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CreatinganEquitableClassroomthroughEstablishingRespect
Therelationshipbetweenteacherandstudentisimportantinthattheirinteractionisessentialforsuccessful
teacherpracticeandstudentlearningtotakeplace.Ourteachingexperiencesbothinschoolandininformal
settingsletusunderstandthedelicatebalanceoffirstestablishinghighexpectationsforstudentsthrough
informingthemofacceptableclassroompracticesandsecondcreatinganenvironmentthatwelcomesstudentsto
expresstheirideasaboutthesepractices.Theunderlyingthemethatresonatesthroughthiswayofteachingis
respect.Respectbetweenteacherandstudentisnecessaryforsuccessintheclassroom.

EQUITY=RESPECT
Equityintheclassroomcanbedefinedasgivingstudentswhattheyneed.Whenteacherstrulylistentostudents
andrespectintheclassroomismutualbetweenteacherandstudent,aproductiveclassroomcanbeformed.
Teachersfeelgoodaboutthelessonstheyteachandstudentsareengagedinlearning.
Forexample,onesemesterJanellfeltthatherstudentswereuninterestedinthesciencetopicssheplannedto
teach.Shethenaskedthemwhichsciencetopicstheywouldliketolearnabout.Themomentthatsheasked
themwhichtopicstheywantedtolearnabouttheirinterestlevelskyrocketed!Fromthere,Janellbeganto
incorporatethesetopicsintothestandardsbasedlessonsthatshehadplanned.Thissoleactionfurtheredstudent
interestandallowedJanell,asateacher,togrowandvaluestudentsinputaboutthecurriculum.Additionally,
sheintroducedstudentreflectionsheetsonwhichstudentscouldrespondtoadaysactivityandgivefeedback
andsuggestions.
Initially,Janellthoughtthatshewasgivingherstudentswhattheyneededintermsofcurriculum,butnotuntil
sheaskedthemwhattheywanteddidtheirmotivationtolearnandhermotivationtoteachincrease.Inessence,
inordertogivestudentswhattheyneed,we,asteachers,mustbewillingtodothefollowing:
Understandtheneedsofourstudents.
Valuestudentfeedbackonassignmentsandclassroomactivities.
Supportstudentideastohelpdesignorcreatelessonsandassessments.
Wehaveincludedasamplereflectionsheetthatyoucanusewithyourstudents.Youcanmodifyitbasedonthe
specificactivity(lesson,fieldtrip,assessment).Forearlyelementarygradesyoucansimplyaskyourstudents
thesequestionsinplaceoffreewriteinresponsetothequestionsonthereflectionsheet.Youcanusestudents
responsestoenhancefuturelessons,assessstudentlearningandbetteryourownteachingpractice.
StudentReflectionTemplate[http://static.ehe.osu.edu/sites/beyond/penguins/downloads/misc/studentfeedback
template.pdf]

Thissamplereflectionsheetcanbeusedtogatherstudentfeedbackaboutanylesson.Teacherscanmodifyitto
beusedwithavarietyofagesandsettings.
Studentsaremotivatedtolearnandteachersaremotivatedtoteachwhenanequitableclassroomisestablished
throughrespectbetweenteacherandstudent.Whenwelistentoourstudentsandcreateanenvironmentthat
valuestheirfeedback,ourstudentsfeelrespectedandencouragedtolearn.Respectintheclassroompromotes
thecreationofanequitablelearningenvironmentbecauseinthisspaceallvoicesmatter.

ONLINERESOURCESABOUTRESPECTINTHECLASSROOM
TeachingEffectivenessProgram:IssuesofRespect
[http://tep.uoregon.edu/resources/faqs/issuesofrespect/issues.html]
Thissiteanswersquestionsabouteverythingfromhowtobuildpositiverelationshipswithstudentstomanaging
yourclassroom.
MorningsideCenterforTeachingSocialResponsibility:TeachableMoment
[http://www.teachablemoment.org/elementary.html]
Thissitelistsnumerousactivitiesappropriateforelementarystudents.
ThisarticlewaswrittenbyJanellN.CatlinandFeliciaMooreMensahFormoreinformation,seethe
Contributorspage.EmailJanellandFeliciaatbeyondpenguins@msteacher.org
[mailto:beyondpenguins@msteacher.org].
CopyrightMarch2009TheOhioStateUniversity.ThismaterialisbaseduponworksupportedbytheNational
ScienceFoundationunderGrantNo.0733024.Anyopinions,findings,andconclusionsorrecommendations
expressedinthismaterialarethoseoftheauthor(s)anddonotnecessarilyreflecttheviewsoftheNational
ScienceFoundation.ThisworkislicensedunderanAttributionShareAlike3.0UnportedCreativeCommons
license[http://creativecommons.org/licenses/bysa/3.0/].