EDE4504: CRITICAL TASK

Jennifer Gross
EDE4504: Critical Task
12/1/16
Philosophy
In the field of education, there are many components that make up ones philosophy of
education. In class, we have learned about various teaching strategies along with teacher
behaviors and theories that can be applied in the classroom. When reviewing my philosophy,
How do I facilitate a student-centered learning environment that is safe, organized, equitable,
flexible, inclusive, and collaborative? it can be related to many theorist and strategies that were
discussed.
Linda Albert is just one of many theorists in the education field. Some of her work
focused on cooperative discipline within the classroom. In her article by Charles (2002), the
focus was on a cooperative approach to help students connect with others to create a code of
conduct to foster an optimal classroom environment and to establish a student-parent partnership
to sustain quality learning. Alfie Kohn has similar beliefs with his work. In his article by Charles
(2002), the focus revolved around teaching to promote thinking, developing a sense of
community, and involving students in the classroom problems. Albert and Kohn both relate to
my philosophy of education in the aspect of creating a sense of community in the classroom
(FEAP 2F). A classroom community is a place where students are cared about and care about
others, are valued and respected, and think in terms of we instead of I (Charles, 2002, p.191).
With reference to my posts, I believe that an open environment can be obtained through morning
meetings, Blog 4, which is shown in the picture and activities that involved getting to know your
students like in my blog post 2. I believe that students feel comfortable and included in the

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2
classroom, their engagement and participation will be at a
higher level than classrooms that dont incorporated
students.

Discipline is an important aspect of an effective classroom management system. Canter

discusses assertive discipline in his article. According to Canter, teachers should anticipate
that the students will break the rules (Wolfgang, n.d., p.82). When regarding this quote, I dont
believe that teachers should expect students to break the rules because it is almost setting up a
biased mindset. I believe that teachers should encourage positive behavior but should have a
disciplinary plan so that if the situation occurs, one will be ready. Planning isnt just for
discipline but can be for positive and supportive feedback. Planning permits the teacher to be
proactive with concrete actions they might take to be positively supportive when students behave
appropriately (Wolfgang, n.d., p.82). I agree with these points for my belief. I believe that there
should be procedures and a plan of action in place for both behavior and encouragement (FEAP
2B). This relates to my philosophy of education because I believe in promoting encouragement
and giving students positive feedback. The only downfall that this theory contains is that it can
lead to more of a teacher-direct classroom rather than my philosophy of student-centered. Our
philosophy, however, is not made up from just our readings, but it is made from our beliefs and
in some cases from our experiences. With this in mind, I believe that my philosophy is unique
and only applies to me.

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Learning environment
My learning environment would be similar to my current field placement classroom. The
environment is structured to fit a collaborative learning style. The desks are placed in small
groups of four to promote group or paired learning among the students. The classroom itself will
also be organized and clean like my CTs so that students feel comfortable because many people
find a cluttered area an uncomfortable environment in which to work and learn (Levin & Nolan,
2014, p. 154). Organizing the environment falls under FEAP 2A. Like my CTs room, my room
will have a place for everything and have a natural flow that is established to keep the peace and
movement smooth. Along with an organized classroom, the environment should be tailored to the
students needs in order to obtain effective learning. In my blog post 7, I discuss my experiences
with classroom arrangement and discuss the natural flows and how the seating was tailored to the
students needs. Although a teachers role is to structure the environment to fit the students
needs, the students role is to respect the environment. Also in this blog is a picture of the
classroom environment itself. The learning environment should also be tailored to meet the needs
of students with disabilities (FEAP 2H). The environment should be flexible and should
incorporate emerging assistive technologies that can enable students to achieve high-quality
communication and interactive so that they can achieve their educational goals (FEAP 2I). The
technology that is already in the classroom can be used for assistive purposes. For example, the
iPads and the computers can be adapted to contain text-to-speech software. The audio player that
is also used in the class is another form of assistive technology by allowing the student to listen
to the words that are being read. For example, one of the students in my class uses the computer
to enter a program for ELL students. This program helps ELL students with reading and learning
new vocabulary. My student does this program daily in the morning during choice-time. By

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having a learning environment that is adapted and tailored to all students we are giving the
students justice and equity in their education. Along with assistive technologies, my learning
environment will contain and integrate current information and communication technologies to
promote learning and deepen the students understanding (FEAP 2G). For example, in my blog
post 5, I used the iPad to project students work and had them explain what they drew and why. It
acted as an assessment to determine if the student knew what they drew and if it related to the
story which helped to assist their classmates by providing examples and deepening their
understanding.
The main need that the students in the classroom require is to be engaged and
challenged. If the students find that the content they are learning as boring or too easy, they will
stop paying attention, which leads them to fill in random answers. Especially for kindergarten
students, they need more engagement and more creativity in their lessons to hold their attention
and teach them. A way to keep students engaged and on task is by using attention getters. I use
this method in blog post 8 and it helps to acquire the students attention and get them to focus
(FEAP 2B). This need would fall under a psychological need for the students. Ive noticed that
some students have self-esteem needs in the classroom. For the majority of the class, they are
academically successful and have confidence in their abilities. However, there are a few students
who struggle. To meet these needs, I sit with these students and give them extra help when doing
activities. I would go to their desk and do check-ups with them to make sure that they are on
track with their work and if they need any help. I also have to make sure that those students dont
become reliant on my help and can complete tasks on their own. With self-esteem, positive
encouragement will go a long way in benefiting their self-esteem. My CT and I make sure to
encourage and compliment their work so that they dont feel discouraged and will want to keep

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participating and working. These needs would fall under FEAPS 2F of maintaining a climate of
openness, inquiry, fairness and support because support and fairness are being provided for these
students which helped to create a more open environment.
The need of the learning environment is to create a safe and open environment that
allows creativity and some freedom for my students. This would fall under safety and belonging
needs that the students have. In order to feel safe, rules and procedures need to be in place.
Teachers and students should know these guidelines and understand the reasons for them and
how they benefit the learning environment. By creating these rules and procedures, the teacher is
managing class behaviors through a well-planned system falls under FEAP 2B. Students in my
classroom are held to high expectations and are aware of the rules and procedures that are in
place (FEAP 2C). These expectations range from behavior to completing classwork.

For

example, as discussed in blog post 3, the students were aware of the procedure of lining up. The
students understood that they had to wait for their number to be called by the teacher and that
they had to walk to get in line without running which also shows oral communication skills from
the teacher (FEAP 2E). Another aspect of a well-organized classroom is that students are
engaged in the learning activities which are also a student need. The belonging needs can be
obtained through activities like morning meetings. Activities and structure like this will allow all
students to get attention and create a caring environment between students to generate a safe and
open environment. In my blog, (blog post 4), I discuss the benefits of this activity and the
effectiveness it has in building a classroom community. This activity will not only enhance
student-student relations but teacher-student relations as well. Both feeling safe and loved can be
interrelated and coexist based on the learning environment that is created by the teacher and
students. To feel belonged and welcomed in the classroom, the diversity of the students should be

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accepted by all. One of my beliefs as a future educator is that a teacher should be able to
incorporate and differentiate students needs when planning a lesson (FEAP 2H). By knowing
students needs and their interests, teachers can implement lessons to fit their needs and increase
motivation to be more actively involved. For example, in one of my read aloud found in this
blog, I used questioning techniques, connected prior knowledge, used a new form of technology,
and had an artistic activity at the end. These different strategies can adhere to all learning styles.
In this read aloud, I was able to use a new form of technology such as a PowerPoint which kept
the students engaged and involved in the lesson. In the classroom, diversity among students in all
aspects is increasing and it is important that the teachers are aware and are ready to incorporate
the diversity. Students require different modes of learning as well as have different needs. In
order for students to feel welcomed and accepted is that their cultural linguistic and family
backgrounds are positively accepted and incorporated in the classroom (FEAP 2D).
Facilitation
Through my facilitation of the learning environment, I was able to meet the needs of my
students through classroom management as well as providing the opportunity for openness and
support within the classroom. When completing performance tasks in the classroom, I was able
to observe which ones had more effect on the students learning. In my class, I was able to
manage individual and class behaviors through a wellplanned management system using attention-getters to
regain the students focus and concentration (FEAP 2B).
As mentioned earlier in my paper, my blog, (blog post 9)
discussed how I created a new attention-getter and how

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it affected the students. With this task, I received high compliments from my CT and high
engagement and entertainment from my students. Evidence of its effectiveness can be found in
the blog. Another form of evidence was from observation in my previous visit. Two weeks after I
introduced the attention-getter, the students are still saying it and having fun with it. For
example, we were working on an activity and a student starts chanting peanut butter (pause)
jelly and was looking straight at me wanting to do that attention-getter. This shows that my
facilitation had an impact on their learning and was able to keep them engaged to prevent class
time being wasted.
Another strong effect that my facilitating brought on the students was being able to
maintain a climate of openness, inquiry, fairness and support in my morning meeting (FEAP 2F).
As stated on my blog (blog post 4) the morning meeting gave the opportunity for the students to
share and contribute their own thoughts. In the morning meeting, we discussed the characteristic
of kindness as well as practice complementing each other. I facilitated questions and responded
to the students to help with their understanding of the term kindness. I was able to see its
effectiveness later when a student laughed at the teacher for making a mistake and a student said
that they were not being kind. This shows the effect of my facilitation with the students learning.
By having the students practice with complimenting each other, helped to promote an open and
supporting climate where students can feel safe. The students seemed to enjoy the activity as
well as which was evident from their smiles and engagement in
the activity. Although my some of my facilitation was able to
have strong effects on my students, they also affected me. They
taught me how to become a better teacher and gave me the
opportunity to better myself.

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Reference

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Charles, C. M. Linda Albert's 'Cooperative Discipline'. In Building classroom discipline. Boston.

Allyn and Bacon. 2002. Ch. 5. pp. 67-84.
Charles, C. M. Alfie Kohns Beyond Discipline. In Building classroom discipline. Boston.
Allyn and Bacon. 2002. Ch. 12. pp. 189-204.

Levin, J., & Nolan, J. F. (2014). Principles of classroom management: A professional decisionmaking model, (7th Ed.). Boston: Pearson.
Wolfgang, C. H. (unknown). Chapter 4: Assertive Discipline, pp. 79-99.