4 Ways to Create a Positive Classroom Climate

Toward the end of the school year, I noticed a student seemed to be a little more blue than was typical. After a little conversation, I realized that her home created a negative climate. No one ever said they were proud of her, and most things the adults said to her, her siblings, and each other were negative, if not passive-aggressive (but not necessarily verbally abusive). It made me pause and think about whether my classroom is a positive climate for students most of the time. After all, if they do not live in a positive climate, the least I can do is create a positive climate at school. Here are 4 suggestions for creating a positive climate in your classroom.

1. Be you. Students appreciate genuine people. I’m not sure anyone would describe me as “sweet.” It just isn’t my personality. (Which is why I don’t teach elementary school). One of the greatest compliments I have ever received came from a mom who said her daughter enjoyed my class because I was “real.” Even though my personality does not emanate sunshine and rainbows every day, my classes generally have a positive climate because students know what to expect from me - empathy, kindness, and honesty.

Students know I love school spirit dress up days!

I also love winning fundraiser competitions!

2. Use restorative justice practices. Rather than simply disciplining students and expecting behaviors to change, restorative justice tries to get to the “why” of the behavior. While it is usually intended to be schoolwide, individual teachers can utilize some of these practices in their respective classrooms. In the fall, I had a student check in late, and he was in a foul mood. Within minutes, he had started an argument with another student. After he dropped the “F bomb,” I asked the student to go in the hall to cool off. When I went to talk to him, his body language looked defeated. It looked like he fully expected to be harshly scolded or sent to the office. Instead, I just said, “What was that?” His response was, “I know. I shouldn’t have done that.” We talked for a minute about what choices he had made and what other choices he could have made. While I did document the occurrence in our management software, I did not refer him to the office. The undesired behaviors never occurred again. If you would like to know more about restorative justice, I enjoy reading @RJLeaguechat and @SheldonEakins on Twitter.

3. Celebrate successes, but even more importantly, celebrate mistakes. It is easy to celebrate student successes. Research shows that reinforcement is more effective than punishment, and reinforcement can be as simple as verbal praise! For example, if a student improves a skill, you can simply recognize their improvement. Celebrating mistakes can take practice, but when I changed my mindset on assessment, it came much easier. Mistakes are learning opportunities. I love to evaluate my students’ first attempt at an assessment, give feedback, and then watch how they transform it into a product that demonstrates mastery. If you would like to know more about my assessment practices, visit this blog post - LINK. With behavior mistakes, restorative justice practices (above) can work wonders!

4. Enjoy the work. I get to spend my days with some really interesting young people, and I like to have fun at work. Yes, there are many things about our occupation that may not be ideal or may increase stress. But I try diligently not to let students know when I’m unhappy about something in my work that neither they nor I can control. Negativity perpetuates itself, and I’d prefer not to have a dark cloud hanging over my classroom. Bad days happen, but I like say I hit the reset button and start over again the next day.

School may be out for the summer, but it is never too early to plan for next year! If you have any strategies you use to create a positive climate, please contact me. I would like to change some things in my classes next year to improve climate, and I'd love to hear from you.