What the students need in differentiation.

We as teachers need to understand that students have basic needs that must be met in order to learn. Maslow taught us that we need to feel safe, and feel like we belong before we can learn. In recent years researchers have told us that emotions trump all things including learning. This is important to me as a teacher, because I need to make sure that my students are emotionally fed by making sure that my classroom environment is positive to all of it's members. I recently read an article that I enjoyed about how a teacher made sure that her classroom was emotionally taken care of. Every Friday she allowed her students to put in a request on paper of who in the classroom they would like to sit by, and who they would like to work with in groups the following week. The teacher said that by doing this she is actually doing an analysis of who never gets chosen to be worked with or sat by, and who is the bully in the class and who always choose the same people week after week. I want to implement this in my classroom to help foster a positive atmosphere, and to give students a choice in who they work with. Other things that students seek are Affirmation, Contribution, Power, Purpose, and Challenge. When we allow students to feel like successful in a classroom they will learn more.