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Responsive Classroom

The Responsive Classroom program integrates what children need to learn with what we know about how they need to learn. There are seven principles critical to the success of The Responsive Classroom approach.

  • Success in the classroom requires an equal amount of attention to both social as well as academic curriculum.
  • How students learn is of equal importance to what they learn, indicating a need for a balance between teacher-directed learning and student-initiated learning.
  • Children learn the most when they are interacting with each other socially.
  • Students need to operate within a social context that includes practicing key skills summed up by acronym CARES; cooperation, assertion, responsibility, empathy, and self-control.
  • In order to be successful in teaching, its critical to know as much as possible about the students; individually, culturally, and developmentally.
  • As it is critical to know the students, it is as important to know the students’ families and involve them in all aspects of their children’s education.
  • Good relationships between teachers, and with other academic and administrative staff, can be as important as the quality of any one teacher, because the students are constantly watching how the adults that surround them behave.
Stonebridge World School Students and Teacher Reading

The practices critical to the success of Responsive Classroom are integrated into the entire school. The six components to this classroom practice include:

1) Morning meetings offering a daily opportunity to practice greetings, conversation, and activities

2) Rules (essential agreements) and logical consequences for classroom life

3) Guided discovery of learning materials

4) Classroom organization that creates active interest areas for students

5) Academic choice for all students every day

6) On-going assessment and reporting to parents. All teachers and staff receive training in the techniques necessary for successful integration of Responsive Classroom into the school.