Responsive Classroom
Responsive Classroom®
Creating Safe, Challenging, and Joyful Elementary Classrooms and Schools
The Responsive Classroom approach
is a way of teaching that emphasizes social, emotional, and academic growth in a strong and safe school community. Developed by classroom teachers in 1981 and continually refined to meet schools’ needs, the approach consists of practical strategies for helping children build academic and socialemotional competencies day in and day out. In urban, suburban, and rural settings nationwide, educators using these strategies report increased student engagement and academic progress, along
with fewer discipline problems.
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 theacademic 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.
Classroom Practices
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
Interactive Modeling--teaching children to notice and internalize expected behaviors through a unique modeling technique
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 from their mistakes while preserving their dignity
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
Creating Safe, Challenging, and Joyful Elementary Classrooms and Schools
The Responsive Classroom approach
is a way of teaching that emphasizes social, emotional, and academic growth in a strong and safe school community. Developed by classroom teachers in 1981 and continually refined to meet schools’ needs, the approach consists of practical strategies for helping children build academic and socialemotional competencies day in and day out. In urban, suburban, and rural settings nationwide, educators using these strategies report increased student engagement and academic progress, along
with fewer discipline problems.
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 theacademic 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.
Classroom Practices
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
Interactive Modeling--teaching children to notice and internalize expected behaviors through a unique modeling technique
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 from their mistakes while preserving their dignity
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