Which of the following is not a factor in establishing a positive learning climate?

6 Ways To Build A Positive Classroom Culture

Having a positive classroom culture is one of the most important elements of a successful learning environment and thus teachers should actively work towards creating a classroom culture that encourages participation and student success.

The Wingspread Declaration on school connections states that students have more likelihood of success when they feel connected to school. When students feel that adults in the school care about them as people as well as their learning they are more likely to feel connected.

The Declaration, based on a review of research and extensive discussion, found that for this to occur, a school must provide high expectations combined with high levels of support, a focus on positive teacher-student relationships and physical and emotional safety.

When students are connected, academic performance improves, violent and destructive incidents reduce, school attendance improves and more students complete their schooling.

There is strong scientific evidence to show that feeling connected to school is a protective factor for students against disruptive and violent behaviour, mental health issues, disengagement from school, drug use and early sexual experiences.

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Here Are 6 Ways To Build A Positive Classroom Climate So Your Students Feel Connected To School

1. Have High Expectations For Your Students

Have high expectations for your students, for their work and their behaviour. Expect that your students will do well and encourage them by letting them know that you believe in them. Provide appropriate learning support for all students.

Take a closer look at high expectations with What Does It Mean To Have High Expectations

2. Set Up Behaviour Management Processes

Behaviour management processes in your classroom should be fair and consistent, which means they are agreed upon and understood by the students. Teach students the behaviour you expect, give them opportunities to practice and use positive reinforcement.

For practical ways to do this take a look at our post, Set Up To Win The Game.

3. Focus On Building Positive Relationships

Relationships with students is a major key to positive learning outcomes for students and school culture.

Allocate time and energy to listening to your students, getting to know them and letting them get to know you. The magic ratio for positive relationships according to John Gottman the relationship expert is 5 positive interactions: 1 negative. Not sure how to do this?

Check out one of our teaching resources on Building Positive Relationships

4. Use Effective, Evidence-Based Teaching And Learning Practices

Be prepared for your classes by considering your students and how they best learn. Provide relevant and engaging curriculum, presented in interesting and student-centred ways.

The literature review Building Resilience in Children and Young People from Helen Cahill et al, states that school connectedness contributes to positive mental health outcomes for students. The pedagogical characteristics of schools that demonstrate effective connectedness are the use of cooperative learning strategies, hands-on activities and variety of instruction.

Another popular resource of interest is How To Promote Resilience In Your Students

5. Foster Positive Relationships With Parents

Postive relationships with parents is important for many reasons. However, here I refer specifically to encourage them to share your high expectations for their children, so you can work as a team to educate. Remember, parents are their children’s first teachers.

Learn more here about How To Build Relationships With Parents.

6. Encourage Positive Relationships Between Students

Model the behaviour you want to see in the way students treat each other. Use respectful language and demand a high standard of relating to one another in the classroom. Explicitly teach students social skills and give them plenty of opportunities to practice.

Read how to do this effectively; How To Run Successful Group Work

And read here for 3 steps to create a positive class culture.

Ask us about how we can help you build a positive culture in your school.

What are your favourite ways to foster a positive classroom culture?

This post is featured by Twinkl in their ‘Behaviour Management in the Classroom’ blog

• Module
• Challenge
• Initial Thoughts
• Perspectives & Resources
• Wrap Up
• Assessment

How can teachers increase the chances that their students will behave appropriately?

Research Shows

• Positive interactions with teachers help students navigate the challenges of instructionally focused classrooms and facilitate motivation, engagement, and social development.
  (Archambault et al., 2017; Larson et al., 2020; van Uden et al., 2014)
• Students indicate that having teachers that demonstrate care and respect is important. This is often done through simple positive greetings, maintaining high expectations, recognizing the strengths of cultural differences, as well as providing tangible support when students struggle academically and socially.
  (Liang et al., 2020)
• Though customs and communication styles vary widely, communicating with civility and respect is common among cultures.
  (Robinson, 2020)

In the audios below, three teachers discuss strategies for creating a positive classroom climate. First, Angela Mangum discusses how she builds relationships and holds high expectations for her students. Next, Melissa Patterson discusses the importance of positive communication and how she uses positive phone calls to build relationships with families. Finally, Ashley Lloyd talks about how she treats students with respect and is responsive to student needs.

Angela Mangum
High School Teacher

(time: 2:22)

View Transcript

Melissa Patterson
High School Teacher

(time: 2:07)

View Transcript

Ashley Lloyd
Elementary Teacher

(time: 1:19)

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Transcript: Angela Mangum

I always stand at my door and welcome my students by name every day. And if I miss one–because I was helping somebody with something or I had to run to the restroom–I’ll always make sure when I do come back that I’ve said hello to everybody. I think in high school especially, it’s really easy for kids to put their hoods on and hide in the back and be invisible. And I don’t want them to be invisible in my room. I want them to feel seen, and I want them to feel appreciated and important. So I’ll always make sure that I greet them. My curriculum is so much about student interests and students, what they like, what they don’t like. That’s how we start in the early levels because that’s very easy French vocabulary. So building into my daily instruction, asking them questions about what they’re doing, asking them what their weekend plans are, how their weekend was, and then following up on it. You know, if a student tells me they have a baseball game, the next time I see them I’m going to remember to ask them how was your baseball game? And those little things aren’t the little things. That’s what makes kids feel like you care about them. And it makes kids feel like you like your job. And when you say you like your job, whether you mean it on that day or not, they’re going to feel that, and they’re going to be more inclined to come to class on time, ready to learn, with a positive attitude because they feel like you want them there. They feel welcomed. And I think that’s really important. And when kids get frustrated and want to give up because something’s hard, I think reminding them that you believe in them and you’re not going to let them give up. I’ve said to students, I’m going to sit here until you do this so you can do it now or you can wait five minutes. But I’m going to still be sitting here ready to help you because you can do this, and you are capable. I think using those supportive phrases and just refusing to give up on them because they’re going to give up on themselves a lot quicker than you will. And showing them that you’re there and you’re committed to them as people and as students, that really helps them feel welcomed in your room, and it just makes your classroom a much more positive place to be.

Transcript: Melissa Patterson

I make sure that I’m calling home regularly–not just for negative behaviors, but for positive ones–making sure that the students are familiar with me, the phone number that pops up on their phone so they know to answer it. So they know, oh, this is Ms. Patterson. She’s calling because of something with my student. I always call if there’s some kind of negative behavior that’s affecting the climate in the classroom, but additionally I’ll make sure that every few days, especially in that first month of school, that I’m also calling to say, hey, this is what he or she did today, and it was really amazing. Parents don’t want to hear all of the negativity that’s coming from school every day, but they really appreciate hearing all of the good, positive, strengthening things that their students are doing. So I think the most important thing across the board to creating a positive climate is constant communication, whether that’s communication with the students to remind them or praise them about their behavior and then communication with the families for them to understand, their true expectations for the classroom, how successful their student is being, and what those things are that have been successful so they can encourage that behavior going forward. A lot of teachers just send home the syllabus that have the classroom rules in the syllabus, but parents don’t necessarily see those. For a student’s parent to have regular conversation with a teacher that isn’t always negative really creates that bond and encourages the student to make sure that they are doing the things that are expected of them because they know that their parent has a personal relationship with their teacher and that they are in regular contact. So they want to make sure they’re doing the right things. We get so overwhelmed with making those phone calls, but I think a good way to do that is to have a communication log and even just as simple as having a checkmark saying I called for a negative reason or I called for a positive so that you can continue to see that data. And if I called this parent six times for a negative behavior, I really need to call that parent and remind them that their student is good as well, which again can be hard, but it’s just a piece of our everyday teacher life.

Transcript: Ashley Lloyd

When I think of creating a positive classroom environment, the concept of student voice and choice whenever possible is what I try to incorporate throughout every lesson of every day. When students can bring themselves into an assignment or a task in a way large or small, they feel connected, respected, and heard. So I try to maintain the high expectations by providing open-ended opportunities that have built-in scaffolds and supports when needed. And then they can also feel that they have the voice and the choice in saying that’s not going to work for me for this reason. How about I try it this way? It gives them a lot of confidence and a lot of say. It helps build the bond between me and the child, and it helps them feel as if they’re being respected. I do everything possible to handle behaviors inside the classroom. Students who are sent out or have another adult called in to deal with their behavior start to feel disconnected, not part of the group. And they feel that me as a teacher is no longer their authority. So I try very, very hard when possible to handle any unwanted behaviors within the classroom with respect. And if I have built the student voice and choice and the highly engaging environment, it tends to be very simple to handle those behaviors in the classroom because they don’t want to miss out.

Returning to School

• Communicate, Connect, and Check- In: Enhance relationships with students and their families by increasing both the level and quality of communication. Some ways teachers can do this is to:
  • Welcome and greet students with enthusiasm each day.
  • Show concern for students’ well-being.
  • Survey students or families regarding needs.
  • Schedule frequent “Check-Ins” to ensure levels of support and collaboration are maintained.
  • Make sure to use multiple channels of communication (e.g., emails, texts, phone calls, school Website, family networks).
• Screen and Monitor: Formally and informally screen to determine which students need academic support, behavioral interventions, and critical services such as healthcare, nutritional support, and social welfare. Continue to regularly monitor student needs as these can change throughout the school year.
• Support: Maintain a safe, respectful, and culturally responsive environment that emphasizes predictable routines, high expectations, and the strengths of diverse cultures. Some ways teachers can do this is to:
  • Offer guidance and emotional support to students as needed.
  • Minimize student sensory and emotional overload. Just being in a class with 20-30 students where many things happen simultaneously is a big change from what students experienced last year. This, in addition to increased student stress and anxiety, may result in them easily becoming overwhelmed.
• Teach: Consistently teach (and reteach, when needed) behavioral expectations through engaging lessons. This may be the first time that 1st-grade students have been in a classroom, and older students may have been out of the classroom for more than a year. Keep in mind that increased time may be required to teach and model appropriate academic and social behaviors.

Adapted from Center on Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports, 2021.

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