By Dr. Rachna
‘’Of course, learning is strengthened and solidified when it occurs in a safe, secure and
normal environment.’’
Jean Bertrand Aristide.
A safe learning environment goes beyond the classroom; it’s the intangible space that supports students in pursuing knowledge, inspires curiosity, and makes them feel empowered to participate in class discussions. Creating this kind of safe learning environment in the classroom is essential for the top Schools in Gurgaon serving the vast spectrum of student learning styles.
Three Major factors impact students’ learning environment:
- Physical: Deciding how the educational environment is physically laid out and designed to support students’ safety and learning.
- Psychological: Creating a trusting educational environment allows students to participate, ask questions, take risks, and receive constructive feedback.
- Emotional: Celebrating diversity, self-expression, and students’ achievement Student perceptions of a safe learning environment:
- Avoid judgment and bias
- Provide ground rules
- Demonstrate comfort with controversy and conflict
- Require classroom participation
- Demonstrate caring for each student
The peers in a safe learning environment should:
- Have good discussion skills and be good listeners
- Share their thoughts honestly
- Be nonjudgmental and positive
- Have a sense of community
- Constructively challenge each other
Teachers can create a similarly safe, inclusive learning environment by:
- Examining their own assumptions about their students
- Learning about their students and helping students get to know one another through activities such as icebreakers or group work
- Using inclusive language that can be understood by all in the classroom and providing definitions of cultural translations as needed
- Providing examples and materials representing diverse backgrounds
- Avoiding asking one individual to speak for a group
- Determining if diverse perspectives are represented in the curriculum
- Providing constructive and frequent feedback to students
- Modeling effective and meaningful classroom discussions and participation
- Conveying care for students
- Establishing guidelines for discussion and classroom behavior
The morning meeting model is a classroom practice where teachers begin each day with a class-wide gathering designed to address the emotional needs of learners. Adding a morning Circle time in the class schedule helps set the tone for teachers and students, creates feelings of trust, helps students feel important, inspires empathy and collaboration between students, and supports emotional and academic learning.
Students deserve to feel a sense of belonging in the classroom. Historically, marginalized groups of students have been underrepresented and underserved in academic spaces, which has resulted in lower graduation rates. If teachers create a culture of diversity, inclusion, and belonging in their classrooms, they can set each one of their students up for success.
Studies show that students with advanced reading and writing skills are better at critical thinking and have access to more opportunities. Prioritizing these things in the curriculum will give
students the ability to solve interpersonal problems and express themselves for a lifetime.
Students look to their teachers for reassurance and guidance. When teachers make a point to smile, it can give students a sense of ease and make them feel safe. Smiling also makes
learning leaders more likable, which can assist in building trusting, positive relationships with their students. A study by the American Psychological Association found that teachers who forge positive relationships with their students create a classroom atmosphere that encourages learning and better meets students’ developmental, emotional, and academic needs. Providing positive reinforcement and celebrating their students’ unique qualities through the asset model helps build these trusting relationships.
The Best Schools in Gurgaon focus on being inclusive schools and believe in ensuring equal opportunity of learning for all students. Keeping this Philosophy in mind Vega Schools have created streamlined processes that help the learner adjust in the learning space, cover the gaps and become truly productive.