Culture by Design: Part 1

accountability culture growth mindset motivation ownership Nov 01, 2024

Estimated Read Time: 5-7 minutes

By Rob Chilton

What is Classroom Culture?

Classroom culture is often misunderstood. It’s more than liking a teacher or subject and extends beyond community building; it’s the shared attitudes, values, norms, and practices that shape the learning environment and experience. Every classroom develops its own culture, whether purposefully shaped or not. A strong classroom culture can encourage and accelerate academic and personal growth, while a weak one can allow obstacles that hinder progress and engagement. This series of articles aims to help you be more conscious and deliberate about your classroom culture; because, whether by design or not, it already exists. Let’s be intentional about it!

Observable Qualities of Great Classroom Culture

As a young teacher, I regularly observed other teachers, often with specific learning targets in mind. For example, I observed Gary Williams when he was teaching at Cockrill Middle School to learn more about his ensemble and tonal concepts. I visited Ryan Johnstone and Joey Qualls while they were teaching together at Aledo Middle School to learn more about their brass pedagogy. I also watched Chris Pineda when he was at Liberty Junior High to find out his strategies for success in an economically disadvantaged campus.

While observing these and many other master teachers, I began noticing similarities in their classroom cultures that transcended their situational differences. Qualities I commonly observed in classrooms with great culture included:

Structure
Safety
Curiosity
Engagement
Participation
Effort
Motivation
Resilience (or grit)
Accountability
Respect
Integrity
Kindness
Inclusivity
Teamwork

Good classrooms exhibit some of these qualities, while great classrooms embody most or all. The question is: how do we bring them all to life?

The Essential Elements of Classroom Culture

In recent years, I’ve begun visiting schools as an educational consultant. After observing hundreds of classes, I can say without a doubt: culture matters. It’s something you can see, hear, and feel the moment you walk into a room–and it can be deliberately shaped for the better by any willing and intentional teacher. Through observation and experience, I’ve come to believe the following to be the essential elements of classroom culture:

Routines
Procedures
Behaviors
Discipline
Instruction
Learning
Relationships
Community
Values
Beliefs
Goals
Results

It’s not a perfectly sequential list, but it’s helpful to view these as progression, where the quality, output, or result of one influences the next. For example, the caliber of (#6) learning is affected by all those before it.

Where Do We Start with Classroom Culture?

From the teacher’s perspective, it can be helpful to start with the end in mind. That is to say, we can reverse engineer our classroom culture by thinking about what we want our students to value, believe, and achieve. Just be careful when planning and implementing your plan not to place too much emphasis at first on goals and results in attempts to force a specific culture to exist. Doing so will almost certainly be met with resistance, and is akin to building a house starting first with the roof or chimney–it just doesn't make sense. Instead, build from the ground up.

Establish (#1) routines and (#2) procedures conducive to the types of (#3) behaviors you want your students to exhibit, and have clear and appropriate (#4) disciplinary strategies for when those behaviors need redirection. Once these four elements are in place, a classroom environment increasingly receptive to (#5) instruction and (#6) learning will often emerge. Then, the development of (#7) relationships, (#8) community, (#9) values, and (#10) beliefs will naturally form–hopefully in alignment your original intentions–paving the way for (#11) goals and (#12) results.

A Note on Relationships & Community

While some may argue that relationships and community-building should precede instruction and learning–a perspective I don’t entirely disagree with–I believe more so they are interwoven throughout the entire progression, as we’ll discuss later. For now, I’ve chosen to address them after instruction and learning, because I believe when we focus first on getting to quality teaching practices, the relationships we develop with all stakeholders are more conducive to academic growth.

Culture Before Content?

In the past few years, there’s been a resurgence of “culture before content”' and “culture over content” ideologies. These philosophies aren’t new, and I generally agree with their sentiments. There’s no question that a positive classroom enhances learning; but be cautious, there are risks when these ideologies are overgeneralized or misunderstood.

Kids come to school for a variety of reasons, but the foundational purpose is to be educated. Focusing too heavily on certain aspects of culture can sometimes shift our focus away from the need for strong instructional practices. It can also create confusion about what constitutes a truly positive culture. For example, an environment that prioritizes comfort over challenge may unintentionally limit students' intellectual growth. A balanced approach is necessary to ensure culture development supports, rather than replaces, the pursuit of meaningful learning.

Group Dynamics Change

From first period to last, every class is different. Similarly, groups can vary greatly from year to year, even with returning students. For example, a class that thrived in a 6th-grade beginner setting may behave differently when reorganized into a 7th-grade ensemble, not necessarily because the individuals have changed, but because a new group dynamic has emerged from the reconfiguration. Culture is a collective phenomenon that reflects the average behaviors and attitudes within any group, and this average shifts with each reorganization. This is another reason why it’s important to be intentional and define the type of classroom culture you desire. A clear definition provides a focused destination by which we can lead all groups even when they're starting from different places.

Disclaimer: Every Situation is Different

Every campus, program, and classroom is unique, shaped by a multitude of variables–some helpful, others more challenging–that can make situations differ vastly. The advice given and examples offered throughout this series are not intended as strict requirements, but vehicles for introspection. What proves effective in one setting may not work for another, but don’t let that stop you from trying! Also, I suggest refining your current methods before reinventing them—though occasionally, a fresh approach may be just what’s needed.

Stay Tuned!

In Part 2, we’ll begin breaking down the twelve essential elements and discuss how to optimize each to nurture a classroom culture that is… by design!

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About the author:

Rob Chilton is the creator and owner of Readymade Music, LLC and its content. Previously, Chilton was a middle school band director from 2007-2021. His most recent teaching position was the Head Band Director at Killian Middle School in Lewisville, Texas from 2014-2021.

Under his direction, the Killian Honors Band was named the 2018 Texas Music Educators Association CC Honor Band and performed at the annual 2018 TMEA Clinic/Convention. In 2019, the Killian Honors Band was invited to and performed at The Midwest Clinic in Chicago. Additionally, the Killian Honors Band was named a National Winner in the Mark of Excellence National Wind Band Honors Project in 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, and 2019.

Chilton is a graduate of Southern Methodist University where he had the opportunity to study music education under the tutelage of Lynne Jackson and Brian Merrill. During his years as a middle school band director, Chilton continued his professional growth under the guidance of his primary clinicians, John Benzer and Brian Merrill.

Chilton’s mission for Readymade Music is to promote the overall well-being of music education and support school music teachers by providing solutions to help make teaching music more efficient and inspirational while increasing engagement for 21st century learners.