Classroom Climate

We truly appreciate suggestions from faculty, so we are pleased to share this week’s topic on "Developing a Positive Classroom Climate” by author J. Barr (2016). The author shares a meta-study on successful approaches to acculturate an active, collegial learning environment:

“Students’ perceptions of classroom climate have a great impact on learning, motivation, satisfaction, and achievement (Barr, 2016). The development of rapport and a positive classroom climate has been linked to positive student outcomes, such as promoting student motivation and diminishing student apprehension (Ellis, 2004). Additionally, students who perceive the classroom climate as less personalized, satisfying, task oriented, involving, cohesive, and individualized are more likely to cheat and to justify cheating behaviors (Pulvers & Diekhoff, 1999). There are positive relationships between student-to-student connectedness and learning, specifically affective learning (feelings toward course material and instructor) (Johnson, 2009); cognitive learning (recall, knowledge, and skills related to the course) (Prisbell, Dwyer, Carlson, Bingham, & Cruz, 2009); and self-regulated learning (being active in one’s own learning and goal setting) (Sidelinger & Booth-Butterfield, 2010).”

References

Barr, J. (2016). Developing a positive classroom climate. IDEA (paper #61). Available online at https://www.ideaedu.org/Portals/0/Uploads/Documents/IDEA%20Papers/IDEA%20Papers/PaperIDEA_61.pdf

Davis, B. (1993). Tools for Teaching. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers.’

Ellis, K. (2004). The impact of perceived teacher confirmation on receiver apprehension, motivation, and learning. Communication Education, 53(1), 1–20.

Johnson, D. I. (2009). Connected classroom climate: A validity study. Communication Research Reports, 26, 146–157.

McKeachie, W. (2005). McKeachie’s Teaching Tips: Strategies, Research, and Theory for College and University Teachers. 12th ed. Boston: Houghton Mifflin.

Prisbell, M., Dwyer, K. K., Carlson, R. E., Bingham, S. G., & Cruz, A. M. (2009). Connected classroom climate in the basic course: Associations with learning. Basic Communication Course Annual, 21, 145–165.

Pulvers, K., & Diekhoff, G. M. (1999). The relationship between academic dishonesty and college classroom environment. Research in Higher Education, 40(4), 487–498.

Sidelinger, R. J., & Booth-Butterfield, M. (2010). Co-constructing student involvement: An examination of teacher confirmation and student-to-student connectedness in the college classroom. Communication Education, 59(2), 165–184.