“The aim of education is the knowledge, not of facts, but of values.” –William S. Burroughs

Every instructor strives to create a classroom environment which fosters creativity, cooperation, and enthusiasm. The instructor is instrumental in creating that atmosphere for students. By demonstrating respect for their students’ individuality as well as their capabilities, instructors make their classroom welcoming for their students. When students feel comfortable within the classroom they will be encouraged to take risks and push the boundaries of their capabilities, thus increasing their overall learning. Within my classroom I create an atmosphere of mutual respect between instructor and student. My students know that their individual concerns and abilities will be addressed in a way which will not embarrass them or differentiate them visibly from the rest of the class.

In my classroom, I try to create a learning community, where students are supported by both each other as well as by myself. Pictured below is an example of this learning community, where students participated in writing supportive and inspirational notes for each other.

I believe in the power of cooperative learning and allowing students to help each other. Oftentimes, when assigned group work, students reach a level of understanding that would not be possible with individual work. In my classroom, students work together to tackle deep analysis questions, using their different experiences to create a cohesive, layered answer.

Gardner’s Theory of Multiple Intelligence allows that students learn in a variety of ways. Within my lesson plans I try to account for several different forms of learning, in order to provide a variety of experiences and learning to my students. I also encourage students to display their creativity.

For more discussion on my views of learning environment, please see my PPS Classroom Environment paper.