My classroom - good or bad??
- Jan 14, 2017
- 1 min read
Oh the research! Trying to find an article that shows a positive learning environment! What angle to take? Do I talk about questions? Talk about practice? Refer to diversity within the classroom? What oh what is an adult educator to do??? Then I stumbled across Terry Heick's article "10 Characteristics of a Highly Effective Learning Environment" and I discovered I no longer had to choose! This article covers all my ponderings and more!
Good questions lead to curiosity, which in turn, can lead to in depth learning. Constant practice to solidify learning is very important, and learning is partially based on diversity, both cultural and learning styles.
Reading this article (although posed more towards pedagogy classes), I found that I already practice many of the strategies that the author has suggested. Questions, questions, questions. Probably the second most common phrase I hear is "This is probably a stupid question but..." (the first is "What if..."). Good questions beget good learning, but 'bad' questions also lead to learning, if only to redesign the question to show understanding. There are, however, no 'stupid' questions.
Each of my classes have a range of diversity, so learning to teach each person requires diversity from me (in teaching style) from both socio-economical standpoint and cultural standpoint . Some of my students choose to take first aid/safety classes to receive a higher wage (or get a better employer), and many are new to the country.
It's great to know (and reconfirm) that I do have a good classroom!! I can stop second guessing, but never stop learning and changing.
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