Responsive Classroom
belonging – significance - fun
The Responsive Classroom® is an approach to teaching and learning that fosters safe,
challenging, and joyful classrooms and schools, kindergarten through eighth grade.
Developed by classroom teachers, it consists of practical strategies for bringing together
social and academic learning throughout the school day.
Since 1981, thousands of classroom teachers and hundreds of schools and school districts
have used the Responsive Classroom® approach to help create learning environments
where children thrive academically, socially, and emotionally. In urban, rural, and
suburban settings nationwide, educators using these strategies report increases in student
investment, responsibility, and learning, and decreases in problem behaviors.
Guiding Principles
The Responsive Classroom® approach is informed by the work of many great
educational theorists as well as the experiences of exemplary classroom teachers. There
are seven basic principles underlying this approach:







The social curriculum is as important as the academic 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.
There is a set of social skills children need in order to be successful academically
and socially: 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 individual competence:
Lasting change begins with the adult community.
Teaching Practices
The Responsive Classroom® approach includes the following main teaching strategies
and elements:



Morning Meeting: A daily routine that builds community, creates a positive
climate for learning, and reinforces academic and social skills.
Rules and Logical Consequences: A clear and consistent approach to discipline
that fosters responsibility and self-control.
Guided Discovery: A format for introducing materials that encourages inquiry,
heightens interest, and teaches care of the school environment.



Academic Choice: An approach to giving children choices in their learning that
helps them become invested, self-motivated learners.
Classroom Organization: Strategies for arranging materials, furniture, and
displays to encourage independence, promote caring, and maximize learning.
Family Communication Strategies: Ideas for involving families as true partners in
their children's education.
Research
Six studies: improvements in social skills, academic behaviors, and decreases in problem
behaviors
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
standardized test scores increased
discipline referrals decreased
increased practices in peer inclusion
teachers asked to be trained
teachers and students said they like Responsive Classroom
significant improvement in social skills
A Multi-year Evaluation of the Responsive Classroom® Approach: Its effectiveness and
acceptability in promoting social and academic competence
Location: Springfield, MA
Year: 1996-98
Principal Investigator: Dr. Stephen N. Elliott, University of Wisconsin, Madison
Funder: Shinnyo-En Foundation
Duration: Two Years
Summary:
A two-year (1996-1998) University of Wisconsin study by researcher Stephen Elliott two
schools in Springfield, Massachuetts, used Responsive Classroom program in one school
and not in the second school. There were significant social and academic gains for the
students in the Responsive Classroom program. Teachers reported an increase in such
student social skills as using time appropriately, initiating conversations with peers, and
getting along with people who are different. They also reported a decrease in such
problem behaviors as interrupting, excessive fidgeting or moving, and feeling anxious
among other children. The control group reported much less improvement in those areas.
Over the two-year period, the Responsive Classroom group also showed significantly
greater growth on the Iowa Test of Basic Skills. In 1999, fourth grade test scores at the
school using Responsive Classroom were the most improved in the state.
Social and Academic Learning Study (SALS)
Year: 2001-2004
Principal Investigator: Dr. Sara E. Rimm-Kaufman, University of Virginia
Duration: Three Years
Summary:

teachers report positive attitudes toward teaching



teachers feel more effective in their approach in discipline
teachers report greater ability to create positive school climate ad greater ability to
influence decision-making
teachers more similar to exemplars in their priorities and teaching practices
Responsive Classroom Strategies
Morning Meeting: builds a sense of community and lets students know they’re
important, which leads to trust and a sense of safety that promotes classroom success




Greeting
Sharing
Group activity
News and announcements
Students often conduct the meeting, and they form a self-governed group. The meeting gives
students a voice and some decision-making opportunities, as student behavior typically
improves through this community building process. When students feel alienated, they tend to
lash out, and the meeting instead helps them feel connected and gives them practice speaking
up.
Rules and Logical Consequences: Class articulates hopes and dreams as foundation of
establishing rules that will help these hopes come true. Logical consequences help
children develop inner control by looking closely at their own behavior and learning from
their mistakes. Logical consequences are related to the behavior, not the child, are
respectful of the child, and are reasonable







helping students articulate their goals for the school year
creating rules that help them achieve their goals
modeling, practicing, and role playing the rules
using language effectively to reinforce the rules
teaching about logical consequences for rule-breaking
responding effectively to rule-breaking
living by the rules outside the classroom
First Six Weeks of School



daily plans for the first three weeks of school at three grade levels
detailed guidelines for building community, teaching classroom routines,
fostering autonomy, and establishing high expectations for learning and behavior
collection of activities, greetings, songs, read-alouds, and resources
Academic Choice: a way to structure lessons and activities





teacher decides on goal of the lesson or activity
students are given list of options for what to learn and/or how to go about their
learning in order to reach the defined goal
aligns with HighScope plan-do-review
o students plan what they will do, how they will do it, and how they will
show their work
o after completing the task, children reflect on the work they did and the
learning that occurred in order to make sense of concrete experiences
purposes of Academic Choice
o to help children learn new skills or information
o to help children practice new skills
o to have children demonstrate mastery of skills or content
benefits of Academic Choice
o support children’s intrinsic motivation to learn
o encourages children to learn from each other
o draws on different strengths, abilities, and interests
o maximizes children’s learning
Working with parents







working with diverse family cultures
setting the stage for a positive relationship during the early weeks of school
keeping in touch all year long
talking with parents about child development
involving all parents
helping parents understand classroom practices
problem-solving with parents
Classroom spaces that work








setting up a meeting area
creating meaningful displays
arranging furniture
selecting and organizing materials
eliminating clutter
storing supplies
accommodating special needs
making the space healthy