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…


7 Guiding Principles


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


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


• The greatest cognitive growth occurs through social interaction.


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


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


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


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


Practices


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


Rule Creation• Students should collectively create - or

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


Interactive Modeling• Students can come to understand and

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


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.


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.


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.


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.


Academic Choice• Allowing for student input and choice

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


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

encourage independence, cooperation, and productivity.


Working With Families• Negotiating successfully between home and

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


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.


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

responsive classroom principals and practices brent elementary 2011-2012

Documents

brent elementary school

practices brent elementary

school environment

person slide

classroom spaces

social curriculum

families insights

academic curriculum