creating a classroom community new teachers

Creating a Classroom Community

Think about what you want your classroom to look like/be like.

“a place in which students feel cared about and are encouraged to care about each other. They experience a sense of being valued and respected; the children matter to one another and to the teacher. They have come to think in the plural; they feel connected to each other; they are part of an ‘us.’”

Alfie Kohn (1996)

What is a classroom community?

Shared LeadershipTeachers and students share “ownership” of the space, time, language and curriculum content of the class.

Characteristics

CommunicationThis involves all forms of communication:- literacy skills- conversation skills- formalized and verbal interactions- interactions that are non-verbal (turn taking, listening, accepting, feelings)

Characteristics

Responsiveness Class members are responsive to the needs of both the “I” and the “we”, the individual and the group. They are also responsive to the environment within which they exist.

Characteristics

Shared ethicsThe class members share values and beliefs about the common good and work towards common goals for the group.

Characteristics

CooperationChildren who are cooperating demonstrate the ability to behave in ways that further the welfare of others.

(Eisenberg, 1982; Noddings, 1987)

Characteristics

Shared environmentThrough the “shared practices of commitment” (Bellah, 1985) and the sharing of feelings and emotions in a non-threatening environment, the members of the community create a shared environment and a shared history.

Characteristics

CommitmentThe children identify themselves as members of the group and participate in group discussions, rule-making and problem solving.

Characteristics

InterdependenceStudents learn that their interdependence strengthens their interpersonal bonds and their social structure. As they learn to be interdependent, the children learn to adjust their own behaviour in response to the others in the group.

Characteristics

Dig DeeperFind out about your students:

- what do they like- aspire to- what are their talents- what do they dislike ...

How can we get there?

Find Purpose

Discuss the benefits of community in the classroom. Each individual has a specific purpose to serve and contributions to make to the group.

How can we get there?

Make GoalsCollaboratively set classroom goals. Develop group beliefs.

http://link.brightcove.com/services/player/bcpid940636289001?bckey=AQ~~,AAAA2uzqQrE~,6OG0BmXJ4lLjPBIrsIprnJtmkHdesQfW&bclid=0&bctid=942847114001

How can we get there?

Learn TeamworkChildren need to be taught the skills of working cooperatively as a group.

How can we get there?

Each individual strand interacts with others to form an integrated whole.The beauty of weaving is created by the relationships of the strands, one to another.

Weaving Metaphor

Does your classroom:- reflect a safe and caring environment?- offer a rich and stimulating setting?- set the climate for thinking?- belong to the learners?

Classroom Climate

Student teachers practice teaching kindergarten at the Toronto Normal School, Canada ca1898

Classroom ca 1950

What a difference!

What a difference!