RESPONSIVE CLASSROOMS: GUIDING PRINCIPLES
The Responsive Classroom approach is informed by the work of educational theorists and the experiences of exemplary classroom teachers. Seven principles guide this approach.
- 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 we teach—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.
RESPONSIVE CLASSROOM AT GREENBRIER COMMUNITY SCHOOL
At the heart of the Responsive Classroom approach are ten classroom practices:
- Morning Meeting: gathering as a whole class each morning to greet one another, share news, and warm up for the day ahead.
- Rule Creation: helping students create classroom rules that allow all class members to meet their learning goals.
- Positive Teacher Language: using words and tone to promote children’s active learning and self-discipline.
- Logical Consequences: responding to misbehavior in a way that allows children to fix and learn their mistakes while preserving their dignity.
- Interactive Modeling: teaching children to notice and internalize expected behaviors through unique modeling techniques.
- Guided Discovery: introducing materials using a format that encourages creativity and responsibility.
- Academic Choice: increasing student motivation by differentiating instruction and allowing students teacher-structured choices in their work.
- Classroom Organization: setting up the physical room in ways that encourage independence, cooperation, and productivity.
- Working with Families: hearing families’ insights and helping them understand the school’s teaching approaches.
- Collaborative Problem Solving: using conferencing, role playing, and other strategies to engage students in problem-solving.
RESPONSIVE CLASSROOM AT GREENBRIER COMMUNITY SCHOOL
Our work around social emotional learning (SEL) is rooted in the belief that when children feel safe and recognized in the classroom, they can excel academically. Social and emotional learning is the process of acquiring the skills to recognize and manage emotions, develop caring and concern for others, establish positive relationships, make responsible decisions, and handle challenging situations effectively. Our curriculum is deeply embedded in research and an understanding of the developmental needs of our students at various age levels.
Responsive Classroom practices are used as the framework of our Social Emotional Learning in all classrooms. This program consists of teaching strategies for bringing together academics and social-emotional learning. It is based on the three domains of engaging academics, effective management, and positive community.
Social Emotional Learning in Action
- Students socializing and collaborating through academic choice
- Class meetings that encourage connections
- A “cool down” area where students can gather their minds and bodies
- Teachers speaking in a positive and respectful way
- The use of logical consequences
- Rules that were developed as a community around student hopes and dreams
- Students reflecting on their learning and thinking about their thinking
- Teachers who are modeling expectations and setting clear paths to success.
