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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…
Brent Elementary School
7 Guiding Principles
Brent Elementary School
• The social curriculum is as important as the academic curriculum.
Brent Elementary School
• How children learn is as important as what they learn: Process and content go hand in hand.
Brent Elementary School
• The greatest cognitive growth occurs through social interaction.
Brent Elementary School
• To be successful academically and socially, children need a set of social skills: cooperation, assertion, responsibility, empathy, and self-control.
Brent Elementary School
• Knowing the children deeply —individually, culturally, and developmentally—is as important as knowing the content we teach.
Brent Elementary School
• Knowing the families of the children we teach and working with them as partners is essential to children’s education.
Brent Elementary School
• How the adults at school work together is as important as their individual competence: Lasting change begins with the adult community.
Brent Elementary School
Practices
Brent Elementary School
Morning Meeting• Greeting• Share• Message• News/Announcements• Activity
Brent Elementary School
Rule Creation• Students should collectively create - or
contribute to the creation of - the rules that govern their classroom.
Brent Elementary School
Interactive Modeling• Students can come to understand and
internalize behaviors by having them modeled, and by modeling them for others.
Brent Elementary School
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.
Brent Elementary School
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.
Brent Elementary School
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.
Brent Elementary School
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.
Brent Elementary School
Academic Choice• Allowing for student input and choice
increases buy-in, motivation, and creativity. Also, differentiated instruction is preferable.
Brent Elementary School
Classroom Organization• There are ways to set up the room to
encourage independence, cooperation, and productivity.
Brent Elementary School
Working With Families• Negotiating successfully between home and
school is easiest when teachers listen to families’ insights and help families understand the school environment.
Brent Elementary School
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.
Brent Elementary School
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