IDEAS

Idea 2: Constructive Classroom Climate

“The teaching-learning process is an inherently social act, and as instructors we need to be mindful of the quality of the social and emotional dynamics in our course, because they impact learning and performance.”⁵

Learning Intention

Inquiry-based learning involves intellectual risk-taking, a willingness to ask questions and allowing ambiguity in exploring answers. For many students, this is outside their comfort zone. It is important to develop a classroom environment that is conducive to “productive discomfort” so that students feel supported in experimenting with ideas.⁴

Overview

Creating a constructive classroom climate not only involves setting the tone from the first day of class but also emphasizing respectful interaction throughout the course. By articulating, modelling, and reinforcing expectations of kindness, openness, and engagement, students will be supported in taking the risks necessary for learning.

Instructions

1. Welcome your students to class; get to know them and encourage them to get to know one another. Learn names and invest time in icebreaker activities that let students build comfort with one another in class.^{3, 5, 6, 8}
2. Develop ground rules and expectations. Invite students to collaborate with each other and with you in brainstorming and clarifying attitudes and behaviors that are conducive to learning.⁶ It might even be helpful to write and post the class norms to a course website or on the classroom wall.¹
3. Model respectful discussion habits like active listening and avoiding insults or attacks when responding to questions or contributions from students.
4. Encourage collaboration. Students not only learn from one another when they work together, they can serve to encourage each other and disperse the sense of risk by sharing ideas and outcomes with peers.²
5. Arrange the classroom or workspace to facilitate interaction. Putting desks together into pods or creating discussion circles encourages more participation from students.
6. Praise students for taking intellectual risks, demonstrating effort and making productive mistakes. “Welcome the ‘crazy idea’ that offers a new perspective on the topic.”⁹
7. Promote the “Socratic Temperament” by showing your own love of learning. Let students see that you (1) love to discover your own errors, (2) are in touch with your own gaps in knowledge, (3) enjoy the hard work in the quest for knowledge, and (4) have a deep curiosity and desire for self-improvement.⁷
   

References

1. Acevedo-Gutierrez, A., Borda, E., DeBari, S., Donovan, D., & Linneman, S. (2016)
   A Learning-Cycle approach to Guided Inquiry in a Four-Course Interdisciplinary Science Series. Innovative Teaching Showcase, Center for Instructional Innovation and Assessment, Western Washington University. Available online.
2. Boudreaux, A. (2016). Designing Learning Experiences for the Introductory Physics
   Lab. Innovative Teaching Showcase, Center for Instructional Innovation and Assessment, Western Washington University. Available online.
3. Brooke, D. (2009). Welcoming Students on the First Day. Iowa State Center for
   Excellence in Learning and Teaching. Available online.
4. Chapman, S. (no date). The Socratic Method: Fostering Critical Thinking, The
   Institute for Learning and Teaching at Colorado State University. Available online.
5. Creating an Inclusive Learning Environment (2015). Eberly Center for Teaching
   Excellence and Educational Innovation at Carnegie Mellon University.
6. Fleming, N. (2003). Establishing Rapport: Personal Interaction and Learning. IDEA
   Paper #39. Manhattan, Kansas: The IDEA Center. Available online.
7. Maxwell, M. (2009). The Socratic Temperament. The Socratic Method Research
   Portal. Available online.
8. Palmer, M. (2015). Not Quite 101 Ways to Learn Students’ Names. Center for
   Teaching Excellence of the University of Virginia. Available online.
9. Reich, R. (2003). The Socratic Method: What it is and how to use it in the classroom.
   Speaking of Teaching: Stanford University Newsletter on Teaching, 13 (1), pp. 1-4.