The End of the School Year The End of the School Year Responsive Classroom® Responsive Classroom®

Principals Meeting – June 1, Principals Meeting – June 1, 20102010

The End of the School Year The End of the School Year Responsive Classroom® Responsive Classroom®

Principals Meeting – June 1, Principals Meeting – June 1, 20102010

Presented by: Patrick Shaw – OCM Presented by: Patrick Shaw – OCM BOCESBOCES

Certified Trainer from The Northeast Foundation for Certified Trainer from The Northeast Foundation for ChildrenChildren

What do these words mean to you?

• BELONGING

• SIGNIFICANCE

• FUN• Adler – Maslow - Dreikurs

Sense ofBELONGING

We all need to:

• Feel known• Feel like we’re part of a group• Feel cared for• Know we’re missed when we’re

not there

Sense ofSIGNIFICANCE

We all need to:

• Be known for our abilities, skills, and knowledge we bring to the group

• Feel we are a valued contributor• Feel we are needed for our care-giving

and appreciation of others• Feel we are capable of learning and

solving problems

Sense ofFUN

We all need to:

• Be engaged and interested in what we do

• Enjoy meeting appropriate degrees of challenge

• Recognize that fun is not a frill. It leads to social interaction, which leads to the greatest cognitive growth

The Last Six Weeks of School

• Sense of accomplishment

• An affirmation of strong community involvement and bonding-a sense of belonging to a group

The Last Six Weeks of School

• An opportunity to reflect upon and affirm their own learning process – “Knowing” themselves as learners

– Here is where I/we began and this is where I/we are now

– This is what was easy for me to do. This is what is hard for me to do.

– This is enjoyable work for me. This is work that I don’t really like doing

The Last Six Weeks of School

• A satisfaction and an appreciation for the experience of working hard at learning something. Hard work can be a positive experience

• An overall sense of pride in oneself, one’s class and one’s school

The Last Six Weeks of School

• A recognition of the fun and excitement in learning

• An opportunity to feel ownership of their individual and group learning- empowerment

• An opportunity to use this year’s reflection as a guide to thinking about next year’s work – goal setting by a reflective learner

Elements of aResponsive Classroom

School

• Morning Meeting• Rule Creation• Interactive Modeling• Positive Teacher Language• Logical Consequences• Guided Discovery• Academic Choice• Classroom Organization• Working with Families• Collaborative Problem Solving

Optimal StudentLearning

ClassroomPractices

AdultCommunit

y• Strong, Focused Leadership• Shared Vision and Planning• Common Beliefs and Behaviors• Shared Professional Development• Adult Community Building

• Aligned Policies,• Practices, and Procedures• Resource Allocation• All-School Activities• Family and Community Involvement• Physical Environment

School-widePractices

The Social Skills ofC . A . R . E . S .

•Cooperation•Assertion•Responsibility•Empathy•Self-Control

Social and Academic Social and Academic Learning Research Learning Research

2001-20042001-2004

Social and Academic Social and Academic Learning Research Learning Research

2001-20042001-2004

Social and Academic Learning Study on the Responsive Classroom

Approach, 2001-2004 (p. 8)

• Finding 1: Children showed greater increases in reading and math test scores

• Finding 2: Teachers felt more effective and more positive about teaching

• Finding 3: Children had better social skills

Social and Academic Learning Study on the Responsive Classroom

Approach, 2001-2004 (p. 13-14)

• Finding 4: Teachers offered more high-quality instruction

• Finding 5: Children felt more positive about school

• Finding 6: Teachers collaborated with each other more

7 Guiding Principles of7 Guiding Principles ofTHE RESPONSIVE THE RESPONSIVE

CLASSROOMCLASSROOM

7 Guiding Principles of7 Guiding Principles ofTHE RESPONSIVE THE RESPONSIVE

CLASSROOMCLASSROOM

Responsive ClassroomGuiding Principle #1

The Social Curriculum is as Important as the Academic

Curriculum

The balanced integration of the two is essential to social and academic growth. It requires

teachers who are skilled and knowledgeable and who are given support for their attention to the

complementary sides of learning.

Responsive ClassroomGuiding Principle #2

How Children Learn is as Important as What

they LearnThe key is in the balance between content and process.

Knowledge cannot be attained if the instructional process is too laissez-faire or too constrictive.

Teacher-Directed learning and student-initiated learning are both important. Inquiry-based learning

needs to be balanced with more didactic approaches.

Responsive ClassroomGuiding Principle #3

The Greatest Cognitive Growth Occurs Through

Social Interaction

Social interaction does not provide the only cognitive growth. Children are learning when they are reading a book, taking a test, or

completing a worksheet on their own. But children are learning the most when they are engaged with each other. It is important,

therefore, for teachers to know what children are doing and talking about in order to facilitate cooperative learning most productively.

Cooperative Learning = Marzano’s 9 Instructional Strategies that Works

Responsive ClassroomGuiding Principle #4

There is a Specific set of Social Skills that Children need to Learn and

Practice in order to be successful academically and Socially.

These social skills can be remembered by the simple acronym CARES. They are

CooperationAssertion

ResponsibilityEmpathy

Self-Control

Responsive ClassroomGuiding Principle #5

Knowing the Children we teach is as Important as Knowing

the Content we Teach

The better we know children individually, culturally, and developmentally, the more

they will learn. The scientific and academic discipline of the teaching profession is child

development.

Responsive ClassroomGuiding Principle #6

Knowing the Families of the Children we teach is as

Important as knowing the Children.

Family involvement is essential to children’s education. Imagine, at parent conferences before the first day of school each year, every teacher in

America asking parents, “What would you like your child to learn in school this year?” and all parents relating their Hopes and Dreams for their children.

Responsive ClassroomGuiding Principle #7

How the Adults at school work together is as important as our Individual Competence

Meaningful and lasting change for the better in our schools requires good working relationships. Children are

always watching the adult for the model.

Responsive ClassroomTeaching Practices (p.

3)

• Morning Meeting• Creating Rules• Interactive Modeling• Teacher Language• Logical

Consequences

• Guided Discovery• Academic Choice• Classroom

Organization• Working w/ Families• Collaborative

Problem-Solving

Outcomes of Responsive Classroom

Teaching Practices (p.1)

• Improved social skills and increased academic engagement

• Positive Classroom Climate• Greater learner investment and

independence• Fewer disruptive behaviors

QUESTIONS or QUESTIONS or Comments?Comments?

pshaw@ocmboces.orgpshaw@ocmboces.org

QUESTIONS or QUESTIONS or Comments?Comments?

pshaw@ocmboces.orgpshaw@ocmboces.org