Collaboration with Professionals, Families, and Community ESPED 6132 Arlyn Roffman, Ph.D.

1. Holly Graham, Natalie Ryan, Liza Walters, and Lin Thibeault Collaboration with Professionals, Families, and Community ESPED 6132 Arlyn Roffman, Ph.D. November 22, 2010

2. RESPONSIVE CLASSROOM • A brief overview • philosophy, benefits, description of school, agenda, goals, what attendees should expect, objectives & mission statement

3. What is Responsive Classroom? • Guiding Principles • Teaching Practices • Morning Meeting, Rules and Logical Consequences, Guided Discovery, Classroom Organization, Working Together with Parents Letter to Parents

4. Empowering Language • Keep demands simple • Say what you mean • Mean what you say • Remind only twice • Speak Directly • Invite Cooperation

5. Keep Demands Simple • Guide through transitions: “Who can tell me what to do next?” • Redirect inappropriate behavior: “I expect to see fair play or the game is over.”

6. Say What You Mean and Mean what you say • Use logical consequences you can enforce • Anticipate problems and prepare words • Dignify your words with actions

7. Remind Only Twice • “Teachers and parents say things once, nicely. The second time they will be stern, and the third time, you are out. They will not say it again.”

8. Speak Directly • Direct and honest • Make declarations rather than ask questions: “You need to sit down now.”

9. Use Words That Invite Cooperation • Make it fun • Ask for help • Provide choices • “I will close my eyes and count to 10..” • Do not hover; allow for self-control

10. Purposes of Morning Meeting • Morning Meeting sets the tone for respectful learning and establishes a climate of trust. • The tone and climate of Morning Meeting extend beyond the Meeting. • Morning Meeting motivates children by addressing two human needs: the need to feel a sense of significance and belonging and the need to have fun. • The repetition of many ordinary moments of respectful interaction in Morning Meeting enables some extraordinary moments. • Morning Meeting merges social, emotional, and intellectual learning.

11. Greeting • Sets a positive tone for the day • Provides a sense of recognition and belonging • Helps children learn names • Gives practice in offering hospitality

12. Classroom management • Teachers must be able to say” I know you know how to do….., or how to take care of…., or how to manage yourself during, and I know that because I’ve seen you do it.”

13. Rules • Rules should be positively stated (do, not don’t do) • Rules should be meaningful – specific and concrete (“So that each student feels that they have an equal voice in the class, raise your hand when you want to share something”)

14. When to establish rules Depends on the age of the group • Earliest stage (ages 5 – 7) – adults all knowing • Next stage (ages 7-11) – rules are based on social conventions • Third stage (ages adolescents to adulthood) – belief that it’s best if people take care of each other

15. First Day • K – 4 morning meeting • quiet, freeze, and “circle up” • Grades 5 – 6 morning meeting • students model expected behavior • teacher refines ideas • ask the students why these behaviors matter (allows students to question and debate the logic behind the rules Critical Rules

16. Meeting Rules Second Day • Discuss components of first day morning meeting • Discuss and list behaviors that allowed the meeting to work • Guide students to make positive statements and state specific behaviors (wait until a person finishes before starting to speak, look at the person who is talking) • List and display rules conspicuously in meeting area

17. Class Rules Day 3, 4, and or 5 • Hopes and Dreams • Purpose • Sets tone of collaboration and mutual respect • Builds community • Students vested in the rules • Generated by students and teacher

18. Class Rules cont.. Procedure • Hopes and dreams brainstorming • Weave student’s ideas into the guidelines and vision of classroom from teacher • Golden Rule Examples by age • K-2 students draw picture of one hope and dream, write description • Grades 3-4 make symbol representation of one hope and dream • Grades 5-6 map previous year’s classroom, identify places enjoyed and not enjoyed, develop one current year hope and dream based on this analysis, write paragraph about the hope and dream Make list of rules for the class that allows everyone to achieve their hopes and dreams

19. Logical consequences • Disciplinary technique use to respond to misbehavior • Punishment vs. logical consequences • Punishment relies on external control • Logical consequences help to develop inner control • Should be related, respectful, and reasonable Calvin and "The Logic of Force"

20. Three categories of consequences • Reparations - “you break it – you fix it” • Limit setting - mishandling responsibility – more limits set, take back more control • Time-out –when a student is not able to cooperate

21. Steps for Implementing • Stop and think • Evaluate the options • Provide workable, realistic, specific action as a consequence • Provide a time limit • Emphasize the language of choice and privilege • Use empathy and structure

22. Sharing • Helps develop the skills of caring communication and involvement with one another • Extends the knowing and being known that is essential for the development of community and for individuals sense of significance • Encourages habits of inquiry and thought important for cognitive growth • Provides practice in speaking to a group in a strong and individual voice • Strengthens vocabulary development and reading success

23. Group Activity • Contributes to the sense of community culture by building a class repertoire of common material-songs, games, chants, and poems • Fosters active and engaged participation • Heightens the class’s sense of group identity • Encourages cooperation and inclusion

24. Morning Message: A Letter to the Class • Eases the transition into the classroom day and makes children feel excited about what they’ll be learning • Develops and reinforces language, math, and other skills in a meaningful and interactive way • Builds community through shared written information

25. To get to the meeting promptly and to form the circle safely and efficiently • To participate fully-contributing actively, listening well, and responding appropriately • To interact with a variety of classmates in the good spirit of Morning Meeting • To move smoothly from Meeting to the next activity Students’ responsibilities

26. To make sure the space is adequate and appropriate for the component. Can a circle form? Can all be seen? Can a particular game be safely played? • To act as a timekeeper, keeping things moving • To facilitate the Meeting, making sure that all children are greeted, that a variety of children are responding to sharing, that the tone is respectful, etc. • To observe students’ skills-both social and academic • To notice behaviors and to reinforce, remind, and redirect using positive language • To make sure that there is equal opportunity to participate, that gender or personality traits aren’t dictating participation patterns • To make sure everyone in the classroom (paraprofessionals, visitors, parents, etc.) is included in the Meeting Teachers responsibilities

27. With the person next to you, discuss two aspects of Responsive Classroom that you feel might work in your classroom (and why!) Crystallize!

28. Thank you!