Tuesday, April 13, 2010
Why I picked this as the topic of my blog.
I decided to do some further research on a classroom management technique I saw implemented in my Internship experience. The Responsive Classroom Approach is a type of classroom management style that involves, as one of it's basic components, for the children to create a classroom community in which all the students follow three basic rules. The children are to take care of themselves, take care of each other, and take care of their environment. Their were no children in my class that were identified as having any types of disabilities. However, their were other children throughout the school with severe physical and emotional disabilities. My mentor teacher raved about how important the Responsive Classroom Approach is for students with and without disabilities because it really made children feel empathy for one another and stuck up for the children that had disabilities. I would really like to learn more about creating a learning environment where children would feel the need to take care of each other. I will be doing my research on how as a teacher I can facilitate a learning environment where all children feel safe and secure and important members of our classroom community. I also want the children in my classroom to feel that they have a responsibility to stand up for the maltreatment of anybody, but especially those with disabilities.
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I would also like to have a classroom where a positive classroom community is present. Throughout our courses we have learned that students will achieve better academically if they feel accepted. We learned it is more likely for them will participate and work and communicate with other students if they are in a comfortable learning environment.
ReplyDeleteThere are many activities to create a learning environment where all students feel safe and comfortable. This isn’t exactly an activity but it is something my mentor did that I think created an environment that was welcoming and comfortable for the students. My mentor teacher always made sure there were lots of pictures of the students hanging around the classroom (even on the first day of school). I think this made the classroom feel more like a “home.” Usually at home you will find family pictures, so I thought it was a great idea to have the student’s pictures around the room since you want your class to become a family and work together as a unit. She took pictures of them doing activities in the classroom and would switch the pictures out periodically. I really liked this and the students enjoyed looking around the room finding their pictures and reliving the moments that were captured.
My mentor also had a stuffed animal that was a camel. She let the students name him (they named him Pokey). We called him Pokey the Kind Camel. Students could get Pokey if they were caught doing something kind. If they received Pokey, they got him for one day and could bring him around the classroom with them. I thought this was a great way to encourage students to always be kind and know that we were always watching for kind students. There was often a waiting list for Pokey!
She also created a classroom promise, had a class theme song about being different, read many books which led to great discussions about taking care of each other and planned lots of collaborative activities.
Even though I have seen many activities implemented I know there are many, many more out there. I am looking forward to reading your blog and learning the different techniques and activities to make sure all students in the classroom feel the need to take care of one another.