Annotated Bibliography of Resources for Educational Reform, Coherent Teaching Practice, and Improved Student Learning

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• Newman, J. M. (n.d./1998, August). Building a supportive classroom. [WWW document]. http://users.andara.com/~jnewman/judith.html

Using vignettes from classroom situations, Newman discusses the key elements to a supportive classroom environment: the learner must feel that s/he has the possibility of success; the teacher monitors and observes the learning that is occurring in the classroom and attempts to support the needs of all of the students; the focus becomes learning from the child, not fixing the child; and the teacher assists the student in taking control of his/her own learning. In supportive classrooms, it is common to see teachers and students working together, student to student collaborative efforts, student work created for audiences other than the teacher, guided question strategies, student choice, discussion of strategies and feelings about learning, exemplar demonstrations and student recognition and recognition of the diversity of learners. However, the most important element of this process is designing practice around the cues given to the teacher by the student.

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