Establishing a Comfortable Atmosphere in the Developmental Classroom

It was over twenty years ago, during my very first superintendent's day conference, began giving serious consideration to how to work successfully with developmental students. One of the speakers discussed the notion any teacher, providing he or she knows the subject matter, can teach the bright students. However, it is the truly gifted individual who is able to teach developmental students. Although eventually moved from the secondary level to the community college, have never forgotten his words and have devoted my career to working with students who struggle with the study of mathematics. One component have implemented to aid in the learning process of developmental students is structuring a comfortable classroom atmosphere. atmosphere is not always achieved easily, as these students tend to come to class with anxiety, dislike, and even fear of the subject matter. Additionally, most of these students have not been successful in learning mathematics. Changing their preconceived attitudes and ideas is a challenge, but a very rewarding experience. It is a belief incorporated into my classroom beginning the first day of the semester. Policies and Introductions To insure students are aware of the grading policies and other requirements of the course, the first class begins with a detailed discussion of the syllabus. discussion allows the students to be aware of my expectations for the semester, and, more importantly, it helps them understand the requirements of the course and their responsibility in the learning process. Next, introductions are made. begin by telling the class about myself, how became interested in becoming a math teacher, my family, and any other bit of information may think interesting at the time. Students are then required to introduce themselves. Each person is allowed to say as much or as little as they want. The students are usually very candid, saying things such as I hate math, or This is the third time I've taken this course. Simple statements such as these encourage others to be more open and provide relief they are not alone in their struggle with the study of mathematics. Furthermore, it helps to set the foundation for establishing student relationships. The students realize they share something in common. They begin to learn the names of others in the class, making it easier to work together. Through these interactions, my students appear very receptive to working in groups inside class; many take the initiative to formulate study groups to meet outside of class. Mistakes are Allowed Students need to realize it is not only acceptable, but expected, they make mistakes during the learning process. One exercise use in my Beginning Algebra class is to instruct the students to simplify an expression involving the order of operations. The class is told will be asking for their solutions. Each student is given sufficient time to find an answer. will ask the class, Does anyone need more time? prior to eliciting responses from them. then will call on someone for his or her solution and follow with the question, Did anyone get a different answer?. Students are encouraged to share all solutions. The class seems genuinely surprised at the number of answers to one problem, as well as the fact am not upset or discouraged by the variety of answers. process provides a number of functions. The students realize they need to learn the concept taught during class period, hence, they are ready to become involved in class. It begins to develop into an atmosphere where students will freely ask questions, ask for clarification and voice their opinions. Too often students have had teachers who would not answer their questions and may have responded with statements such as You should know that or I went over already. My work with pre-service elementary teachers has made me realize many of these teachers may not understand the concepts; therefore, they do not know how to answer the students' questions. …