1. Creating an Effective and
Proactive Learning Environment
Graduate Teaching Assistant, Sarah Cress
Art Ed 4273

2. MoStep Madness Agenda…
• MoStep Five Wrap-Up
• Xtranormal Videos
• Sketchbook Prompt
• Classroom Rules and
Regulations Brainstorm
• MoStep Six, Can I Have a
Volunteer?!
• Motivation Theories…
A Review/Discussion
• Break
• Decision Making vs. Problem
Solving
• Artifact Brainstorm

3. Sketchbook Prompt…
Think back to your earliest
school-based memory.
What rules did your
teacher set for you
classroom setting?
Describe the expectations
you recall.

4. Food for Thought…
“I’m a teacher. A
teacher is someone
who leads. There is
no magic here. I do
not walk on water. I
do not part the sea. I
just love children.”
- Marva Collins

5. Set the Scene for Productivity…
Working in pairs, create a
poster that you could
theoretically hang in your
future classroom space.
This poster must be
aesthetically appealing
while also detailing your
expected rules and
regulations.

6. MoStep Six…
• 1.2.6 The preservice teacher uses an understanding of
individual and group motivation and behavior to create a
learning environment that encourages positive social
interaction, active engagement in learning and self-
motivation.
• Performance Indicators: The preservice teacher
• 1.2.6.1 knows motivation theories and behavior
management strategies and techniques;
• 1.2.6.2 manages times, space, transitions and activities
effectively;
• 1.2.6.3 engages students in decision making.

7. MoStep Six Rubric…
The preservice teacher provides exemplary
evidence of not only knowing but also applying
motivation theories and behavior management
strategies and techniques to create a collaborative,
participatory and individualized learning
environment that encourages positive social
interaction, active engagement in learning and
self-motivation. The preservice teacher
demonstrates the capacity to actively engage
students in their own learning and the effort to
encourage all students to set, monitor and adjust
their learning goals and behavior.

8. Invisible Classroom Management…
Foundation
Foundation Prevention
Prevention Intervention
Intervention
- Anticipate problems - Hold your ground - Rules and
- Make decisions - Positive connections consequences
- Teach content - Teaching procedures - Breaking the cycle
- Teach procedures - Consistency
and behavior - Lesson design
- Maintain inner
authority
- Ask for help
- Take care of yourself

9. Operant Conditioning…Without the Label…
“According to Skinner,
supplying the correct answer--
and being informed by the
program that it is the correct
answer--motivates the student to
go on to the next frame; and as
the student works through the
program, the desired terminal
behavior is achieved.”
Source: Teaching concepts - motivation. Retrieved from
http://college.cengage.com/education/pbl/tc/motivate.html

10. Let’s Brainstorm!
Students have been trained to behave in an
educational suitable domain. Within groups of
two to three, brainstorm suitable ways in
which you would “reward” students in the art
classroom domain.

11. Cognitive Development…Yes, It’s Normal…
“Piaget proposes that children possess an inherent
desire to maintain a sense of organization and
balance in their conception of the world
(equilibration). A sense of equilibration may be
experienced if a child assimilates a new
experience by relating it to an existing scheme, or
the child may accommodate by modifying an
existing scheme if the new experience is too
different.”
Source: Teaching concepts - motivation. Retrieved from http://college.cengage.com/education/pbl/tc/motivate.html
http://college.cengage.com/education/pbl/tc/motivate.html

12. Existing Scheme…What is in the World Is That!?
During your internship
experience, how have
you attempted to relate
to the living context of
your students? In other
words, how have you
correlated your
students’ lives, to the
subjects you have
touched upon? Why is
this practice important?

13. Achievement…A Loaded Term
“Individuals with a high need for achievement
have a stronger expectation of success than they
do a fear of failure for most tasks and therefore
anticipate a feeling of pride in accomplishment.
Individuals with a low need for achievement
avoid such tasks because their fear of failure
greatly outweighs their expectation of success,
and they therefore anticipate feelings of shame.”
Source: Teaching concepts - motivation. Retrieved from http://college.cengage.com/education/pbl/tc/motivate.html
http://college.cengage.com/education/pbl/tc/motivate.html

14. Educational Stereotypes?
Among your groups discuss how you would
approach students along both sides of the Atkinson
spectrum. What accommodations would you make
for the high achievers, the low achievers…and for
EXTRA CREDIT…the middle achievers?

15. Teachers as Problem Solvers and Decision Makers…
The terms “problem
solving” and “decision
making” are often
used interchangeably,
however they are two
very different actions.
These two skills are
must-haves in the
world of teaching.

16. Teachers as Problem Solvers and Decision Makers…
“A decision occurs when a solution to a problem is
selected for implementation. Decisions can be made
either formally or informally.
• Formal decisions are complex. Policies and
procedures for making such decisions may not be in
place, therefore creativity may play a key role in
their formation.
• Informal decisions are repetitive and routine in
nature. Policies and procedures are generally in
place that make such decisions quick and easy to
make” (Al-Tarawneh, 2012, p. 3).
Source: Al-Tarawneh, H.A. (2012). The main factors beyond decision making. Journal of Management Research 4(1),
1-23.

17. Teachers as Problem Solvers and Decision Makers…
Decision making is the
process of identifying
and selecting from
among possible
solutions to a problem
according to the
demands of the
situation.

18. Teachers as Problem Solvers and Decision Makers…
A problem is the
difference between the
actual condition and the
desired condition. For
example: our students do
not understand how to
use a ruler.
Problem solving is a
continuous and conscious
process that seeks to
correct the difference
between the actual and
the desired conditions.

19. Teachers as Problem Solvers and Decision Makers…
The basic steps of problem solving:
• Recognize the problem and state it clearly.
• Determine the significance of the problem.
• Gather data and information relevant to the conditions
associated with the problem.
• Take part in decision making steps:
• Generate criteria for and develop alternative solutions.
• Evaluate the alternative solutions and choose from
among them.
• Plan, implement, monitor and evaluate the selected
alternatives.
• If the problem still exists, decide on future action.
Source: Al-Tarawneh, H.A. (2012). The main factors beyond decision making. Journal of Management Research 4(1), 1-23.

20. Practice What Cress is Preaching…
Individually, write down one
problem you have run into
during your internship
experience. Write each
problem on a separate sheet
of paper with as much
background information as
possible. Upon completion,
throw each of these
instructional challenges into
the “problem bucket.”

21. Practice What Cress is Preaching…
Now, within groups of
two to three, you will be
provided two to three
problems expressed by
your peers. Among your
group members, share the
instructional problems
chosen with each other
and come up with some
valid courses of action.
Make some decisions!

22. Practice What Cress is Preaching…
Now, within those same
groups, decide on two to
three problems in which
you could provide your
students to engage them
in proper problem-
solving and decision
making practice.

23. Artifact Brainstorm…
Artifact Brainstorm…
Now, let’s
brainstorm
some ways
we can
demonstrate
our newfound
knowledge.