Embracing Change: Getting Responsive Classroom Training for my adventures in Lower School

Today I had the pleasure of taking part in the first day of a 5 day workshop on Responsive Classroom.  I know what you are thinking, "A tech guy learning about the educational philosophy and pedagogy of Responsive Classroom";  well, since I am starting the 2013-2014 school year as the Lower School Technology Integration Specialist and will be the primary point of contact for the faculty and staff, I felt it was important to learn what they are learning.

We began the workshop discussing the principles of R.C. and what we as a group of educators want to get out of this workshop. 

The Principles are:

1. The social curriculum is as important as the academic curriculum.

2. How children learn is as important as what they learn: Process and content go hand in hand.

3. The greatest cognitive growth occurs through social interaction.

4. To be successful academically and socially, children need a set of social skills: cooperation, assertion, responsibility, empathy, and self-control.

5. Knowing the children we teach—individually, culturally, and developmentally—is as important as knowing the content we teach.

6. Knowing the families of the children we teach and working with them as partners is essential to children's education.

7. How the adults at school work together is as important as their individual competence: Lasting change begins with the adult community.

Personally I am looking forward to learning about Responsive Classroom so that I can more effectively support the faculty and staff in their technology needs.  In addition, by understanding things like logical consequences or interactive modeling I will be better suited to work with the students of all ages.

Looking at Yardsticks we discussed that the book is laid out beautifully by age group and the grouped with reading, writing, physical, etc. Discussing the book we talked about developmental stages of groups of students.  For example, one year you could be looking at a 5^th grade class mostly comprised of 10 year olds, with a huge need for physical activity and concrete organization, or the inverse a year with mostly 9 year olds who need quiet seat work with structure and very little free choice.

Morning meeting: a concept that I have used on and off for that past 15 years.  It's such a wonderful way to start the day. It has 4 elements:

1. Greeting Students and teachers greet one other by name and practice offering hospitality.
2. Sharing Students share information about important events in their lives. Listeners often offer empathetic comments or ask clarifying questions.
3. Group Activity Everyone participates in a brief, lively activity that fosters group cohesion and helps students practice social and academic skills (for example, reciting a poem, dancing, singing, or playing a game that reinforces social or academic skills).
4. Morning Message Students read and interact with a short message written by their teacher. The message is crafted to help students focus on the work they'll do in school that day.

I will continue to blog about the PD as the week continues.

https://www.responsiveclassroom.org