Standard #3: Learning Environments

The teacher works with others to create environments that support individual and collaborative
learning, and that encourage positive social interaction, active engagement in learning, and self-
motivation.
Standard 3 depicts what every teacher should do in order to provide the most positive
learning environment for students. The standard calls on teachers to encourage collaboration
amongst other professionals and also between students in the classroom. A classroom should be
a comfortable environment to share ideas and no student should ever feel uneasy or discouraged
to participate. The standard also emphasizes the importance of engaging activities that supports
social interactions and also the importance of self-motivation, which is a crucial factor for
students success in academics.
The artifact I chose to represent standard 3 depicts my personal teaching preference for
younger students. The artifacts are pictures of me teaching a whole group lesson with the
students close to me, sitting as a group on the carpet. The lesson in particular is a phonics
lessons, done on the smart board as I teach them to segment the sounds. The lesson can easily be
done with students sitting at their desk; however, for each new lesson I teach to young students I
want their full attention and I want them to feel comfortable to share and participate. Most
lessons I make a conversation, I do not believe in me throwing information at the students and
them sitting in silence. I love to gather at the carpet to help gain their attention as well as their
participation.
The phonics lessons also have great incentives for the first graders to be self-motivated as
well. After each word I have wrote on the board, I ask the students to think of a clue to help
describe each word. Once I call on a student that has a clue ready to share with the class, another
class member has to guess which word the clue is describing. Working collaboratively, the first
graders work to erase all the words on the smart board and they enjoy helping each other by
giving clues. I monitor the collaboration amongst the first graders; however, by the lesson being
more student-powered, the first graders motivation is increased and also gives them a feeling of
control over their learning which makes for a positive learning environment.