There are a number of things educators do in order to produce a climate which is conducive to learning.  From class room set up, to lesson scaffolding, to personal interactions, to monitoring progress and making efficient use of classroom time.  When a student feels as though he is in a classroom that is engaging, the culture of learning will benefit the student in several ways.  It can make him more interested in the daily lesson, it can make him anticipate the satisfaction of a job well done, it can make him feel more comfortable and open to engaging the subject material with both the instructor and his classmates. 

In a world that is ever more connected and multi-ethnic, many teachers are working with mediums of learning and cultural backgrounds that are truly diverse and cutting edge.  Many of the students we work with come from cultural norms that are very different from those that we grew up in.  It has become more important for these teachers to be sensitive to, and adapt, to these cultural norms as they take stock of where their students are at.  One can exhibit sensitivity to the student’s needs, and provide a positive learning environment, in a variety of ways.
1. Take an interest in the student’s identity, culture, and sub-culture
2. Avoid stereotypes, and challenge them if they arise
3. Share a little about yourself and your own interests

4. Be open to appropriate jokes that do not disrupt the classroom lesson or task at hand

Arranging a classroom is also an important step to providing an environment of learning and concern.  Various arrangements may be adapted for various styles of learning depending on the type of lesson or classroom scaffolding that you plan on using.  Generally, you want to arrange your classroom in such a way that it is easy to transition between phases of the lesson.  So that when the attention needs to be brought to the instructor the students may do so without having to bend their necks 180 degrees, and when the attention is focused on collaboration, they are easily able to transition into any necessary collaborative phases of the lesson.  This diagram shows six different possible arrangements which may facilitate individual, collaborative, and direct teacher-student work. 

For my own system of teaching math, I prefer rows of two desks.  This allows the students to focus on the lesson, and taking math notes, while I am teaching—and allows them to quickly turn to each other to explain sections of the lesson when I call on them to teach one another.  It also allows them to trade turns teaching one another each section of the math lesson, and allows me space to efficiently hand out the days work and review of the math.  The desks can be easily turned to make groups of 4 whenever I desire a lesson with increased collaboration.

But set up doesn’t end with desks.  The classroom should feel welcome.  I like the idea of my classroom feeling like an entire new world when they walk in—and I prefer to decorate my walls with fascinating photographs from the Hubble telescope, funny posters poking fun at mathematical geniuses, and mathematical puns combined with pop culture that the students are familiar with.  

Decorating the walls with physics and math themed ideas that are funny encourages a more positive learning environment.  

Another important point is to ensure that every student is treated fairly.  This is why I live the “full brain method” so much.  It absolutely guarantees that I don’t end up singling any one particular person out, and it allows me to listen to every single student explain each section of the math and physics lesson to their neighbor so that I can see where they are at and assess how effectively my lessons are getting through.  If done age appropriately, I’ve found that High School kids can get a kick out of it, and it keeps them engaged.  And what student could ever complain about 10% of their points being connected to simply showing up to class and responding to the prompts?  Those are easy points!  And it demonstrates consistent fairness, since every single student knows exactly what is expected of them every day in class.