Responsive Classroom, Level II Training
by
Babs Freeman-Loftis—Assistant Head of Lower School, University School of Nashville
Kim Avington-Scott, Margaret Berry, Lynn Englebert, Nikki Hunt, &
Marty Kennedy—Teachers, University School of Nashville
The purpose of our proposal was to learn more about the effective implementation of the Responsive Classroom approach to teaching and learning, an initiative that began two years ago at University School. This approach, developed by the Northeast Foundation for Children, enhances children’s social development and academic performance through practical strategies and methods implemented across the school day and curriculum. The Frist Foundation provided matching funds for our entire lower school to participate in a second level of training towards this end.
A portion of the grant funded a visit in the spring from Responsive Classroom Consultant Paula Denton. During this visit, she spent time observing in classrooms, meeting with small groups of teachers, and coaching individual teachers. The faculty then gathered after school for more formal training and brainstorming of topics for our summer institute.
At the end of the school year, when other teachers were heading off to begin their summer vacations, the lower school faculty at University School launched into a weeklong experience designed to deepen our understanding of Responsive Classroom. We began each day of our week together with a Morning Meeting, a core component of the Responsive Classroom approach. Morning Meetings are how we begin each day in every lower school classroom at University School. In the workshop, teachers led and experienced, first-hand, meetings that were meaningful, fun and relevant to curricular goals and objectives. We learned more about the power of Morning Meetings to set the tone for the day, to make group members feel a deep sense of belonging and to connect personally with curriculum content. Teachers had the opportunity to collaboratively lead a Morning Meeting then receive feedback from their colleagues and Responsive Classroom Presenter Paula Denton. In addition to Morning Meetings, we also explored, in more depth, discipline and the integration of the social and academic curriculum.
Our teachers were especially interested in strategies for approaching discipline issues. The Responsive Classroom approach relies heavily on proactive measures to create an environment and climate where children feel safe, valued and deeply engaged with their learning. We reviewed many of these proactive strategies, including the use of encouraging teacher language, the process for creating class rules and logical consequences, and taking rules beyond the classroom. In addition to these proactive strategies, we also had an opportunity to learn about Role Playing, Social Conferencing, Problem-Solving Class Meetings, Independent Problem Solving and Whole-School Issues and Discipline Guidelines. Small groups of teachers explored these strategies and then brought their learning back to the whole group. An outcome of this group sharing was a commitment to looking more closely at our school-wide discipline guidelines. This will be one of our focus areas throughout the coming year.
The reflective nature of the Responsive Classroom approach is one that resonates with both the adult and child learner. The modeling that Paula Denton provided in creating a Responsive Classroom consisted of engaging the learner through accessing prior knowledge about each topic, then an explorative and interactive phase, followed by reflecting on the meaning and potential use of the new learning in our thinking and work. Our faculty experienced the material as adult learners, but she always invited us to reflect on implications for our own teaching. It is not always the case that teachers have the luxury of this kind of time and invitation to think about why and how we teach.
One Responsive Classroom principle that played out in our workshop was the idea that how children learn is as important as what children learn. During the workshop, we experienced this principle as learners when we were able to make choices about topics of study and presentation styles. Paula Denton modeled this principle as she balanced teacher-directed activities with more open-ended learner-initiated experiences that were relevant to our lives as teachers. Following each activity, we took time to reflect on our experiences as learners and implications for application in our own teaching. We learned more about the developmental needs of children and how to best meet their needs through proactive strategies that support the development of cooperation, assertion, responsibility, empathy and self-control, key social skills that contribute to success in the academic and social arenas.
Our learning around creating Responsive Classrooms will continue in the future as we share this learning with a broader community. As a result of the summer institute, three of our faculty members have applied to become Responsive Classroom presenters, so that USN can serve as a site for future workshops for those in the region who are interested in this classroom approach. As part of the certification process, Paula Denton will conduct six to eight site visits over the next two years to assess our progress and offer on-going support. Also, a group of our teachers continues to work with several Nashville public school teachers interested in implementing Responsive Classroom. This summer, two of our teachers worked with our friends, Park Avenue Elementary educators, as they hosted a Responsive Classroom Level I workshop.
As an administrator, I profoundly appreciate the support of PENCIL Foundation and the Frist Foundation for helping us continue this important work around creating Responsive Classrooms. Educational initiatives and change require a great deal of time and community support. The Responsive Classroom approach is one that sustains teachers and builds strong caring communities of learning. Through this work, we are enriching the lives of our teachers, students, families and communities and we are planting seeds for positive changes in the educational landscape of tomorrow. Without the Frist Foundation Educator Awards grant, it would not have been possible to include our entire Lower School faculty in this next level of training.