Responsive Classroom Principals and Practices Brent Elementary 2011-2012

Responsive Classroom Principals and Practices

Brent Elementary 2011-2012

Brent Elementary School

What It Is• Responsive Classroom is an approach to

working with children.

• It is not a curriculum, a program, a rulebook, a practice, a person…

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7 Guiding Principles

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• The social curriculum is as important as the academic curriculum.

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• How children learn is as important as what they learn: Process and content go hand in hand.

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• The greatest cognitive growth occurs through social interaction.

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• To be successful academically and socially, children need a set of social skills: cooperation, assertion, responsibility, empathy, and self-control.

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• Knowing the children deeply —individually, culturally, and developmentally—is as important as knowing the content we teach.

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• Knowing the families of the children we teach and working with them as partners is essential to children’s education.

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• How the adults at school work together is as important as their individual competence: Lasting change begins with the adult community.

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Practices

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Morning Meeting• Greeting• Share• Message• News/Announcements• Activity

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Rule Creation• Students should collectively create - or

contribute to the creation of - the rules that govern their classroom.

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Interactive Modeling• Students can come to understand and

internalize behaviors by having them modeled, and by modeling them for others.

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Positive Adult Language• Adults should be careful to ensure that their

words and tone align to the goal of having students learn actively and internalize desirable behaviors.

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Power of Our Words: Language Guidelines

• Be direct and authentic.• Show faith in children’s abilities and intentions.• Keep it action oriented.• Be brief.• Know when to be silent.

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Logical Consequences• Rather than following a proscribed set of

behavior outcomes, teachers should respond flexibly and respectfully to student behavior.

• Consequences are not designed to make students “pay” for their misbehavior – the momentum should always be toward the internalization of positive behaviors.

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Guided Discovery• Rather than being told how to use (or what to

do with) materials, students can be guided to use things (materials, tools, classroom spaces, centers…) flexibly but responsibly.

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Academic Choice• Allowing for student input and choice

increases buy-in, motivation, and creativity. Also, differentiated instruction is preferable.

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Classroom Organization• There are ways to set up the room to

encourage independence, cooperation, and productivity.

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Working With Families• Negotiating successfully between home and

school is easiest when teachers listen to families’ insights and help families understand the school environment.

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Collaborative Problem Solving• Students can be part of the solution to any

problem. Teachers can promote problem solving techniques that foster independence and strong socialization.

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What Stands Out?• Flexibility• Intrinsic• Language• Independent• Problem Solving

This Means that We…Do:• Stay really calm• Work through the

problem toward the solution

• Hear the student’s side• Ask real, pertinent

questions• Provide choice

Don’t:• Deliberately create

extrinsic motivation systems like card charts, stop lights, token economies…

• Yell at Kids• Get even• Insert ourselves as the

regulator