Keeping the Good Vibes Going
How to Maintain a Positive Classroom Culture All Year Long
Every classroom has a culture, whether it’s been intentionally created or not. Some define culture as “What we allow,” while others emphasize that “Culture isn’t taught, it’s caught.”
As Will Guidara writes in Unreasonable Hospitality, leaders (and teachers!) can create the culture they want by developing a shorthand language that describes it.
In Guidara’s restaurant, a few of their ‘culture words’ were inspired, collaborative, and innovative.
If you’re a teacher, what words would you want to describe the classroom culture you’re aiming to create?
And this “culture” stuff may seem like fluff, but in fact, it is the very foundation on which learning and growth happen. Whether you run a classroom or a Fortune 500 company, make a plan for intentionally maintaining a positive culture, and you will see results in everything from the daily interactions to your ratings (a.k.a. end-of-year test scores).
Here are four easy ways teachers can intentionally shape a positive classroom culture:
1. Build Real Relationships
A classroom isn't just a place for learning; it's a community. When students feel seen and heard, they're way more likely to take chances, jump into learning, and be kind to their classmates.
Easy wins for teachers:
Greet every student by name: A quick hello at the door can change a student's day.
Build connection time into your lesson plan: Marshall High School history teacher Amanda Schall begins each class with a Question of the Day. Whether it’s “Would you rather go without a shower or clean laundry for a month?” or “What did you do over the weekend?”, each student must respond (or pass). Ms. Schall says this takes only 5 minutes and inevitably results in some shared laughter and increased ease in the room. It also leads to higher engagement and participation for the remainder of the lesson.
Share a bit of yourself with your students. Whether it’s photos of your dog, your family, or your latest travel adventure, kids want to know who their teacher is. I used to have some personal photos on a bulletin board in my classroom, and my students loved to ask about them!
2. Put Words to Your Ideal Class Vibe
Sure, you’ve established rules and expectations, but have you named your class values? Do this with students, and there’s instant buy-in.
Easy wins for teachers:
Define key values together: Invite students to revisit the norms they set at the beginning of the year and distill the values that undergird them. Give them sentence starters to complete, such as "In our classroom, we want to make sure everyone feels..." or "A person who is doing great work in this class is also..." From those answers, you can identify and name a few key values.
Try a "windows and mirrors" activity: Once you have your key values, have the class role-play what it looks like when everyone is acting on those values (mirrors). Then, have them brainstorm a list of what it looks like when people are acting in opposition to them (i.e. looking through a ‘window’ at another class--not theirs! 😉). This is a fun and engaging way to highlight the difference and ensure every student understands what it means to be a positive member of the classroom community.
3. Foster a Sense of Belonging
Every single student should feel like a valued member of the class, just as they are! A positive classroom celebrates everyone.
Easy wins for teachers:
Let students lead: Give them a chance to lead discussions and contribute to classroom decisions. Their voices matter!
Create a welcoming space: Display student work and posters that represent diverse cultures. Fill the classroom library with a variety of characters and authors, too.
4. Encourage a "Growth Mindset"
A classroom with a growth mindset teaches kids that they can get better at anything with hard work. It helps them see mistakes as a chance to learn, not a reason to quit.
Easy wins for teachers:
Praise the effort, not just the smarts: Use phrases like, "I can see how hard you worked on that!" instead of, "You're so smart!"
Normalize mistakes: Share personal stories about times you've learned from a mistake and create a classroom where it's okay to be imperfect. Here’s an article by Rozlynn Dance & Tessa Kaplan that includes tips for celebrating mistakes in the classroom. And a technique called My Favorite No is a favorite of mine—if you're a math teacher and haven’t seen it, watch it now!
Let them try again: Give students a chance to review and revise their work after receiving feedback.
I’ll leave you with Maya Angelou’s wise words: “I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”
How we make students feel has a direct impact on what they learn. Let’s do this, teachers!
