve more and enjoy school. Effective classroom management creates an environment where students feel safe to learn. Teacher collaboration promotes consistency, while involvement from families, schools and communities provides resources and real-world connections to enhance learning.

2. Classroom
Management

3. • Classroom management involves creating expectations for students and adhering
to those expectations .
• These expectations include how the classroom is arranged, how the teacher
presents her/himself as an education professional, and how students will
demonstrate what they have learned.
• All of these factors contribute to creating an environment for students in which
they feel safe and comfortable. By establishing these feelings, teachers are able
to teach freely and students are able to learn freely (they feel less
pressure/anxiety and are not afraid to ask questions).
• One strategy to ensure classroom management is being utilized is to create a
management plan. This plan can include a seating chart, class breaks, bathroom
policies, and noise levels.
• By creating a plan ahead of time, a teacher can establish a routine and
expectations that the students will be able to follow and adhere to from day one
which also establishes consistency in their educational development.

4. Teacher Collaboration

5. • Teacher collaboration involves teachers working together to create consistency in
a student's educational routine and promotes student achievement. An example
of teacher collaboration that has been growing in recent years is the utilization of
"professional communities".
• Professional communities are created based off of teachers' sense of belonging,
the teachers' pride in their school, and the acceptance of the school's mission
("Science Daily", 2013). This process allows teachers to collaborate to establish
their teaching methods and discuss what is working for their students and what is
not.
• In these collaborations, teachers can focus on reflection of themselves and their
staff members in a safe environment. Ultimately, the desired outcome is that
teachers will be able to develop a consistent teaching strategy that they enjoy
utilizing and that students are responsive to.

6. School Relationships

7. When students find their school environment to be supportive and caring, they are more
likely to develop positive attitudes toward themselves and prosocial attitudes and
behaviors toward others (Schaps, 2005). These students are more likely to become
engaged in, and committed to, the school and, therefore, inclined to behave in accord
with its expressed goals and values (Schaps, 2005).
When the school and students collaborate, the student:
1. Becomes engaged in school
2. Acts in accord with school goals and values
3. Develops social skills and understanding
4. Contributes to the school and the community
• When the community collaborates to support learning, students achieve more in
school, stay in school longer, and enjoy the experience more (O'Keefe, 2011).
• Engaging families and communities in student learning is a core strategy for school
reform, and its impact on a school's prospects for success are powerful (National
Education Association, 2011).

8. Community Relationships

9. A community can be a great resource when completing projects and connecting
them to real-life situations, and working together will only enhance the concept of
teamwork and thinking beyond the classroom (Wagner, 2011).
When the community engages in student learning:
• Positive impact on students' academic learning
• Improves students' ability to apply what they have learned in "the real world"
• Positive impact on academic outcomes such as demonstrated complexity of
understanding, problem analysis, problem-solving, critical thinking, and cognitive
development
• Improved ability to understand complexity and ambiguity

11. • "Group management skills“
To communicate effectively in small groups, students need practice communicating
and receiving feedback. Explicit communication skills hone in on specifics that
promote healthy student relationships and collaborations. Research on managing
student teams notes that effective skill development of teamwork and group work
requires the instructors to promote individual accountability, the use of
interpersonal skills, and chances for self-assessment of personal and team
functioning (Woods, Felder, Rugarcia, & Stice, 2005).
• "Self-reflection“
It is important to have students reflect on group work. Development of this skill
enhances critical teamwork skills. The teacher can create relevant prompts to
guide them in processing the group assignment. This form of journaling encourages
self-reflection and allows students to see teamwork issues in new ways, create
resolutions, and provide opportunities to share thoughts with their group (Team
work skills, n.d.).

12. Family Relationships

13. • Homework is an extension of the classroom and students are expected to
perform new skills at home.
• Many times they need help at home as well.
• Knollmann and Wild (2007) found students enjoyed doing homework with the
help of a parent more than doing it by themselves (p.63).

15. • Collaboration from all parties plays a huge part
in the success of the student. When one
component is missing it can hinder the student’s
ability to learn effectively.

16. Resources

17. Classroom management
Bean, S. (n.d.). Classroom management to promote learning. ReCAPP.
Retrieved from http://recapp.etr.org/recapp/index.cfm?fuseaction=pages.EducatorSkills
Detail&PageID=78
Teacher collaboration
Teacher collaboration, professional communities improve many elementary school
students' math scores. (2013, June). Science Daily.
Retrieved from http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/06/130605130219.htm
School Relationships
Schaps, E. (2005). The Role of Supportive School Environments in Promoting
Academic Success. Retrieved from https://www.collaborativeclassroom.org/research-
articles-and-papers-the-role-of-supportive-school-environments-in-promoting-
academic-success

18. Student
Woods, D. R., Felder, R. M., Rugarcia, A., & Stice, J. E. (2005). The future of
engineering education: Part 3. Developing critical skills. Chemical Engineering
Education, 34(2), 108-117
Team work skills: being an effective group member. (n.d.). University of Waterloo.
Retrieved September 5, 2015 from https://uwaterloo.ca/centre-for-teaching-
excellence/teaching-resources/teaching-tips/tips-students/being-part-team/teamwork-
skills-being-effective-group-member
Family
Knollmann, M. & Wild, E. (2007). Quality of parental support and students' emotions
during homework: Moderating effects of student motivational orientations. European
Journal of Psychology of Education, 22(1), 63-76.
Crawford, P.A., & Zygourias-Coe, V. (2006). All in the family: Connecting home and
school with family literacy. Early Childhood Education Journal, 33(4), 261-267.

19. Community
Bandy, J. (2015). What is Service Learning or Community
Engagement? Retrieved from http://cft.vanderbilt.edu/guides-sub-
pages/teaching-through-community-engagement/
National Education Association. (2011). Collaborative Strategies to
Advance Student Learning. Retrieved from
http://www.nea.org/assets/docs/Family-School-Community-Partnerships-
2.0.pdf
O'Keefe, B. (2011). Five Steps to Better School/Community
Collaboration. Retrieved from http://www.edutopia.org/blog/school-
community-collaboration-brendan-okeefe
Wagner, A. (2011). Five Steps to Better School/Community
Collaboration. Retrieved from http://www.edutopia.org/blog/school-
community-collaboration-brendan-okeefe#comment-78420