Friend & Bursuck, 2001
Chapter 13: Handout 3
Case Study: Building a Positive
Social Classroom Climate
Ms. Whitworth is a fifth grade teacher. She works closely this year with Ms. Pleva, the multi-categorical special education teacher in her school, since she has three students with disabilities in her class. John has a moderate learning disability; he reads at a first grade level and often refers to himself as “dumb.” George has an emotional disability; he is often very withdrawn, but he is a perfectionist and if he makes an error he can suddenly lose his temper and verbally or physically lash out at others. Constance has a moderate visual impairment; she uses large-print books. However, her vision appears to be slowly deteriorating and she is very worried about this. Of course, in addition to these students, Ms. Whitworth also has her other 25 students–one of whom is from a family with a history of abuse, one of whom lost his father in an auto accident last month, and several of whom live in extraordinary poverty. Fourteen of her students read below grade level, but two have been identified as gifted.
Ms. Whitworth has as a priority creating a positive social classroom climate. She believes that this is as important as the required curriculum since for so many of her students school is the safest and most structured place in their lives and a place they can learn to trust and respect others. Ms. Whitworth’s classroom is usually decorated with student art and projects, and one bulletin board is always reserved for “social skills.” At the moment it includes pictures of all the students when they were babies and a challenge to students to identify who is who! At other times of the year, students decorate the bulletin board with brief biographies about themselves, descriptions of their favorite books, accounts of the best stories they’ve ever heard, and so on.
Ms. Whitworth begins each school day with her students in a low-key manner designed to encourage their interactions. Students put away their books, supplies, and lunches, and then choose an activity to be done with a classmate. As students make choices and begin their shared tasks, she circulates among them, asking questions that demonstrate she truly knows each student as an individual and gently guiding stragglers into an activity. She has found that this early-morning choice is far preferable to assigned seatwork or highly structured large-group activities. For George especially, this type of start to the school day seems to reduce the likelihood of an early temper outburst. For John, the paired activity without the pressure of “getting finished” lets him begin each day with a success. After about 15 minutes, the students have transitioned from the often chaotic tempo of their out-of-school time and into the structure of the school day.
Ms. Whitworth uses a combination of teacher-led and student-led instructional approaches. When she uses cooperative groups, she usually ensures that John, George, and Constance are in different groups. She does this because of the extent of their learning needs, but also so that all class members come to know and value each of them as classroom members. For the past month, she has arranged the class so that Constance is in a group with two girls and one boy who are particularly sensitive. They seem to know that joking about Constance’s thick glasses and adapted materials is no longer light-hearted banter now that her vision is deteriorating. When Ms. Pleva co-teaches with Ms. Whitworth, she makes sure she praises these students for their positive interactions in their group.
Ms. Whitworth uses one other strategy on a regular basis. When the inevitable fight, name-calling, or bullying occurs, she convenes a class meeting to discuss the matter and engage the class in problem solving. She is clear with the students that she expects them to respect each other and her and in class meetings, the students often generate surprisingly mature explanations for what might have happened and often harsh consequences for the transgressors! Occasionally, Ms. Whitworth uses a class meeting to discuss a general issue about diversity, friendship, caring, or citizenship. Ms. Pleva often participates in planning and conducting these sessions.
Questions
1.How typical might Ms. Whitworth’s class be? What particular challenges might she face because of the broad diversity in her classroom?
2.Why do you think Ms. Whitworth has made the deliberate decision to emphasize social relationships among her students? How do you think she might respond to pressure from a peer who says that social development isn’t the responsibility of school or who suggests that the students won’t do as well on a yearly standardized achievement test because of this “soft” approach?
3.Ms. Whitworth has developed a strategy for starting the school day to both help her students and to provide herself with time to share with them. How could you adapt this strategy to your own classroom? How else might you make time during the hectic school day to spend time individually with your students?
4.If you were teaching in Ms. Whitworth’s classroom, how many students would you place in a cooperative group? For which subjects or topics might you choose to use cooperative groups? Given what you learned about the composition of the class, how would you compose the groups? Justify your response.
5.If you were planning to use a class meeting as Ms. Whitworth does, how would you go about introducing the concept to students at the beginning of the year? What topics would you emphasize in the meetings? How often would you schedule them?
6.The introduction to the case study suggests that Ms. Whitworth works closely with Ms. Pleva. What role would you see Ms. Pleva having with this class as a support to Ms. Whitworth’s efforts to promote positive social relationships? If you were Ms. Whitworth, what types of assistance would you request from Ms. Pleva?