Creating Environments of Success and Resilience

Abstract

Creating safe and productive environments with a diverse student population requires more than the strategies recommended in the original classroom-management literature. Drawing from the literature on culturally responsive classroom management, psychologically supportive classroom environments, and building resilience, the authors describe the practices used by three effective novice teachers in urban elementary classrooms during the first 2 hours of the first day of school. The study was based on videotape and interview data that were qualitatively analyzed using an inductive approach. The novice teachers focused on developing relationships and establishing expectations through the use of “insistence” and a culturally responsive communication style. The study provides clear pictures of the ways in which teachers teach and insist on respectful behavior and establish a caring, task-focused community. As such, it demonstrates how teachers create environments of success and resilience for students who have historically floundered in school.

The Story of Drama Club: A Contemporary Counternarrative of a Transformative Culture of Teaching and Learning for Disenfranchised Black Youth in the School-to-Prison Pipeline

“…Having a culturally responsive frame of mind empowers the teacher to intuitively enact a classroom culture based upon judgments that foster student resilience (Bondy, Ross, Gallingane & Hambacher, 2007). By developing caring relationships (Noddings, 2007), setting clear high academic and social expectations and providing meaningful learning opportunities, culturally responsive teachers become "critical protective factors for fostering resilience" (p. 330).…”

phenomenological study of high school teachers' perceptions and experiences of the promise : students are known by name, strength, and need

“…The other teachers acknowledged that they persisted in teaching lessons whether or not their students were prepared to learn the material or were interested in the instructional methodology used to present it. This is in contrast with previous studies that considered accommodating student learning needs and found that understanding teachers are integral to student accomplishments (Bondy et al, 2007). In order for students to be successful in high school, they need to know they belong there, that they are known by at least one adult, that an adult is keeping track of them, and that the adult cares about them (Brackett et al, 2011).…”

“…Teachers modeled listening to students, responding with familiar words and popular expressions, and using examples from current popular culture to engage and relate to their students (Bondy et al, 2007). The study found that all three teachers, who were previously noted for their effectiveness, communicated using strategies like adding humor and non-examples of good behavior to help promote student engagement (Bondy et al, 2007).…”

“…To understand how teachers establish an environment supportive of student agency and academic success, Bondy, Ross, Gallingane, and Hambacher (2007) videotaped and studied three successful, early career teachers in a small city school. The researchers noted strategies that each of the three teachers in their study found useful, including (a) getting to know students, (b) encouraging children to think about who they are as students and to learn about other students, (c) establishing rules, expectations, and consequences directly but without harshness, and (d) communicating belief in their students as capable (Bondy et al, 2007). Teachers modeled listening to students, responding with familiar words and popular expressions, and using examples from current popular culture to engage and relate to their students (Bondy et al, 2007).…”

“…The researchers noted strategies that each of the three teachers in their study found useful, including (a) getting to know students, (b) encouraging children to think about who they are as students and to learn about other students, (c) establishing rules, expectations, and consequences directly but without harshness, and (d) communicating belief in their students as capable (Bondy et al, 2007). Teachers modeled listening to students, responding with familiar words and popular expressions, and using examples from current popular culture to engage and relate to their students (Bondy et al, 2007). The study found that all three teachers, who were previously noted for their effectiveness, communicated using strategies like adding humor and non-examples of good behavior to help promote student engagement (Bondy et al, 2007).…”