The past three weeks of the course have proved compelling and relevant to my role as a first grade teacher. This year I have a very emotionally dynamic group of students. The idea that positive climates in the classroom create a dynamic that allows the release dopamine which, in turn, strengthens the cognitive process. WOW! I am telling all who will listen (at school and a conference I attended this weekend) about this. I knew on a basic level, that of course a stressed child isn’t one that can learn. However, the discussion of cortisol vs. dopamine really was eye opening. It’s even more important for me to try to keep our classroom humming in a positive happy way because they will truly learn better!
As a result our discussions regarding the physical environment, I changed A LOT in my room. The children changed the table arrangement from groupings to a line of tables along our L shaped room- I wouldn’t have thought to do this, I would have thought they would have preferred working together in groups, yet this is what they chose and they love it! It’s opened up our meeting area space as well, so it’s a win-win!
The idea of novelty was another concept that my colleagues are sick of me talking about at school! Changing our bulletin boards, adding more exciting pictures to our “I see, I think, I wonder” display has boosted our unit interest significantly. The students are keen to research and find out about that days topics! It’s fantastic!
