Creating a Positive Classroom Atmosphere
At some level, every faculty member dreams of classes full of students who come to every class prepared to learn and who are attentive, participatory, and engaged throughout the class. The reality is that students bring their differing histories, standpoints, abilities, personalities, past educational experiences, and personal challenges to each class and this sometimes presents challenges in facilitating positive, engaging and inclusive learning environments. Faculty have a responsibility to create a classroom environment where students feel included, welcomed and respected, thereby providing a space where they can focus on learning new ideas and concepts. With the diversity that students bring to the classroom this requires thoughtful, intentional and ongoing actions on your part to ensure you are creating a classroom atmosphere that feels welcoming to all students. This section touches on some of the basic skills that will assist you with this work. However, this is a very complex and nuanced work and success is not captured in the completion of a checklist. Ongoing learning through the sessions offered by the Center for Innovation, Inclusion, Reconciliation and Healing will assist you to develop more skills in this area.
To maintain a positive classroom atmosphere, faculty must also we must be prepared to minimize, de-escalate, and respond to disruptive student behavior. Centennial College has a Disruptive Student Behaviour in the Classroom and other Learning Environments Policy that provides guidance for faculty in how to respond to students’ behavior, however invoking the policy is generally a last resort. Through preventative measures faculty can play a key role in setting a classroom climate that minimizes the opportunities for disruptions. Your response to minor disruptions can also de-escalate situations and avoid the necessity for formal, disciplinary interventions.
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