Week 5 Closure: Adolescent Development

This week, learning about teaming was interesting for me. This is a new concept to me but I find it intriguing. I think teaming can be very beneficial for young adolescents. I think that teaming can address young adolescent development by providing a sense of consistancy. This is a crucial part in young adolescents lives and having teachers who are all on the same page would be very beneficial. I also think they will benefit from having teachers who have bounced ideas off of each other and discussed what the best way is to deal with students. Between the team working through ideas, hopefully the students will end up being the ones with the largest benefit.
I think that there are a few methods to create a good classroom climate. I think first of all teachers need to make a point to put their students as their priority. With that in mind, I think teachers will be able to provide students with a positive and enjoyable classroom climate. Teachers also need to be able to make the material interesting to students. I think a good way to do that is to introduce group work or creative ways of learning the material. Getting students to work in a hands on manner can make it seem more relevant to them. I also agree with Parks in regards to rewarding students. Parks writes, "Stickers, homework passes, treats, awards, etc., really will motivate middle schoolers and are tools you can and should use in your classroom." (Parks 2010, page 18) These little things will make students want to work with the teacher to make the classroom a pleasant place for all.