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The 6 Guiding Principles of The Responsive Classroom Heather Johnson

The 6 Guiding Principles of The Responsive Classroom Model

1. Social Curriculum is as important as the academic language. Taking the time to teach the social curriculum at the beginning, to some, seems like a waste of time. Many teachers believe they need to jump right into teaching content. This time is not a waste. By setting time aside right at the beginning to establish roles, routines, procedures, and ultimately a social curriculum, you will save yourself from frustrations of behavior issues and a poorly managed class. Having a social curriculum in place allows for a much quicker, smoother, acquisition of the content later in the year. Teachers who take the time to teach the social part of the classroom culture will most likely catch up to, and surpass the teacher who does not. Students who feel socially and physically safe in their environment are likely to learn more. Students who have been taught what is acceptable and what is not are likely to venture out, make new discoveries, and take advantage of unique learning opportunities. This environment allows students to practice what they are learning without fear. 2. How Children learn is just as important as what they learn. Teaching is not just all about content. The way the content is delivered makes a significant difference in whether or not the students are actually learning or not. Children learn through doing, playing, and experiencing. They must have choices and opportunities to have and live out their own wonderful ideas. By guiding students through their own ideas and learning, you are sure to meet academic goals, standards, and benchmarks, while still allowing the student to have freedoms, choices, a voice, and ownership of his/her own learning.

3. The greatest cognitive growth occurs through social interaction. My belief is that principle three and four are very similar. To add to the cognitive growth aspect of these principles, I believe that the way children interact as they are growing, learning, and developing is important. That is where the social curriculum comes into play. The earliest form of learning is through social interaction. Children will come to school knowing how to observe copy, follow simple directions, and interact with other children at a basic level. It is our job to give them opportunities and experiences to develop these skills into more advanced ones that can be applied in the later years of life. This does not mean

The 6 Guiding Principles of The Responsive Classroom Heather Johnson

putting content learning on the backburner, but intertwining the two to create a well balanced curriculum that not only gives students the knowledge they need, but prepares them socially for the real world. Being socially interactive means being immersed in, and learning from the world around you. Being social with your peers, mentors, families, parents, and other members of society.

4. To be successful academically and socially, children need a set of social skills. Children must be able to communicate, collaborate, and be social in order to be successful in todays society. These are skills that should be explicitly taught, practiced, and embedded into the everyday curriculum being taught in classrooms, specifically during the first six weeks of school. Children need to learn how to, and practice making/meeting new friends, solving problems, conflicts, and disagreements, as well as collaborating and working together to complete specific tasks. These social interactions teach them how to care for themselves, others, and their environment. Children can learn an immense amount of information from their peers simply because each child has a different set of life experiences to contribute. They need to be given the opportunity to learn about and from each other. They should be allowed ample time to communicate and interact with each other throughout the day and in every learning endeavor. 5. Knowing the children we teach, individually, culturally, and developmentally, is just as important as knowing the content we teach. Being aware of every individual student in your classroom, their learning styles, and what their specific needs are allows you to meet each and every one at their level. Differentiated instruction is key to pulling those who are struggling forward, while still stretching those who are over-achieving. Knowing your children and how they learn allows you to be flexible in your planning and grouping.

The 6 Guiding Principles of The Responsive Classroom Heather Johnson

6. Knowing the families of the children we teach and working with them as partners is essential to the childrens education. Knowing where the student comes from and what kind of support system they have at home can give you insight into how exactly you can meet their individual needs. As a teacher, I personally believe in doing everything in your power to go above and beyond what is expected to really make a lasting impression on each childs life, both personally as well as academically. By showing interest in each child, their family, their life, culture, and background, the student will know you truly care about them. You will build a positive relationship involving trust and mutual respect. Knowing their families, parents, and any other important individual in that childs life with deepen this relationship and enhance their learning experience. Working collaboratively with all people surrounding the child will enable you to really give him/her a well-rounded, complete education.