Establishing Your Classroom Culture: Tips and Strategies

By: Anna Ho
Date: August 22, 2019

Modified from https://all4ed.org/four-elements-for-creating-a-positive-learning-environment/

As a beginning teacher, it may be hard to establish yourself and find methods that fit your

personality and classroom. You might not know what you want from your class and that’s

completely okay. However, it’s important to establish a positive and encouraging environment

for your students to learn in. If you just as shy as me in the classroom, these are 5 tips and

strategies I use in the classroom to establish myself in my classroom and create a positive

environment.

1. Be present and establish rules from the very beginning

It’s important to establishing expectations from the beginning of class and clearly

communicating what the rules of the class are. The threshold will go lower and lower as the

year progresses, so it’s important to set the bar high at the beginning of the year.
 Furthermore, clearly communicating your expectations will give your students an idea of

how the year might go.

2. Greet your students at the door

To start off your day positively, be sure to greet your students at the door. A simple hello

will show your students that you care and acknowledge their presence in the room. It also

opens an opportunity for you to have conversations with your students that may not be

about the class. Many students from other periods may also can greet you. Greeting the

students helps you establish your identity and role as a teacher because students will

physically see you.

3. Decorate your classroom with knowledge

If you decorate your classroom with posters will knowledge related to the subject you

teach, the students with wandering eyes will have had learned something even when their

attention might not be on you. For example, a chemistry class can have a poster explaining

the components of an atom or a research poster. You also may opt to display student work

on the walls. Student work will show that you as a teacher recognize their hard work and

effort they put into the assignment. However, the peer made poster also serves as an

alternative way of conveying the subject/topic that was being taught.

4. Color Code

My mentor teacher taught me to color code handouts so one, the students don’t lose the

handout and two, you can keep track if the students are working on the handout in class.
 For example, if you print out a warm up sheet in color, you can easily keep track of who’s

doing the warm up. You can color code sections to make it easier for students to recognize

and find in their binder.

5. Call the student’s parents

Be sure that you call the parents to introduce yourself. It is intimating at first but be sure to

take the time and initiative to foster that relationship between you and the parent. The

connection between you and the parent can help with managing student behavior and

understanding other aspects of your student’s life. It’s also a good to have another means

of contact to keep students accountable for their work. Most importantly, showing an

interest in the student’s home life and getting to know the parent will create a positive

learning environment. It shows that you as a teacher care about more than just their

grades!