I believe that students learn best in a relaxed environment where they are free to express themselves and ask questions freely. Speaking from personal experience, I understand the isolation students feel when they are new to a school, or when they do not feel as smart as other students, or even when they just don’t identify with their peers and teacher. This is why I strive to create a sense of community in my classroom derived from important concepts I have had the privilege of learning throughout my schooling. I plan to foster a community in my classroom by promoting cooperative learning and using culturally relevant teaching strategies.

      One of the most important missions I hope to accomplish in my classroom is providing my students with the ability of developing a growth mindset. A growth mindset will allow the children to view their intelligence as being changeable and developed through effort, as opposed to something they are just born with or not . This will be done by adapting constructivist techniques when teaching. Constructivism views each student as being responsible for building upon their knowledge. This is due to the belief that instead of just absorbing information, learners need to adapt it into pre-existing schemas and build from there. As a teacher I will make an effort to embrace constructivism by asking thought-provoking questions when exploring new topics, and offer opportunities to reflect back on the new content. I will also provide problem-solving, and inquiry-based assessments, instead of just memorization based summative assessments.

      Another important aspect I will incorporate in my classroom is the importance of cooperative learning. I hope my students will see each other as a resource instead of a competition. Effective cooperative learning encourages not only the growth of social skills, but then allows them to promote one another's learning. This will be because I hope to create an environment where they are not trying to dominate one another but instead become willing to help reach the goal together.  Also, a study has shown that in a group under the proper conditions, students are more likely to perceive that they are personally liked and others care about how much they learn. These proper conditions would be instigated by giving the students ample time to get to know one another. Another great strategy is not placing a strong emphasis on grades during these types of activities, so students focus more on reaching a common goal.

      Lastly, in an effort to further promote community in my classroom, I will make sure to encompass Vygotsky’s emphasis on speech through culturally relevant teaching. Language is a cultural tool that is an essential component for cognitive development because it allows students to express their ideas and propose questions. Different cultures need and develop different cultural tools, which also include concepts and signs, because thinking depends not only on speech, but the means of thinking, and on the child's own sociocultural experience. These experiences need to be brought into the classroom, which I will do by asking them to share things such as songs, stories, or anecdotes that are important to them, and relating it to the material being studied. My hope is that doing this will help students identify more with one another and feel more at home in the classroom. I believe that forming a tight knit classroom, by promoting culturally relevant material they can relate to their lives, and asking thought-provoking questions will really allow students to flourish.