Overview
A quality learning environment is one that fosters safety, mutual respect, and engagement for all students. It should be a space where students feel both physically and emotionally secure, respected, and valued. Teachers and staff show genuine care, build positive relationships, and provide necessary support. Lessons are engaging, interactive, and varied to capture students’ interest and maintain their curiosity. The environment is well-organized with clear structures and accessible resources, setting high expectations while providing appropriate challenges to foster students’ critical thinking and problem-solving skills.
The Instructor as Warm Demander
A “warm demander” is an educational term used to describe a teaching approach where the educator combines high expectations for student achievement with a supportive and nurturing attitude. This approach involves being both demanding and caring—teachers set clear, rigorous standards and hold students accountable while simultaneously providing the encouragement, support, and respect students need to succeed. This balance helps to build strong relationships and trust, motivating students to put forth their best efforts and fostering a positive and productive learning environment.
The Student as Empowered Learner
Personalized learning is an educational approach that tailors instruction, learning experiences, and academic support to the individual needs, interests, and abilities of each student. Rather than a one-size-fits-all model, personalized learning considers various factors such as students’ learning styles, paces, prior knowledge, and personal interests to create a customized educational experience. Student agency is the goal of personalized learning, providing students with choices on processes (e.g. individually or in pairs or groups), products (e.g. essays, videos, multimedia), and platforms (e.g. Drive document, PowerPoint, Teams OneNote) used to demonstrate competency. Building personalized experiences means opening the door to voice and choice with multiple options to achieve mastery.
In Practice Strategies
Creating an environment for learning in higher education refers to designing and fostering a setting that maximizes students’ ability to acquire knowledge, develop skills, and engage in meaningful intellectual experiences. This environment is multidimensional and involves several key elements.
Physical Space
The arrangement and quality of physical spaces such as classrooms, libraries, laboratories, and study areas play a crucial role. Comfortable, well-equipped, and accessible facilities can enhance concentration, collaboration, and overall learning experiences.
Safe and Respectful Environment
Create a safe and respectful classroom culture. Establish and enforce ground rules that promote respect and openness, ensuring all students feel comfortable sharing their ideas.
Integrate Technology
Integrate appropriate technology to enhance learning, such as assistive technology, or by integrating learning management systems, online discussion boards, and multimedia resources.
Empower Agency and Accountability
Provide opportunities to demonstrate autonomy by taking charge of learning choices on assignments, personalized pathways, self-directed study and reflection.
Engage Multiple Perspectives
Develop a curriculum that reflects multiple perspectives and includes materials and examples that resonate with all students. This fosters a sense of belonging and relevance.
Emotional and Social Support
Promote a sense of community and belonging. Support services such as counseling, mentorship programs, and opportunities for social interactions create a supportive atmosphere that can positively impact students’ mental health and well-being.
Be Accessible
Make yourself available to students outside of class through office hours, email, or online platforms to provide additional support and mentorship.
Model Accessibility
Evaluate digital content using POUR (Perceivable, Operable, Understandable, and Robust) to align with the Web Content Accessibility) standards.
Provide Clear and Constructive Feedback
Offer timely, specific, corrective, and constructive feedback that guides students’ learning processes and helps them improve.
Apply Universal Design for Learning
Integrate the UDL guidelines by providing multiple means of representation, action and expression, and engagement.
References
Bondy, E., & Ross, D. D. (2008). The teacher as warm demander. Educational Leadership, 66(1), 54-58.
Keet, J. (n.d.). Using AI to personalize student learning paths. Teachers.tech. [blog post]
Nicola, K. (August 23, 2022). The warm demander: Empowering students to aim high. [blog post].
Zhong, L. (2022). A systematic review of personalized learning in higher education: learning content structure, learning materials sequence, and learning readiness support. Interactive Learning Environments, 31(10), 7053–7073.
Resources
Educause. (2016, March 7). How do you personalize learning? [Video]. YouTube.
Severns, T. (2023, July 15). The warm demander pedagogy: Dr. Tracey Severns on what students need in order to achieve [Video]. YouTube.
Watson, A. (2019, March 17). Truth for teachers: The warm demander—How to raise expectations (and have students rise to meet them) [Video]. YouTube.
Alexander, M. (2016, April 13). The warm demander: An equity approach. Edutopia.