Establishing a Culture for Learning (TESS 2b) + Knowledge of Young

Adolescent Development (AMLE Standard 1, Element a)

To the right you will see an image of a poster.

On that poster is a description of what each section of
the constitution does to the US government. We had
been learning about the US in our world geography class
and as an assignment, I had students create an
illustration as a group to create the poster as an artifact
of their learning in class. After doing so, I instructed to
my students that they would be putting these posters on
the outside of the classroom in the hall. A few were
withdrawn to the idea at first, but after working hard on
the assignment they were elated to share their creations
with anyone who walked down the hallway. For many
of my students this ability to create work that they can
demonstrate proudly in the classroom is essential to the
creation of a culture dedicated towards learning. By
having work like this that students can proudly
demonstrate to their parents and even to fellow
classmates, students can become more engaged with the
materials and lesson content that they are learning.

It is my belief that this most closely aligns with

the first element of the first standard in AMLE which
states that teachers demonstrate a comprehensive
knowledge of adolescent development which eventually
leads to the creation of a healthy, respectful, and
challenging learning environment for my kids. For this element, I believe that the primary
connection comes from the establishment of a respectful environment through the pride that the
students take in their own work. Working on a project like this and displaying the fruits of their
teamwork helps to establish strong rapport in the classroom environment for the students.