TEDxEnola - Dr. Jason Conway - Classroom Environment: It's not about YOU, It's about THEM

Summary

The speaker discusses the importance of creating a positive classroom environment, emphasizing that it's not about the teacher but about the students. Reflecting on personal experiences, the speaker shares an epiphany about how competition and certain teaching methods can alienate students. They highlight the challenges teachers face, including changing student values and lack of social skills, and advocate for structured interactions, a sense of belonging, and teaching social skills as part of education. The talk concludes with a call to see beyond oneself and focus on the students' needs and development.

Takeaways

• 📚 Classroom environment is not about the teacher, but about the students and their relationships.
• 🪞 Reflection is crucial in improving one’s teaching practices, but it’s hard to look critically at oneself.
• 💡 The speaker had an epiphany when a student said they hated Fridays due to a competitive game, realizing he was alienating some students.
• 👥 Positive classroom environments lead to higher academic achievement and better social interactions among students.
• 🛑 Teachers often overlook student feedback, fearing it might reveal harsh truths about their classroom management.
• ⚖️ Modern students come with different values and social skills compared to previous generations, leading to challenges in building cooperative environments.
• 🏫 Schools and teachers can no longer remain neutral on teaching social skills, as parents may not provide these skills at home.
• 🔄 Belonging, equity, and social skill development are key to fostering a positive classroom environment.
• 🎯 Classroom and team leaders should structure interactions to ensure all voices are heard and valued, not dominated by a few.
• 🔍 Visionaries in education should keep their eyes open to reflect, envision, and grow beyond the status quo for the betterment of students.

Q & A

What is the main focus of the presentation?

The main focus of the presentation is on creating a positive classroom environment, emphasizing that it's about the students rather than the teacher.

What analogy does the speaker use to discuss self-reflection in teaching?

The speaker uses the analogy of looking in a mirror, explaining that it can be difficult to reflect honestly on oneself, especially in relation to one's teaching practices.

What epiphany did the speaker have regarding his classroom environment?

The speaker realized that although students enjoyed his lectures, some students felt alienated by the competitive Friday activities, which led him to reevaluate the importance of creating an inclusive environment.

Why is building a positive classroom environment important according to the speaker?

Building a positive classroom environment is important because students need to feel safe and connected in order to be academically successful. Research indicates that a positive environment increases students' academic achievement and efficacy.

What challenges does the speaker mention in creating a positive classroom environment?

The challenges include teachers having a different perception of the environment compared to students, a lack of emphasis on social skills, and students arriving with different values and social abilities than in the past.

What is the speaker's view on teaching social skills in the classroom?

The speaker believes that teaching social skills is an essential part of education, and teachers should take responsibility for it rather than assuming it is solely the parents' role.

What are the key elements of a positive classroom environment according to the speaker?

The key elements include a sense of belonging, feeling needed by others, equity, and finding value in one's actions, which leads to increased engagement and learning.

How does the speaker illustrate the concept of equity in social interactions?

The speaker gives examples such as waiting in line at an amusement park or sitting next to someone on a plane, emphasizing the importance of fairness and social norms.

What does the speaker suggest to improve classroom interactions?

The speaker suggests structuring interactions in a way that allows everyone to be heard, and providing opportunities for students to practice social skills in a supportive environment.

What is the final challenge that the speaker leaves the audience with?

The speaker challenges the audience to reflect on how they envision their classroom or team environment, encouraging them to focus on the students' growth and success rather than their own reflections.

Outlines

00:00

🔍 Self-Reflection in Teaching: A Classroom Epiphany

The speaker opens by discussing the importance of self-reflection in teaching, using the metaphor of a mirror to explain how difficult it can be to critically assess one’s teaching practices. He recounts a personal epiphany where he realized that despite believing he was engaging students, his competitive teaching style was alienating some. This sparked his passion for creating a better classroom environment, shifting his focus from himself to the needs of the students.

05:02

📊 The Decline of Social Skills Among Students

The speaker shares concerning statistics about student ethics, highlighting a gap between what students report as acceptable behavior and their actual actions. He notes that students today often arrive with poorer social skills compared to the past, leading to challenges in fostering a cooperative classroom environment. The speaker stresses that educators must address these gaps, as parents may not be instilling necessary social skills, and schools must take on this responsibility.

10:03

🏫 The Importance of Belonging and Equity in the Classroom

This section emphasizes the need for a sense of belonging and equity within the classroom. The speaker gives examples from everyday life, such as people wearing sports jerseys, to illustrate how being part of a group fulfills a basic human need. He explains that classrooms should be environments where all students feel they belong and are treated equally. The speaker also discusses how educators can structure interactions in a way that ensures all voices are heard, avoiding dominance by a few students.

15:04

🧠 Social Skills and Structured Interaction in Learning

The speaker challenges educators to structure classroom interactions so that all students have the opportunity to participate. He encourages teachers to create environments where social skills like listening and being heard are practiced regularly. Using humor and relatable examples (such as awkward elevator rides), he highlights how modern technology has led to fewer face-to-face social interactions, making it even more critical to intentionally teach these skills.

🔮 Visionary Leadership in Education: Looking Beyond Ourselves

In the final section, the speaker talks about the power of visionary leadership in education. He shares a personal story about playing Connect Four with his son, which led him to think about the reflection of oneself in others and the potential for growth. He concludes by urging educators to look beyond their own reflection and consider the broader impact they can have on their students’ development. The message reinforces the idea that teaching is about helping others grow, not just about the teacher.

Keywords

💡Classroom environment

The classroom environment refers to the overall atmosphere or setting in which students learn. In the video, the speaker emphasizes that the classroom environment should be focused on the students rather than the teacher. He shares an epiphany where he realized that his teaching style, though fun and engaging for some, was alienating others, demonstrating how crucial it is to create an inclusive and supportive environment.

💡Reflection

Reflection in this context refers to the act of self-examination, especially by educators looking critically at their own teaching practices. The speaker compares the process of reflection to looking in a mirror, explaining that it can be difficult but necessary to truly understand how one's actions affect students. This ties into the broader theme of improving the classroom environment through self-awareness.

💡Social skills

Social skills are the abilities required to interact effectively with others. The speaker notes that many students today lack these skills, which are critical for a positive classroom environment. He argues that teachers must actively teach social skills, as students may not learn them at home, and these skills are vital for teamwork and cooperation in both educational and workplace settings.

💡Belonging

Belonging is the feeling of being an accepted and integral part of a group. The speaker stresses the importance of fostering a sense of belonging in the classroom to enhance student engagement and collaboration. He gives examples of how even wearing a team shirt can promote a sense of belonging, which can positively influence a student's willingness to participate and succeed in school.

💡Competition

Competition refers to the rivalry between students in the classroom, often seen in games or activities like quizzes. The speaker shares a personal story about how he unintentionally alienated students by focusing too much on competitive activities, which exposed social skills gaps among students. This realization led him to rethink how competition should be balanced with inclusivity in the classroom.

💡Equity

Equity in education means ensuring that all students have fair and equal access to opportunities for success. The speaker highlights how important it is to ensure fairness in the classroom, using examples like standing in line at an amusement park, where everyone expects to be treated equally. Equity is linked to students feeling valued and respected, which is crucial for a positive learning environment.

💡Feedback

Feedback in this context refers to the input that students provide about their classroom experience. The speaker mentions that teachers often fear receiving honest feedback from students because it can reveal uncomfortable truths. However, he argues that this feedback is essential for improving the classroom environment and making it more student-centered.

💡Teamwork

Teamwork involves students working together toward a common goal, which is essential for a cooperative classroom environment. The speaker points out that many students struggle with teamwork because they lack social skills. He stresses the need for teachers to structure classroom interactions in a way that promotes teamwork, ensuring all students are involved and contributing.

💡Student engagement

Student engagement refers to the level of interest and involvement a student shows in their learning. The speaker links engagement to the value that students perceive in classroom activities. When students feel that what they are doing is meaningful and that they belong, they are more likely to be engaged. This is crucial for their academic success and overall classroom dynamics.

💡Vision

Vision in this context refers to a teacher's long-term goals for their classroom or team. The speaker encourages educators to have a clear vision for the kind of environment they want to create. He uses the metaphor of 'dreaming with eyes open,' emphasizing that teachers must actively work toward their vision of a positive, inclusive, and cooperative classroom environment.

Highlights

The speaker reflects on the challenge of self-assessment in teaching, using a metaphor of looking in the mirror to improve one’s own practice.

An epiphany led the speaker to realize that their competitive classroom activities were alienating students rather than fostering inclusion.

The importance of a positive classroom environment is emphasized, as it directly impacts students’ academic success and efficacy.

The speaker argues that education overly focuses on content and neglects the relational aspects between students.

Teachers often have an inflated perception of their classroom environments compared to how students actually feel.

There is a growing gap between the values students bring to the classroom and those expected by teachers, with many students lacking key social skills.

Many teachers take a neutral stance on social skills education, expecting parents to teach these skills, though this is increasingly not the case.

A sense of belonging is crucial in classroom environments. Students thrive when they feel part of a community.

The speaker stresses the importance of feeling needed by others in both classroom and team environments.

Equity is a key element of classroom dynamics, with fairness in participation being essential for student engagement.

The speaker uses humorous examples, such as airplane and elevator interactions, to illustrate social norms and their relevance to social skill development.

Engagement in the classroom is driven by students finding value in what they are doing, which increases their learning and relationship-building.

Structured opportunities to listen and be heard are essential for balancing participation and fostering a cooperative learning environment.

Teachers should model and practice social skills with students, embedding these lessons into everyday classroom activities.

The speaker concludes by encouraging teachers to have a clear vision for their classroom environments, keeping in mind that it is about the students’ growth and not the teacher’s performance.

Transcripts

[Music]

thank you Jill all right thank you all

right okay morning everyone great uh

great to see everyone here today uh

today we're going to talk about

classroom environment and it's really

not about you it's about them and one of

the the things and uh forgive me Bridget

my wife for stealing this this morning

is is a mirror and if you think about a

mirror it's wonderful for reflection but

yet I think there might be a flaw in the

mirror because one of the toughest

things to do is to look at yourself in

the mirror especially about the practice

that you do if it's teaching or leading

a company or what that might be and so

let me share with you one of the

epiphanies that I

had and this should be

on

help that's why I'm the guinea pig

first very good thank you do I just just

turn it on should be

on I'll just point to you how's that

sound all right and so uh many years ago

I had an epiphany a class a classroom

environment Epiphany and what happened

was I thought I was doing a great job in

teaching kids and inspiring kids and so

I would tell funny jokes in class and

they'd laugh they'd see me in the

hallway and realize and say hello to me

and I thought I was doing a really great

job until one day I had a student come

up to me and say you know Mr Conway I

love listening to your lectures and your

stories but I hate Fridays and I was

taken back and I thought hating Fridays

well why would you hate Fridays well

here on Fridays like all across America

social studies concentrates on current

events and so on Fridays we would do

this Jeopardy game towards the voga cup

and I really really made a big deal out

of this and I thought kids were having

fun but what I realized was I was

alienating kids because what I did

through the competition is I really then

exposed many of the social skills kids

were lacking when it came from winning

and losing sharing taking turns and so

on and so forth and so after that

Epiphany I really decided you know what

classroom environment is my passion and

I want to look deeper into what makes a

good classroom environment and so on

click all right so why is it important

to build a positive classroom

environment well number one when you

look at any environment that you enter

into our brains immediately scan what's

going on to see whether or not it's safe

whether or not um we're going to get

along with others what are the

repercussions of talking or not talking

and so on our brains naturally do this

and so um when entering a classroom

students do the exact same thing and the

research is very clear that with

positive classroom environment ments we

see that academic resear uh the academic

achievement and efficacy rises in

students that's why it's important and I

think personally that it is a much

overlooked area of Education we

concentrate so much on content but not

enough on how do kids relate with each

other how can we get away from thinking

classroom management is about me when

really we should be thinking about how

classroom environment is about

them so what are the challenges that we

see in building a positive uh classro

environment well one of the things that

we see is

Click we see that many times when we

look at ourselves in a mirror we see

only ourselves and it's very hard for us

to understand or see the reality Beyond

ourselves and so when students perceive

or share their perceptions of of

classroom environment many times it is

much lower than how the teacher looks at

that classroom environment because many

times it's a reflection upon their

classroom management and not about the

relationships between students and so

when students have an opportunity to

give feedback as teachers that scares us

to death I don't know about you but when

rap my teacher came out right all of us

went there and said what are they saying

about us I may even added a few comments

to bump up my scores I know all of you

have done that as well right but it's

very hard we dread hearing from our

students sometimes because the harsh

reality that may come so we're very

satisfied with our once a year

observations from ministrators because

we can put the pony show on for any one

given day but truly how are reflecting

upon our classroom environment or our

team environments for that matter a

second challenge or problem would be

that of sharing basic positive values if

you think years ago of the values that

students had coming to our classrooms

and those coming uh to our schools today

they are much different in fact let me

share with you just a few stats in a in

a research study uh they found that 83%

of students that were uh surveyed lied

to their parents about something

significance 64% lied to a teacher about

doing something significance uh 36%

copied off the internet or cheated on a

test I think they lied about lying uh

and 64 I'm sorry and 30% stole something

from somebody else but yet overall 95%

of the students were happy with their

ethics and morals and so there's a

disconnect between what we expect and

what is coming into our

classrooms and so when we have students

coming together with a lack of social

skills we see that the environment is is

unable to become a Cooperative one and

what we're missing is opportunities to

teach kids social skills because they

come to us unprepared as they may have

earlier another point or another

statement of problem would be that many

times schools are taking and teachers

are taking a neutral position on social

skills it's not our job that's the

parents well guess what they're coming

to us and we've got to teach them what

they don't know and unfortunately we

have to get over the fact that parents

are not teaching their kids the same

social skills that are necessary to be

successful because what's happening is

there's a gap between what businesses

want and what production is coming out

of our schools in terms of social skills

teamwork collaboration and so

on so what are the key elements of

environment well first a sense of

belonging think about your classroom or

your team environment that you may be

leading as a leader how are you

promoting this sense of belonging for

instance all of us like to be part of

something I mean if you think about what

just recently happened at Penn State and

how all of us gathered together to show

that we are Penn State think about every

Sunday and when you walk around and you

see people with uh NFL jerseys on um my

little boy Brooks every Friday wears his

Dover Eagles T-shirt with pride

because there's a sense of belonging and

when we look at what type of

instructional strategies that are

occurring across our classrooms how

indeed are students feeling that sense

of belonging another item to think about

is the feeling needed by others it feels

darn good when somebody needs us I can

remember the very first time when I

taught Arthur to read a clock I was in

third grade and went to the resource

room at the time and I remember the

feeling that I had teaching him it felt

darn good to feel feed in meaned by

others and conversely then it's good to

know that I can depend on others who

need me and if you think about a

classroom environment or a team

environment we all need each other to be

successful and so as classroom

instructors team leaders how are you

promoting that feeling of needing one

another for to accomplish whatever goal

you're setting out to

accomplish Equity all of us believe in

equity even as old as we are right now

equal turns is important for instance

have you ever gone to an amusement park

maybe Walt Disney World and all of you

have been in a queue that maybe have

been a little wide and all of a sudden

the people behind you start inching up

like they're going to pass you so what

do you do you throw them the look what

do you think you're doing and then when

you come to a turn in the line what you

do is you hug the the corner so they

can't get in front of you you're

laughing because it's so true we as

adults care about social skills okay I'm

to give you another example if you think

about relating with others I don't know

about you but when I get on a plane I

want to know the person next to me's

name so when I'm yelling please hold me

I know who I'm talking to but how many

times have you gotten on a plane

and you barely spoke a word or even

looked at them because if I look I might

have to engage is that a social skill

problem I'm not sure but I at least want

to know who I'm going down with do

something one time to freak people out I

love doing this go on an elevator and we

have social norms when going on an

elevator when you're the only one you

walk in and you sometimes stand in the

center right but when somebody else

comes in where do you move to one of the

corners see everybody knew that so you

move one of the corners and where does

that person come they go to the other

corner right and so the third person

comes in where do they stand dead center

right and where are you looking the

numbers because if you're looking at the

numbers you don't have to engage so of

like kids texting in the hallway not

looking up making eye contact because

that might mean they have to talk so

here's your challenge over the next year

at least one time go into an elevator

and be that third person instead of

facing forward simply turn around and

face him it will freak them out I'm

telling you but why is that so

uncomfortable for us what haven't we

done to prepare people to communicate

with one another in a social setting

that may be unfamiliar to them because

let's face it we have more of those

opportunities of being with unfamiliar

people than with people that we're

familiar with in this age of technology

and and

and work and so on another thing to

consider is of course value and action

we of course want to know that what

we're doing has value and when we have

value we have engagement when we have

engagement we have gains growth in our

knowledge and in our relationships when

we see no value then obviously we shut

down and we check out thus having a high

school dropout where seven ,000 students

a day are dropping out of our high

schools okay

7,000 kids a day obviously there's a

loss of belonging because schools should

be the place where everybody's accepted

everybody is given a

chance a chance to be needed a chance to

feel as though that they're equal upon

others I'll give you a good example

growing up I don't know about you but

when a teacher would call on a student

you always had those one or two kids

would always raise their hands right and

as soon as they called on suie I checked

out because hey Suzy's got it and

eventually you start seeing over time

kids raise their hands less why because

they let others do the work for them

that's how I got through high school and

most of college because I made sure that

I was in a group that had a smart kid

and a cute girl all right yeah that's

how I got through because I didn't have

any individual accountability

but now what can we do to improve the

fact that kids are coming to us with

lack of social skills and so on next

slide so here's what we can do I propose

and challenge all of you no matter what

capacity that you serve in is to look at

how you are structuring the interaction

am among your classrooms and among your

teams how in the world are you

structuring it is it allowed to be a

free-for-all where you have Hogs logs in

that conversation dominating and all of

you know people who dominate

conversations right and you can't get a

word in right and that then produces

people who will become disgruntled or

disenfranchised because why should I

bother even trying because it's going to

be dominated by others and so how do we

structure interaction well there's two

things that I really want to promote for

you and that is number one opportunities

to listen to others and be heard that's

a key in a structured way as soon as you

say so what do you all think about that

obviously the dominators are going to

talk first and dominate the conversation

but think of ways in which you can

structure the time Andor turns for kids

as well as your employees to give

feedback because we all have been in

meetings where it has been so boring we

start texting checking email and so on

and so forth all right last but not

least

I'm going to leave you with a final

thought you know if you have a vision of

what your team oh thank you okay thank

you sorry time out this is where the

commercial is right all right so I

thought I was running out of time all

right opportunities to practice social

skills all right look for ways to

enhance them if you see something broken

have them practice it model it practice

and they'll internalize it but it's not

a separate unit for a guidance

Department to do it is embedded in

everything that we do because kids will

do as we do and so I leave you with this

final thought that environment means so

much to the success and the

collaboration and cooperation of any

classroom any team that you might be

leading and so if you have a vision of

your team keep in mind that Visionaries

dream with their eyes open while while

others keep their eyes closed or shut to

awaken to status quo another other words

you have to see it and keep your eyes

open to what Vision you have for your

classroom environment or your team

environment in fact this morning uh when

I woke up I realized you know what my

little boy taught me yet one more lesson

and you know I was doing this uh mirror

thing and you know what I said we can

improve this mirror in education so we

were playing Connect Four last night and

as I was peering through the Connect 4 I

saw my little boy being a reflection of

me but yet growing as his own individual

and so I thought what if we develop a

mirror an educational reality mirror

that looks like this where I have a

reflection of myself but I'm able to see

through to the other side so I challenge

you how are you reflecting and how are

you envisioning what your goals are

Beyond yourself so again it's not about

you it's about them next

slide and that's it next

slide so thank you very much appreciate

[Applause]

it is this our

exit hi

[Music]

Mom

[Music]