Académique Documents
Professionnel Documents
Culture Documents
There are Common Core Standards, along with some of the students having an
Individualized Education Plan.
Type of community
In the classroom I observed, there was access to computers and the classroom also
has a SmartBoard.
Your relationship with the teacher you observed
I observe this teacher for my Elementary Field Experience class in school and have
a great relationship with the teacher.
Any other information you believe would be important for scorers to know to
understand your micro-credential submission
None
My Perspective Essay
Describe two past experiences you have had as a learner in which your teacher succeeded in
facilitating a sustainable, equitable classroom culture. Describe specific strategies the teacher
implemented to do this and what that meant for you and your peers. Use the Teaching
Tolerance five critical components of classroom culture as a guide for framing the experiences
the teacher facilitated.
Essay
As a learner, I have had multiple experiences in which my teacher succeeded in
important aspect of teaching that every teacher should implement into their classroom. By
incorporating the five critical components of classroom culture, including honoring student
experience, thoughtful classroom setup and structure, shared inquiry and dialogue, social and
emotional safety, and values-based classroom management, every student can feel safe,
A teacher that stands out to me the most was my Anatomy teacher. He had a real
passion for teaching, and all of his students can tell. By bringing me and my classmates
experiences into his teaching, we felt valued and respected, as we understood the material
better at the same time. A specific moment that this happened in his classroom was when he
was teaching us about MRIs, and what information can be gathered from this testing. To grab
everyones attention, he asked the class if anyone had ever had an MRI before. I thought it
was extremely interesting to hear other peoples stories, and got to share my story as well. In
this experience, he was using the first critical component, honoring student experience. This
teacher also had discussions, group projects, and other forms of collaboration so that
everyone had a openness for new ideas, and an inclusive classroom filled with respectful
interaction. A specific moment when this happened in his classroom was when he made up a
game called Medical Madness, where we everyone had a partner and we learned over 100
medical terms and their definitions. We would then compete against our classmates to see
how many medical terms we could correctly identify in a minute and the team to get more
terms would win and move up in the bracket, like March Madness. In this experience, he was
Classroom culture is an important aspect of the classroom that can overall lead to a
more happy environment and better experience for both the student and teacher. My Anatomy
teacher is one of my favorite teachers to this day, and some part of this is associated with the
fact that he had a great classroom culture where every student felt included, valued, cared for,
and respected.
PART 2: Artifacts
Observation Notes
Use the spaces on this form to type up the notes that you wrote while conducting observations
during your visits to the learning spaces. Your notes should relate directly to the critical
components in each section.
Date of Observation
February 14th, 2017
Honoring Student Experience
Every week, one student is picked to be the Apple of My Eye, and each of the other
students create a page talking about what they like about the student and draw a picture to go
along with it. All of the pages are then turned into a book that the teacher reads to the class.
This incorporates honoring student experience because it shows every student individually
that they are valued and cared for, by both the teacher and their fellow students.
Thoughtful Classroom Setup and Structure
There are seven tables set up in the classroom, with two or three students at each table, which
supports collaboration and dialogue. Since it was Valentines Day, each of the kids made their
own bag to keep all of their valentine's cards in, which encouraged ownership among the
students.
Shared Inquiry and Dialogue
When the teacher read to the class, she told the students to create a connection sign with their
hands if they related to any of the characters in the book. This honored the student experience
because all of the students felt like they were sharing their own story.
Social and Emotional Safety
During many of the activities, the students go into their previously picked groups to work
around different stations. These groups are randomly picked, so there is no chance of
exclusion, like there could be if the students picked the groups by themselves, and everyone
who did not have close friends in the class did not have a group. This shows social and
emotional safety because it promotes inclusion, since no one is left out in the group.
Values Based Behavior Management
During the Valentines Day party, all of the students went around and handed out their
valentine's cards. This incorporates values based behavior management because it encourages
respectful interaction.
Other Notes on Visit #1
Date of Observation
March 1st, 2017
Honoring Student Experience
Every week, one student in the class was chosen as the Apple of My Eye, where they are
able to bring in pictures of themselves when they were younger and have a guest reader come
in, which is usually one of their parents, to read a book to the class. This honors the student
experience because it shows all of the students that they are cared for and valued.
Thoughtful Classroom Setup and Structure
Every couple weeks, new students are picked to have various roles in the classroom,
including line leader, caboose, calendar helper, and weather helper. By doing this, every
student has a different role and responsibility in the classroom. Each of the students has a box
of their own supplies with their name on it, their own spot at their table, and their own cubby
they predict will happen next. This made the students have an openness to new ideas and
collective learning, since the students had to listen to what their partner had to say, and give
leprechauns on them, one of the students told her friend that she was missing one of the paper
pieces needed to make the leprechaun, and her friend decided to give the student her piece of
paper. When this was seen by the teacher, she was praised by the teacher, but also told that
there were more pieces of paper, and handed her one. This shows great social and emotional
safety because the students are able to create a safe and friendly climate for themselves.
Values Based Behavior Management
A third grade class came into the kindergarten classroom to read Dr. Seuss books. Each
kindergartener was paired with a third grader, and the third graders first read Dr. Seuss books
to the kindergarteners, and then the kindergarteners read their own 100 Book Challenge books
to the third graders. This represents values based behavior management because it encouraged
PART 3: Reflection
My Reflection Essay
Respond in a fully developed essay to the following guiding questions to reflect on classroom
culture:
In what specific ways did the learning space you observed succeed as
maintaining an equitable classroom culture? In what specific ways did it fall short?
What are your recommendations to strengthen the classroom culture in the
learning space you observed?
What are your specific plans to prepare yourself to implement and sustain an
equitable classroom culture in the future when you have the main responsibility for a
learning space?
Essay
The classroom I observed succeeded in many ways in maintaining an equitable
classroom culture. For example, every week, one student in the class was chosen as the
Apple of My Eye, where they are able to bring in pictures of themselves when they were
younger, have a guest reader come in, and all of the other students create a page about what
they like about the particular student. This honors the student experience because it shows all
of the students that they are cared for and valued. A thoughtful classroom setup and structure
was in place because there were seven tables set up in the classroom, with two or three
The classroom I observed had great classroom culture, so there are not many ways
in which it fell short. If I had to choose a way in which the classroom culture fell short, it
would be in the area of shared inquiry and dialogue. A recommendation I have to strengthen
this area of classroom culture would be to have more ways in which the students work
together, either in small groups to complete something, or as a class to build teamwork. Other
than this, there was great classroom culture in the classroom I observed.
In the future, when I have the main responsibility for a learning space, I will follow
very closely to the classroom culture I observed, since I believe it was done so well. I would
implement something very similar to the Apple of my Eye because it seems extremely
beneficial every student. I would also have a thoughtful classroom setup, like the teacher I
observed had, with tables set up instead of individual desks to support collaboration and
dialogue between the students. I am excited for what the future holds and how I will be able