Children and teachers use the Safety Rule to decide on appropriate behavior for themselves and others. I do think that preschool age children need clear expectations defined for them so they will understand their limits and boundaries but in my experience, the best approach is to not depend on a set of rules but rather make your expectations a part of your teaching process as you consistently provide guidance and redirection.Preschool age children are still developing their sense of right and wrong in almost every action they take. They are testing limits, exploring their environment, and discovering how to get along with others. Preschool age children are cognitively, socially, emotionally, and physically developing their sense of right and wrong in just about everything they do.
It is when developmental understanding is present that young children are now ready to live by a set of formal classroom rules that come with consequences.While preschoolers learn the boundaries of their behavior towards others and towards their environment, the teacher can best participate by consistently and patiently communicate teacher expectations (the rules) and then consistently guide children towards making positive choices. Positive learning environments support the developmental needs of students not only academically but also socially and personally. These are places, such as classrooms, where children feel comfortable with themselves, safe amongst their peers and motivated to learn.Since students are unique individuals and come from a variety of backgrounds and experience, a positive environment may not occur naturally but require careful nurturing from the teacher or adult in charge.
Rules and expectations that promote positive learning environments in the classroom are a way to help create an environment of respect and learning. Classroom environment encompasses a broad range of educational concepts, including the physical setting, the psychological environment created through social contexts, and numerous instructional components related to teacher characteristics and behaviors.The study classroom environment has been widespread across nearly all sub specializations of educational psychology. Researchers are interested in relationships between environment constructs and multiple outcomes, including learning, engagement, motivation, social relationships, and group dynamics.
Early researchers recognized that behavior is a function of people's personal characteristics and their environment. Students called on equitably? Yes. Do you greet each student, yes every day.
