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My school's therapy dog, Eli- he provides emotional support and safety for students and staff!

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Hi there fellow educators! I am excited to teach a course about a concept that is near and dear to me. I will be beginning my third year of teaching. During my first two years, I focused on ways I could positively impact my students through building a strong classroom community. By doing this, I have been able to create specials bonds with each of my students. Through my welcoming classroom, I am able to showcase confident learners as well as increased student engagement. My goal for this course is to share strategies to help you use or try in your classroom. Every classroom and educator is different and the strategies explained will be a mix of trial and error. What might work in a kindergarten classroom might not work for a second grade classroom. Regardless, practice makes perfect! It is up to us to create a safe and positive learning environment for our students- we must find ways to continue our passion for teaching and benefit our students along the way!

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Objective 1) By the end of the MOOC course, students will be able to identify 3 out of 4 ways to build a strong classroom community.

Objective 2) By the end of the MOOC course, students will be able to differentiate between a negative and a positive classroom community with 80% accuracy.

Objective 3) By the end of the MOOC course, students will be able to apply at least one strategy to their classroom to help build a stronger classroom community with their students.

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First things first (Strategy 1- classroom expectations)

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First things first (Strategy 1- classroom expectations)

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When determining how to create a positive classroom community it is important to consider the expectations you have in your classroom. By doing so, it lays the foundation for your students when they enter your classroom each day. If expectations are not discussed, you will experience a shift in your classroom. This includes difficult communication, disrespect, less student engagement and success, and disruptions. Creating classroom expectations sets educators on the pathway towards success and opens the doors to a positive and safe learning environment.

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In this strategy, we focus on the concept of "morning meeting" which is a necessary part to the day in an elementary classroom. This scheduled time allows for conversation about the weather, calendar, days of school count, a morning activity/game and morning question. In my second year, I added a morning message which my students looked forward to each day. I would write the specials we had for the day, if there was a student birthday and any celebrations for the day. Towards the middle of the year, we began discussing what tallies were, we would use tallies to determine class data on our lunch count as well as our morning message. As the students got comfortable one of my students would be selected as the "mini teacher" who would keep track of the tallies as well as perform the tasks of morning meeting. It was a joy to have my students have a say in our morning meeting and be excited to take part each morning.

During this time, it is important to celebrate diversity as well as inclusion for all students. Before we start the next activity, we sit in a circle and we will sing our "good morning song" as well as say how we are feeling for the day. I will have a few students select the morning meeting videos that teach the alphabet, colors as well as days of the week and months of the year. I had a few ELL( English Language Learner) students and we later added how to count in Spanish for all of my students to learn and to create a sense of belonging. Be sure to model empathy as well as respect for students to integrate.

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Although this strategy might surprise you, it is often overlooked by many educators. By getting to know your students, will help students build their trust with you and allow them to be themselves. When students enter the classroom, greet them with a smile and ask them a simple question. This could be how they are feeling for the day or what they ate for breakfast. Complimenting a student goes a long way- " I love how nicely you walked into the classroom today" "I really like your shirt- green is my favorite color" " We missed you yesterday-are you feeling better?" Throughout the day check in with students as well as taking time to have a conversation with them. This could be during transitions, recess, before/after lunch, when packing up, any time there is an open slot for a conversation- make the time.

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No matter what grade you may teach, it is important for students to have ample opportunities to socialize with their peers. When cultivating collaboration, you must first model to your students collaboration skills before students can collaborate together. These skills include active listening, work as team, accept criticism, effective communication, accept multiple perspectives and share ideas. After teaching these skills explicitly, provide moments of ice breakers and group activities where students can put these skills to the test. Remind students to be kind to one another and to learn about their peers through conversation and activities.

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Instructional Activity #1- Discussion Board Forum

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Instructional Activity #1- Discussion Board Forum

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Watch the video above and answer the following questions. Please make sure your responses are clear and concise and limited to 550 words. Respond to 4 peers post- ask questions and/or begin a general discussion based on the video with at least 70 words.

Question 1) Dr. Shannon Ralph explained that "building a positive classroom culture takes time, this is not a one and done kind of thing. It is the little things that matter." How does this resonate with you?

Question 2) What takeaway did you like the most that Dr. Shannon Ralph discussed? How would your students benefit by using this strategy?

Question 3) If you had the opportunity to ask Dr. Shannon Ralph a question regarding classroom community- what would it be?

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Teaching Basics 101: Building a Positive Classroom Culture

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Instructional Activity #2 Weekly video lectures

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Instructional Activity #2 Weekly video lectures

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Mark your calendars! Every Tuesday at 3pm you will be expected to attend the video lecture to discuss questions about the course, discuss upcoming assessments and instructional activities, dive deeper into the content as well as collaborate with peers. Attendance matters and will be for a grade! We expect our students to be on time for class, and my expectation is the same for you!

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Instructional Activity #3 Team building group project 

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Instructional Activity #3 Team building group project 

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For this activity, you will be placed in a group to practice collaboration as well as team building with your peers. You will communicate with your peers either through group chat or email.

You and your group will be provided with 3 different scenarios about the struggles with classroom community from different educators. Your group will work together to generate creative ideas and construct a response back to the educator for each scenario. Be sure to differentiate between a negative and positive classroom community. Your response could be paragraph form, written in a slideshow and or a video response. Let your creative minds flow!

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Students will create concept map of ideas they would like to try in their classroom. They will implement one of the 4 ideas in their classroom for a week. They will record each day to see what worked and what did not. They will provide a written reflection on the strategy they implemented. The videos from each day will be posted on Voice Thread where peers can respond to at least 3 peers and provide feedback to each other.

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Students will take a quiz with 36 questions total. The quiz will consist of multiple choice, true or false, matching and written response.

Students will not be able to use the internet/ course notebook for help nor can it be taken with a peer.

The goal of the quiz is for students to reflect and use their knowledge gained from the course.