In describing the climate of a classroom, we are often guided by a certain set of values, a vision of what school ought to be like. We might begin with the premise, for example, that an ideal climate is one that promotes deep understanding, excitement about learning, and social as well as intellectual growth.
In such a classroom, students play an active role in decisions, teachers work with students rather than doing things to them, and the learners' interests and questions drive much of the curriculum. The environment supports children's desire to find out about things, facilitates the process of discovery, and, in general, meets children's needs. A school with this mission has a climate very different from one in which educators are mostly thinking about how they can make students work harder or follow directions.
Put another way, in a "doing to" classroom or school, the adults tend to focus on students' behavior in order to elicit compliance; the preferred methods are punishments and rewards. In a "working with" environment, the focus is on students' underlying motives in order to help them develop positive values and a love of learning; the preferred methods include the creation of a caring community and a genuinely engaging curriculum.
What Do You See?
When I conduct a workshop, I like to present a conceptual framework that contrasts these two approaches to education. I then invite workshop participants to list familiar practices that exemplify each of them. Participants work in groups, categorizing—and in the process, scrutinizing—various aspects of school life. (For example, if the faculty object to students' clothing, a "working with" response would be to invite students to meet and reflect together on how this problem might be solved.
A "doing to" response would be to tell students what they may wear, or simply to force all of them to dress alike.) These lists tend to grow quickly because there is no limit to the number of examples. And the exercise makes an important point: It is one thing to talk about a learner-centered classroom, and something else again to specify exactly what such a place looks and sounds like. Here, then, is an abbreviated list—a crib sheet, if you will—that administrators, parents, and others can use to gauge the climate of a classroom and school.
Figure 1. Learner-Centered or Not?
What to Look for in a Classroom - table
Good Signs | Possible Reasons for Concern | |
|---|---|---|
| Furniture | Chairs around tables to facilitate interaction | Desks in rows or chairs all facing forward |
| Comfortable areas for working | ||
| Walls | Covered with students' work | Bare |
| Evidence of student collaboration | Decorated with commercial posters | |
| Signs, exhibits, or lists created by students rather than teacher | List of consequences for misbehavior | |
| Information about, and mementos of, those who spend time together in this classroom | List of rules created by an adult | |
| Sticker (or star) chart or other evidence that students are rewarded or ranked | ||
| Students' work displayed but it is (a) suspiciously flawless, or (b) only “the best” students' work, or (c) virtually all alike | ||
| Sounds | Frequent hum of activity and ideas being exchanged | Frequent periods of silence and/or teacher's voice the loudest or most often heard |
| Location of Teacher | Typically working with students so that it takes a moment to find him or her | Typically front and center |
| Teacher's Voice | Respectful, genuine, warm | Controlling and imperious |
| Condescending and saccharine-sweet | ||
| Students' Reaction to Visitor | Welcoming; eager to explain or demonstrate what they're doing or to use visitor as a resource | Either unresponsive or hoping to be distracted from what they're doing |
| Class Discussion | Students often address one another directly | All exchanges involve (or directed by) teacher: students wait to be called on |
| Emphasis on thoughtful exploration of complicated issues | Emphasis on facts and right answers | |
| Students ask questions at least as often as teacher does | Students race to be first to answer teacher's “Who can tell me?” queries | |
| Tasks | Different activities take place simultaneously | All students usually do the same thing |
| Around the School | Inviting atmosphere | Stark, institutional feel |
| Students' work fills hallway walls | Awards, trophies, and prizes displayed, suggesting emphasis on triumph rather than community | |
| Bathrooms in good condition | Bathrooms in good condition | |
| Faculty lounge warm and comfortable | Faculty lounge warm and comfortable | |
| Office staff welcoming toward visitors and students | Office staff welcoming toward visitors and students | |
| Students helping in lunchroom, library, and with other school functions | Students helping in lunchroom, library, and with other school functions |
Copyright © 1996 by Alfie Kohn with contributions from Sylvia Kendzior, Rheta DeVries, and Jim Beane.
