TCM Table of Contents – Classroom Management Resources – School Climate
– John Shindler
– TCM Workshops
Chapter 15: The Transformative Classroom:
Implementing a One-Style Approach and Creating a classroom community
From Transformative Classroom Management. By
John Shindler. ©2009
Reproduction is
unlawful without permission
In this Chapter
- The 1-Style Classroom as the “
- Defining Community
- Stages of Development for the Transformative
Classroom
- Stage One -- Foundation
- Management Goals -- Clarity and Intention
- Community Development Goals -- Safety and
Belonging
- Stage Two -- Transition
- Management Goals -- Shifting
Locus of Ownership and Cultivating Intrinsic Motivation
- Community Development Goals -- Creating
Identity and Group Accomplishment
- Stage Three -- Encouragement
- Management Goals -- Facilitating
Vision and Self Direction
- Community Development Goals -- Fostering a
Cause Beyond Self and a Sense of Tribe
Marita
is beginning her second year of teaching. She had high expectations for herself
and her class. She feels that by the end of the previous year she had developed
a workable set of routines and did not feel as overwhelmed as she did at the
beginning of the year. She has worked hard at classroom management and overall
she has had fewer problems than many of her colleagues. Marita has been clear
about rules and consequences and her students have responded to her clear
expectations. She has avoided punishments and public shaming. Students trust
and like her. However, as she considers her class, it seems too much “about
her.” She feels the students respond to and depend on her direction. She enjoys
the order and sanity in the class, but the long term effects of her approach
concern her. It bothers her that the students continuously ask for confirmation
that what they are doing is “okay.” Moreover, she feels that they make
decisions tentatively and rely excessively on her to solve their conflicts. It
concerns her when she overhears comments such as, “Look busy or Mrs. Juarez is
going to get after us.” She appreciates that students are aware of consequences
and interested in being on task, but wishes they would see the value of good
listening, being responsible, treating each other well and working hard aside
from being concerned about potential consequences. Marita sees other teachers
who allow students to make many of the classroom decisions and use
self-directed learning strategies but she worries about losing control. Some
teachers who give over-significant amounts of power to students seem to spend a
lot of time disappointed in their students’ irresponsibility. She does not want
to spend all day lecturing about behavior or descend into a 3-Style approach
like the teacher next door who gives her students a lot of freedom and gets
chaos from students taking advantage. She has a sense that she could be more
empowering and have a more democratic classroom but she does not want to
sacrifice order.
Chapter Reflection
15-a:
Do you empathize with Marita? Why or why not?
Like
Marita, many teachers intuitively sense that their classroom management could
be accomplishing more than mere obedience and order. They recognize that a
teacher-centered 2-Style of management--what Canter (1986) refers to as
“assertive discipline” --is certainly preferable to taking an authoritarian
4-Style approach (Canter labels this the “hostile teacher”). They do not see a
teacher-centered approach leading to the kind of growth and motivation they
want to see from students. They receive an endless supply of advice about what
“works” and how to avoid a 3-Style approach (which Canter terms “passive”).
They find the advice either too teacher-centered and gimmicky or too
ill-defined and unrealistic.
The purpose of this chapter is to outline a
step-by-step process for creating a student-centered 1-Style classroom and a
functioning community: the transformative classroom. The chapter offers
practical strategies for developing a more student-centered form of management
as well as promoting a collective sense of responsibility and community.
Chapter Reflection 15-b: Some readers opened this book
already possessing a commitment to a student-centered approach. Others may have
been persuaded to adopt a 1-Style approach after some reading. For those
readers, this chapter provides practical ideas to further develop an approach.
Other readers may find themselves attracted to aspects of the 1-Style approach
yet remain most comfortable with maintaining a 2-Style approach. For those
readers this chapter should provide some academic interest. However, there are
likely a good number of readers who intend to take a pragmatic approach
to the management style they adopt. For those readers this chapter will offer
ideas for making the shift from a 2-Style to a 1-Style management approach, as
the opportunity presents itself.
EXAMINING
THE 1-STYLE CLASSROOM AND THE CONCEPT OF COMMUNITY
1-Style Classroom -- Returning to the
The
natural state of learning is one in which students feel intrinsically
motivated, a sense of belonging, excited to learn and use their learning to
make a difference in the group.
This
natural state is a transformative state. However, few students learn in
classrooms that promote this condition; in fact, over the course of their
education most students become increasingly removed from this state. The
1-Style classroom endeavors to promote a natural state of learning by using
management strategies that empower students and create a needs-satisfying
environment. Given that this natural state may be foreign to many of our
students, developing a 1-Style classroom will require some patience as we help
them adjust to it by awakening aspects that may have become dormant and
developing the skills necessary to function in a democratic system.
The
1-Style Classroom is possible at any grade level (Elias & Schwab, 2006). I
have seen fully functional, self-directed classrooms of first graders, high
school seniors, and all grades in between. I have seen 1-Style classrooms in
all kinds of schools. We do need to be realistic. Some students will take to
this style more readily than others. On one hand, if we have been assigned a
group of students who have developed a deeply-entrenched failure psychology and
a habit of externalizing their responsibility, we have a project on our hands.
On the other hand, if we have a group of students who are experienced at being
self-directed and eager to take on responsibility, we will be able to shape
them into a 1-Style community in a short period of time. Does one of these groups
need our efforts more than the other? Does one of these groups deserve to learn
in an empowering environment more than the other?
Chapter Reflection 15-c: Have you heard a teacher tell you that getting their
students to be self-responsible will not work? What are they saying about their
students’ future?
What is the 1-Style Classroom?
While
a “1-Style Classroom” management approach as defined in this book and a
“classroom community” are similar, each has its own distinct qualities (Figure
15.1). First let’s examine the qualities of the 1-Style Classroom.
·
Teacher as Facilitator/Leader. The
teacher in the 1-Style classroom is not the boss, the police, or the attendant.
She/he is a leader. The teacher’s role is to create the conditions for students
to achieve best. The 1-Style leader is neither permissive nor domineering. S/he
is intentional in efforts to promote a shared vision among the members of the
class and effectively facilitate and manage that vision (Brophy, 1999).
·
Self-Responsible. Students in the 1-Style
Classroom act responsibly because they recognize that it is to the benefit of
the class and themselves. In contrast to a teacher-centered class in which
responsibility is defined by following directions, in the student-centered
class responsibility is defined by making choices that are good for the group,
demonstrate accountability to the agreed-upon group goals, and contribute to
higher levels of learning and function (Elias & Schwab, 2006).
·
Clear Implicit Expectations. In the
1-Style Classroom, expectations are shared and understood on a deep level.
Knowing the expectations is not simply remembering them, it is about
understanding why they are valuable and why when we all buy into them, things are
better.
·
Learner-Centered Instruction.
Curriculum and instruction that engage and empower learners will help promote
the goals of the 1-Style Classroom more readily than more teacher-centered
methods. Give students ownership of their learning and ownership for management
of their class to synergistically produce the most transformative results
(Watson & Battistich, 2006).
·
Self-Directed. The goal of the 1-Style
classroom is students learning to self-govern and demonstrate self-discipline.
Students learn that the only true discipline is self-discipline (Elias &
Schwab, 2006).
·
Intrinsic Forms of Motivation. The
1-Style class is structured to promote intrinsic versus extrinsic forms of
motivation. Bribes and gimmicks are not useful in this environment. Just as
students experience the needs-satisfying effect of doing meaningful work, they
recognize that being responsible, thinking about the needs of others, being
given power over the decisions that affect them is needs-satisfying as well (Ryan & Deci, 2006).
·
Group Functions Collectively. As
opposed to students responding to the will of the teacher, the group considers
the good of the collective when making choices. The 1-Style class works like a
team with each member recognizing that s/he can only achieve their potential
working cooperatively with the other members (Kohn, 1999).
·
Intentional Promotion of Success Psychology. In the 1-Style classroom, the teacher maintains an
awareness of how his/her actions are contributing to the success psychology of
the students. The three sub-factors: 1) internal locus of control, 2)
acceptance and belonging, and 3) mastery orientation provide a lens to guide
decision making and assess the class’ progress toward greater collective health
(Dweck, 2000; Shindler, 2003).
·
Social Contract. The foundation of the
governance of the 1-Style Classroom is a well-established system of social
bonds, expectations, and rules (Curwin & Mendler, 1986).
What is a classroom community?
A
classroom community will have many of the qualities of the 1-Style Classroom;
however, it will also have the following distinct features:
·
Membership and Shared Identity. In a
community, members share a unique identity. This identity creates a sense of belonging
and membership. Each community has distinctive qualities that members adopt as
their own (Watson & Battistich, 2006).
·
Common Purpose and Goals. On
some level, a community is working to accomplish something collectively. It has
a purpose and a reason to be that works to the benefit of its members (McMillan
& Chavis, 1986).
·
Communal Bonds in Addition to Social Bonds. In Chapter 8, we examined the differences between
social and communal bonds. Communities, like any functioning body, require
social bonds. What makes them a community are their communal bonds. Whereas
social bonds address such questions as “What is my responsibility to the
group?” and “What can I expect from others?” communal bonds answer such
questions as “What can I do to make the community better?” and “When I have
needs, whom can I count on?” Social bonds deal with issues of rights and
responsibilities. Communal bonds deal with issues of relationship, obligation,
and the greater good (Osterman, 2000).
·
Traditions, Rituals, and History. Over
time, a community develops a history and a shared story. To mark this history a
community will observe traditions and collectively remember their past. Rituals
and customs act to bond a community by creating a shared set of values and way
of life (McMillan & Chavis, 1986).
As
one can see, the 1-Style classroom and the classroom community have their own
unique characteristics (see Figure 15.1). Communities do not always possess
efficiency and facilitative leadership and one can create a 1-Style Classroom
without traditions, rituals and a strong collective identity. However, these
two types of entities share much in common. For those teachers who desire
either one or the other, it makes sense to create both simultaneously as they
operate synergistically. For that reason this chapter will examine how to
accomplish a classroom that includes the qualities of both.
Figure 15.1: Venn Diagram -- Intersection of
the Qualities of Two Entities
1) Communities and 2) 1-Style Classrooms
|
Qualities of 1-Style classrooms |
Qualities of both 1-Style classrooms and
communities |
Qualities of communities |
|
Self-Responsibility Culture of Listening Efficiency Clear Expectations Success Psychology Self-Directed Teacher as Facilitator Social Contract |
Communal Bonds Collective Purpose Group Accomplishments Shared Values Caring Leadership Sense of Belonging |
Traditions, Rituals and History Shared Identity Shared “Socially Constructed Reality” |
Chapter Reflection 15-d: As you examine Figure 15.1, which of the qualities
do you find the most compelling? What are your essential goals for your
students?
What Will it Take to Create My 1-Style
classroom community?
The
basic requirements are:
·
Intention. To successfully lead a
1-Style classroom community we must have a vision of what the collective wants
to accomplish. The intention of promoting self-responsible students needs to be
ever-present in our minds and guide our actions. The 1-Style teacher is
required to be purposeful in what they say and do, far more than the other
three management styles.
·
Awareness. We need to be ever-conscious of
both the covert and overt factors within the classroom environment that can undermine
our success. The mental games (especially Social Darwinism), the patterns
within us that cause us to get negative, and the students tendency to revert to
“failure psychology” thinking all have the potential to hamstring our efforts
and therefore must be given sufficient attention. Being present and aware
generally will also be critical. Being in tune with the state of mind of the
group is a necessity.
·
Skills. This chapter and previous
chapters provide many strategies to contribute to success in this effort. It is
necessary to become familiar with the skills that students will need in the
process of becoming more self-responsible. As discussed, we must refrain from
certain dysfunctional practices as we incorporate more effective practices.
·
Commitment. Creating a 1-Style
classroom community is complex. If it were easy, a greater number of teachers
would do it; as we see, they do not. The 1-Style classroom requires commitment,
patience and perseverance. Students may initially resist our efforts (they have
grown accustomed being dependent and dysfunctional), and we ourselves may even
experience a strong desire to adopt a 2-Style approach or give up and adopt
more of a 3-Style. We may find it necessary to take moments of reflection to
recall why we are making this effort. A helpful note: efforts can be more
successful and less stressful in collaboration with others who have similar
goals for their classrooms.
Chapter Reflection 15-e: One of the disappointing realizations that many
idealistic and ambitious teachers hit is that their efforts are not always
appreciated by their peers. In some schools this may take the form of a subtle
competitive attitude; in others there may be open resentment toward those who
are attempting to do something positive and ambitious. The reasons this occurs
are complicated, but it is more common than most of us expect. Attempting to
create a 1-Style Classroom may engender resentment from some of your
colleagues. Consider connecting with colleagues who are supportive of your efforts
and in whom you can confide. Most teachers who head down the road of the
1-Style classroom need some emotional and technical support.
Assess the Receptiveness of Your Student
Groups
Any
group of students can become a functioning 1-Style Classroom. Some groups will
just require more time and effort than others. For some, a 1-Style of
management will feel familiar to other contexts in their life (e.g., home,
previous classes, afterschool groups, etc.). For these students, there will be
little remediation required. We will not be working against a failure
psychology and/or a hard mistrusting emotional shell. We simply need to develop
the skills at each stage of the process. For other groups, a 1-Style approach
will seem as unfamiliar as if you were speaking a foreign language (Wolk,
2002). I have taught both kinds of groups. When faced with the more challenging
task, even the most ambitious among us will be tempted to give in and revert to
a style of teaching to which our students are accustomed; i.e., to use 4-Style
with a group who are used to being treated that way. But there are many reasons
to maintain our intention to create a 1-Style approach. First, it is possible.
There may not be many who try it, but I have seen many 1-Style classrooms in
schools where 95% of other teachers in the school assumed that the only thing
that would work was a 2- or 4-Style approach. It may take relatively longer to
accomplish. We may only succeed at creating a foundation. But if we do, we have
had a transformative effect far beyond anything that we observe immediately. We
see only the tip of the iceberg of the changes that we have made. Second,
creating a 1-Style classroom community has been shown to promote higher
achievement, motivation, and commitment to schools (Watson & Battistich,
2006). Third, the bonding and social skills development has been shown to
decrease problem behavior in the classroom and beyond (Blum, McNeely, &
Rinehart, 2002). Fourth: students are worth it. We have the opportunity to
reproduce the normal dysfunction condition or to transform it. Do we want to be
one more link in the chain of failure, or do we want to be a catalyst for
change?
A
DEVELOPMENTAL SEQUENCE FOR CREATING
THE
1-STYLE CLASSROOM COMMUNITY
Creating
a 1-Style classroom community can only be accomplished in a developmental
sequence. We will lead our students through the following three stages of
development: 1) Formation, 2) Transition, and 3) Encouragement. Each stage requires
the foundation of the preceding stages to function successfully. We need to
develop a foundation of trust and clarity before we can successfully promote
self-directed behavior. Likewise, our students need to feel as sense of
belonging and identity before the class can begin to look anything like a
community. In the remainder of this chapter we will examine development of a
1-Style classroom community in relation to each of the three developmental
stages.
Stage One-- Formation
Management Goals: Clarity and Intention
The
foundation of the 1-Style Classroom is built upon clarity of expectations. A
well-established cause-and-effect relationship needs to be promoted in the
minds of each student -- when we do A, B will follow. As facilitator of the
process, we need to be intentional about taking action and raising awareness
that promotes clarity of expectations. High expectations are nice, but students
cannot rise to a level of behavior that they do not grasp (on a real and
material level). Having high expectations is just a start. We must teach in
accord with our expectations and include the skills required to function
self-responsibly. We therefore need to be deliberate about creating the
following features within the class:
- Social Contract and Social Bonds. The social
contract provides an opportunity for students to be responsible to the
group; their collective contributions engender a sense of security. As
each member supports the collective, there is a consequential sense of
security for all. That security includes material and emotional safety. In
Chapters 8 through 10 we outlined the process of creating a social
contract defined by well-established social bonds. A social contract
exists to the degree that it is understood and shared. We know that it is working
when we see students take ownership of the agreed-upon principles of the
contract. The communal sense of safety and faith in the contract will
develop as we consistently take relevant action and implement
consequences, both positive and negative.
·
Culture of
Listening and Respect. To function effectively, students should expect to
be attentive and can expect that others will be attentive to them -- in other
words, participate in a “culture of listening.” A culture of listening and
respect will be a prerequisite for many of the more advanced stages in the
development of the 1-Style classroom. Chapter 5 outlines a detailed process for
creating this environment.
·
Social Frames. From the first day of class, students should
recognize that there are deliberate and conspicuous social frames operating in
the 1-Style class. As discussed in Chapter 3, students should become
increasingly conscious of the relationships between freedom and responsibility,
success and recognition, and warmth and respect.
·
Operationalize Conceptual Expectations. Concepts like responsible, respectful, cooperative,
positive attitude, full-effort, risk taking, and being creative are
abstractions. They will remain abstractions until they are “operationalized”
and reified in students’ experience (Hickey & Schafer, 2006). It is our
obligation to make these ideas concrete and personally meaningful. We typically
assume that students already know what it means to exhibit these behaviors or
that they will grasp these concepts as a result of a handful of verbal comments
that we make. If so, we over-estimate the degree to which they have an
operational working knowledge of the concepts that we use to describe good
behavior. There are many strategies for making conceptual expectations
concrete. First, we can use positive recognitions of behavior. When we see
behavior that defines high quality effort, for example, we can publically
recognize the practical action that we observed that characterized the term.
Second, as discussed in Chapter 12, we can ask students to publically recognize
one another’s positive behavior. Third, we can use an assessment system such as
that outlined in Chapter 20. This can be done formally or informally. If we
have a class who seem to lack both a conceptual as well as a behavioral
knowledge of how to act in a responsible and functional manner, systems such as
these can be the most effective means for promoting understanding and changing
behavior. The community development section that follows will offer additional
ideas in this area.
·
Put in Place Mechanisms for Effectively Facilitating Cooperative
Learning, Conflict Resolution and Class Meetings.
As early as possible, students should begin to practice cooperative learning
and conflict resolution. (Strategies for doing so are outlined in detail in
Chapters 12 and 13.) In the first stage our primary focus should be on teaching
these skills rather than being too concerned with how effective each appears
(Johnson & Johnson, 1999). Avoid short cuts. For example, maintain your expectation
that cooperative groups follow the protocols that are set out even if your
students insist that they do not want or need them. When things devolve it is
difficult to reestablish original expectations.
Class Meetings should be introduced when the group
is ready for them (Rogers & Freiberg, 1994). Use your own insightful
judgment. A sound freedom-respect frame and a culture of listening and respect
must be in place before attempting a class meeting of any substance. If the
idea of a class meeting is new to our students, we might initiate the idea of
democratic participation by holding votes on various classroom matters. We
might start with shorter, less consequential topics for class meetings, such as
whether to have the shades open or closed. In addition, the social contract
development and evolution process can act to introduce class meeting protocol.
In these early stages, keep class meetings short and efficient. Students will
recognize they have an opportunity to be heard, but excessive complaining, spurious
comments, or personal attacks are inappropriate. A more complete process for
facilitating class meetings is explained later in the chapter.
·
Establish Your Role and Vision.
Unless students have come from a class in which a 1-Style of management was
used, they will assign you a role similar to those adopted by their past
teachers. It may be useful to tell them right up front, “In this class, I am
not going to get mad at you, lecture you, shame you, wish you were different,
play games with you, compare you to other students; nor will I accept excuses,
poor efforts, disrespect of others, or selfishness. And soon you will not
accept those things from yourselves or others in the class.” Expect students to
question your resolve early in the year. They will ask you (and test you), “Do
you really mean what you say?” “A few put-downs are okay, right?” “Making a
mediocre effort is okay once in a while, right?” At some point they will learn
from our actions that we are absolute about some things. Next, it will be
useful to give them a sense of your vision. Where is this going? No matter the
current state of affairs or the self-image with which students enter the class,
students need to be sold the idea that soon they will be respectful,
responsible, self-directed learners, and that you have no doubt that they are
capable of and will ultimately accomplish that goal. The vision will eventually
emerge from the collective, but at this stage it needs to come from the teacher
so that we set out on in the right direction.
Chapter Reflection 15-f: It is tempting to resent our students early in the
year for trying to test us. But we need to give them a break and realize that
they are responding the way they are used to. As things get better, they will
forget these former ways. When that day comes, are we still going to hold it
against them?
- Development of Clear Expectations. The 1-Style Classroom is dependent on clearly established expectations. Expectations are rooted in the law of cause-and-effect. Students understand the “if…, then….” For example, if they listen with attention they will know what is going on and things happen smoothly; and if they do not, they will not know. In addition, there may be other consequences that the teacher implements. However, if we explain things repeatedly, complain that there is too much talking, and are inconsistent with our consequences or uses illogical punishments, no cause-and-effect relationship will develop in the minds of the students except, “when the teacher gets mad, s/he complains, but does nothing of consequence.”
If we model and
expect a type of behavior -– for example, respectful interactions, the students
will soon see that there is an expectation for such behavior. We show there is
a value to using the behavior and a consequence when it does not happen.
Lectures, guilt, preaching, and chronicling failure seem like action but they
are operationally useless. We must take real action. Model the behavior deliberately.
Help the students recognize the value that behavior has to themselves and the
class. No matter how repetitive it may feel, it is useful to promote
mantra-type language. For example, “in this class we all try our best,” “this
class has only responsible learners,” or, “the great thing about this class is
that we always listen to one other and expect to be listened to.”
The difference
between expectations in the 2-Style and 1-Style approaches relates to what the
students are responding to. In the 2-Style classroom the students are
responding to clear and consistent consequences and modeling. The students know
what is going to happen and the teacher follows through. The cause-and-effect
is created in a systematic manner and reinforced each day. In the 1-Style
classroom the clarity is just as evident, but the cause-and-effect is located
(psychologically) in the students’ awareness of the purpose of the behavior.
For example, if we all listen to each other, we develop respect and we learn
more. It feels right on an intrinsic level. In most cases, both the 1- and
2-Style approach will begin with much the same set of strategies,; eventually
the teacher attempting a 1-Style approach will encourage a shift in students’
thinking from the extrinsic consequences of an action to the intrinsic value of
an action.
Community Development Goals -– Safety and
Belonging
When
we look out at that group on the first day, though it may not be evident, the
pervasive emotion in the room will likely be one of insecurity. On some level most students feel apprehension and
alienation from the other members of the class (Watson & Battistich, 2006).
Simply put, the other members are still very much “other.” This insecurity will
work against the development of community within the group. First and foremost,
community must be built within an
emotional climate of safety and belonging.
The
teacher is the only one in the equation who can help the students past their
insecurity and on the road to feeling bonded as a group. It will be useful to
keep in mind that each and every member of the class wants the same thing deep
down –- the natural condition. In our core we all want to feel safe, loved,
valued, and connected (Glasser, 1990). When we don’t get these basic needs met,
we compensate. Each student’s default compensation strategies will look a bit
different (e.g., acting like they are cool, know-it-all, apathetic, overly
accommodating, clowning, etc.). Maintain your awareness of the fact that your
students’ selves are not their compensation strategies. Moreover, avoid the
trap of assuming that the existing dysfunctional group dynamics (e.g., Social
Darwinism, casual abuse, drama, obsession with “their thing,” etc) are natural.
They may be normal, but they are not natural.
Chapter Reflection 15-g: Some readers may be wondering what is meant by
making a distinction between natural and normal. Natural is what is possible
and feels the most true to our nature.
Natural is what we fundamentally need. We can test
this assumption later when we have helped the group develop into a community.
After we have helped them move from normal to natural, we can ask them if they
would rather go back to the way that they were, or ask them if they prefer the
climate in this class versus ones in which they need to raise their defenses to
survive the threatening and chaotic environment.
In
Stage One in the process of community development there must be an intentional
effort to: 1) create emotional safety, 2) promote the individual membership and
identity of each student, 3) cultivate social bonds and a sense of fairness, and
4) make a connection with each student.
Emotional Safety and Intolerance of Put-Downs
and Destructive Language.
Research
has shown that verbal abuse and bullying has increased in the past decade
(DeVoe, 2003). In nearly every school, including those considered the safest
and most affluent, we find that students accept verbal abuse as a normal part
of their experience during the school day (Shindler, Jones, Taylor, Cadenas,
2003). While it may be common it is extremely harmful. We have all experienced
the deadening effect it has to the quality of life in a school.
This
is an area where students need us to be absolute. In our role of classroom
leader we need to be absolutely intolerant of put-downs, verbal abuse, name
calling, and bullying. If not, students will not feel safe. They need to see
real enthusiasm for those things that you regard as unconditional. If there are
acts of abusive speech or action, give consequences that send the message,
“there will never be a time when put-downs are okay.”
It
may be helpful to create an expectation in the class that “we only say things
that make us better.” We can call this anything that we like (e.g., life-giving
language, positive language, constructive language, affirming language, etc.).
It will be a good place to use a mantra such as “In this class we only use
affirming language.” Students will come to know that no matter what they hear
when they are outside the walls of class, within our walls they are safe from
abuse.
Chapter Reflection 15-h: Reflect on the not unusual experience of a new
teacher, teaching high school English. Her goal is to create a student-centered
class. As part of this she asked her students to share their writing with one
another to foster a community of authors. After two months, she was a little
disappointed. While her students were sharing with her and accessing their
inner creativity, they did not feel comfortable sharing their work with one
another. What would you tell this teacher? At what stage of the community
development process would you put this class?
Individual Value, Membership and Identity
Many
students spend their time in school feeling misunderstood, alienated, and as
though they have no value (Rogers & Freiberg, 1994; Wolk, 2002). They look
to friends, sports, clubs, and even gangs to fill the void that results from
unmet needs. Before our students can be expected to come out of their
self-protective shell and consider the needs of others, they need to feel
valued and that they are “someone” in the group.
In
this early developmental period in class life, send the message that every
student is important and valued. Every student needs to feel that they have a
meaningful contribution to make. Some of the strategies that will support this
goal include: 1) giving students roles and responsibilities, 2) finding out who
the students are, and 3) beginning cooperative/collaborative activities as soon
as possible.
·
Giving
Students Roles and Responsibility. As soon as
possible, incorporate students into leadership roles. If an activity can be
managed by a student, take yourself out of the role of leader, and hand it over
to them as soon as they show that they are capable. But recall the
freedom/responsibility frame when doing so. Leadership roles are for those who
have demonstrated the maturity and commitment required. Developing the
expectations for being a leader will require the same process as those for
other expectations. The following pedagogical sequence may be helpful: teach;
recognize positive examples; practice in a low threat situation; practice in a
more intense situation; then recognize the value of demonstrating a high
quality of the expectation (in this case the skill of being a good leader).
Some teachers assign roles to all students. This can eliminate the sense that
roles are for favorites. If you cannot find roles for all students, make sure
that they know that all students will be rotated into a role eventually.
If you are having
difficulty coming up with roles that students can take within your class it may
be useful to simply ask yourself the question, “Would a student be capable of
leading or managing ___ activity?” Good examples of situations that students
are fully capable of leading are classroom routines, calendar activities,
dismissals and recording simple data (i.e., milk counts, who has completed an
activity, etc.). We
typically underestimate the contribution students can make in helping the
classroom run. For example, Jerome Freiberg (1999) has identified 40-plus
developmentally appropriate jobs for students in the classroom.
However, do not put students in situations that require them to make
interpretations of value that effect other students’ grades, social standing or
dignity.
·
Allow Students to Share their Story. Each
and every one of us has a unique story. No matter how shy, we still long for
others to know us. We want to be more than just a name and a physical
appearance. We each have interests and experiences and dreams.
There are many effective strategies for helping
students share more of who they are with other members of the class. In primary
grades it can be a powerful experience for students to write an Auto-Bio poem
about themselves (example below) or create a self portrait (Alexander,
Springer, & Persiani-Becker, 2006). For older students there are a number
of ways they can put their mark on the room. We can have them create a personal
collage or have them write a paragraph about themselves as a caption to a
drawing or photo of themselves.
Auto-Bio-Poem Activity
One way to help student express who they are and
allow other to get to know them is through the use of an Auto-Bio-Poem activity
(Alexander, Springer, & Persiani-Becker, 2006). In this exercise student
are asked to write an eleven line poem about themselves. The teacher should begin
by setting the context and modeling their own Auto-Bio poem. Here is an example
of one student’s poem.
|
Line 1: |
Your first name |
Sandra |
|
Line 2: |
Four descriptive traits |
Honest, caring, curious,
energetic |
|
Line 3: |
Sibling of... |
Sister of Graciela |
|
Line 4: |
Lover of (people, ideas) |
Laughter, learning,
challenge |
|
Line 5: |
Who feels... |
Joy when playing with my
friends |
|
Line 6: |
Who needs... |
To laugh and sing |
|
Line 7: |
Who gives... |
Friendship, encouragement,
and smiles |
|
Line 8: |
Who fears... |
Teenagers, getting in
trouble, mean dogs. |
|
Line 9: |
Who would like to see... |
Peace on Earth |
|
Line
10: |
Resident of (your city) |
|
|
Line
11: |
Your last name |
Sanchez |
It is also effective to find ways that students can
self-express. Look for ways that their work can be displayed and published. It
sends the message that you care, they matter, and that the purpose of the class
is not simply to fulfill State standards but to grow as a community of
learners.
·
Begin Cooperative Activities as Soon as Possible. In the first day or two, have the students work in
groups or teams. These kinds of activities set the tone of the class and make the
statement that “we are going to work together, let’s get used to it” (Johnson
& Johnson, 1999). The internet is filled with examples of cooperative games
and activities. Most are excellent, but be a selective consumer. Make sure that
the activities you choose have no “winner,” are low threat, and can be
performed by students of any ability level. Examples of first week cooperative
activities that have been effective include: scavenger hunts, group foil
sculpture, cooperative relays, creating a class logo in groups, capture the
flag, or parachute activities. Recall the discussion of cooperative learning.
It will work best not expect students to perform a new skill (i.e., how to work
in a team) and be responsible for processing new important content at the same
time. Also, recall that the social contract development process (described in
Chapter 8), if done cooperatively, can contribute to the goal of promoting
group cohesion as well.
Chapter Reflection 15-i: Reflect on situations in which you were part of a
group who were unfamiliar to one another. There was no change; the members of
the group remained anonymous to one another. How much connection did you feel?
How much incentive did you feel to express yourself? Now compare that to groups
where you were asked to contribute or share personal information. Did you feel
more connected to the members of those groups after learning more about who
they were?
Cultivating Social Bonds and a Sense of
Fairness
Before
students buy into the idea of the collective, they need to feel that the
collective is safe. The class must be a predictable and fair place. Students
need to feel that we are consistent and honest in implementing the social
contract, before they will be willing to work for the common good. If students
perceive us to have “favorites” or “lost causes,” they will not trust us as a
leader. Moreover, if students feel that we are not interested in or competent
enough to manage the social contract, they will lose respect for us and our
vision. When the students can say to themselves, “this teacher has it together,
they are fair and consistent, and they get results,” they will be ready to buy
into the potential of the collective. If not, we will never get off the ground
floor in our efforts toward community.
Connection with the Teacher
A
community requires caring leadership. To be an effective leader, we do not need
to be charismatic or dynamic, we simply need to be conspicuously interested in
our students’ welfare. For younger students this is especially important. Some
of the ways that we show care include:
o
Getting to know our
students’ names and using them
o
Asking students about
outside school interests and activities
o
Keeping an open door for
students who want to talk
o
Being “present” and
attentive when we have conversations with students
o
Keeping positive
recognitions public and negative recognitions private
o
Eliminating all sarcasm,
shaming, teasing, or embarrassment
Students
need to know that we are on their side. Weeks of relationship building can be
destroyed by one act of perceived cruelty. For example, the simple act of
making fun of one student to other students can seem harmless to us, but can
have the effect of making us an unsafe person to that student. Even if we think
they should be “able to take it,” any humor that causes pain is not safe or
justifiable. Avoid victimizing humor, e.g., sarcasm, teasing, making fun of
others, comical put-downs, etc. Instead, use humor that is safe. Being silly,
self-deprecating, looking for irony, making puns and victimless practical jokes
are typical forms of comedy that do not leave any scars.
It
will be useful to model self-disclosure and self-expression. This needs to be
done with care. We might start with safe sharing, for example, talking about
our family, pets or hobbies. Then, increasingly take opportunities to share
your appreciation for the level of effort students are showing in their work,
or how much progress they are making toward being self-responsible. Finding
opportunities to compliment students is powerful positive recognition and will
add to the emotional bank account.
Concretizing
the Concept “Community”
As we have discussed regarding our management
goals, we need to make the concepts that define our behavioral goals as
concrete and practical as possible. The same thing should occur when it comes
to the definition of “community.” The members of the community need to be
explicitly aware that becoming a community is an active goal. Few of our
students will be able to define community when they walk in on day one. We will
need to undertake some form of intentional process for defining it. Initially
we will need to create formal terms and language that define our concept of
community. No matter how elegant our definition is, it is still abstract
language. This abstract language will stay conceptual and academic until we
make it meaningful (i.e., real, personal and material in the students’
experience). There are many ways that we can achieve this. They include:
o Teacher-student
public recognitions (Chapter 4)
o Self-assessment
of process and participation (Chapter 20)
o Student-student
positive recognitions (debriefing, Chs. 4 and 12)
o Concept
attainment exercise on sub-terms for community
Another method for making our community
themes more concrete is to focus on them in depth one at a time. This idea is
explained in detail in the book Tribes: A
New Way of Learning and Being Together by Jennie Gibbs (1995). In this
system, the teacher or school as a whole selects one of the defining
characteristics of community that has been decided upon. For example, if we
determined that community is made up of the sub-factors of respect, responsibility, listening, cooperation, service, and effort, we would select one of them to
use as a theme for the month. The term is integrated into the curriculum or
serves as the focus of our recognition of positive behavior, class discussions
and student-student public recognitions. Each month (or week if our group is fast
to pick up the idea) we could introduce another term. Figure 15.3 depicts some
example of how themes could be displayed in chart form.
Figure 15.3: Examples of
Community Themes
Concept: Listening
|
Looks Like |
Sounds like |
Feels Like |
|
Eyes on speaker Following directions Et cetera |
One at a time Encouragement Et cetera |
A culture of listening We care We want to learn Et cetera |
Concept:
Cooperation
|
Looks Like |
Sounds like |
Feels Like |
|
Taking turns Sharing Et cetera |
Conflict being resolved Students on task Creativity at work Et cetera |
We are part of a team Everyone is necessary We’ve got “flow” Et cetera |
Concept:
Responsibility
|
Looks Like |
Sounds like |
Feels Like |
|
Doing our job Being effective in my group role Being accountable to the social
contract Et cetera |
Asking when we don’t understand No excuses, no whining Et cetera |
We are mature We can do it ourselves We trust each other Et cetera |
Chapter
Reflection 15-j: Recall your experience as a student.
When teachers used terms such as responsible, effort, respectful, etc, did you
always know what they meant? Did all the students share the teacher’s
definition? Would it have helped if the class had a common working knowledge of
the meaning of these conceptual terms?
Great Community
Member Awards
Giving
students awards can have a powerful effect. It is recommended that you do not
use awards or rewards in the 1-Style Classroom. If you are tempted to do it, do
it thoughtfully. For instance, if we gave a (insert name of your school mascot,
e.g., Falcon) _______ of the Week award, it will typically have the effect of
making the winner feel good, and encouraging the other students to pay more
attention to whatever it is that was being awarded. But if the award is for the
student who gets the best grades, has the best science project, or is
considered by the teacher to be the “nicest,” it will not make gains toward
becoming a community. In fact, it will have the opposite effect. Most students
view these sorts of awards as favoritism or rewarding the “haves” (and
insulting the “have-nots”). If you feel compelled to give an award, consider
rewarding “quality progress or improvement toward being a great community
member.” In this context, all students could potentially win. If students feel
that they have a legitimate chance (i.e., internal locus of control) and are
being rewarded for selfless contribution (i.e., promoting acceptance and
belonging), the motivation level to earn the award will remain high over time.
Reflect on the difference in the mindset of students competing to be considered
the most selfless contributor, rather than the best _______. To de-emphasize
the competitive element, it will be more effective if the winner is posted in
an inconspicuous place rather than on a poster in the front of the room. It is
can also be useful to include the names of some of the other students who had
selfless weeks and list them as being awarded honorable mention. If you want to
have fun with it, awards can also be given to members of the school staff,
community members, and public figures who exemplify what it means to be a
“Falcon” (e.g., selfless contributor).
Teaching Choices that Work against Our Ability to Progress to the Next Stage
Before
we explore what will take to move our classes to the next level of 1-Style
classroom community, it is useful to consider those things that will work
against our ability to get there. As we have discussed throughout the book, the
ineffective and destructive practices that we use will do more harm than the
effective practices will do good. Incorporating any of the following practices
will undermine our ability to achieve either a self-responsible classroom or
the qualities of community:
·
Randomness, inconsistency
and subjectivity
·
Anger, punishments or
shaming
·
Short-term fixes (being
reactive rather than thinking about how to make tomorrow better as a result of
today)
·
Praise and rewards
·
Deficit models systems
(see also Chapter 19)
·
Destructive criticism or
fear of failure
·
Review the list of ways to
create a failure psychology in Chapter 7
·
A dysfunctional mindset
(see “how to have a miserable day” in the next chapter)
Chapter Reflection 15-k: The most difficult thing to do as a teacher is to admit
that something we do is working against our success. As you reflect on the list
of practices above that will undermine success, do you find any that you want
to continue despite commitment to a 1-Style classroom? Our inner dialogue is
probably protesting, “It works for me.” This may be true, but refer to the
examination of the phrase “it works” in Appendix __. Why do you feel compelled
to hold on to the practice? Do you really need it? Will you really miss it? Is
it really helping you reach your goals?
Stage Two -– Transition toward Self Direction
and Full Community
Management Goal -– Shifting Locus of
Ownership and Cultivating Intrinsic Motivation
Once
a foundation of clear expectations and social bonds has been established,
increase your effort to shift the locus of decision-making to your students. We
should encourage the class to increasingly take on forms of
self-responsibility. The students should feel that they have their hands on the
steering wheel. At the same time they should increasingly recognize more
internal sources of motivation and satisfaction in their learning. The contrast
between the 2-Style teacher-centered class in which students are encouraged to
follow directions and become accustomed to extrinsic sources of motivation, and
the 1-Style Classroom should become rather evident at this stage. In the minds
of students, choices will be less driven by the question “What does the teacher
want me to do?” and more driven by “What can I do to learn more and help the
class and myself get better?”
Empowerment and Handing the Steering Wheel to
the Students
It
is true that we will never be in a position to abdicate the role of leader or
of facilitator of the social contract, nor will we ever want to put individual
students in a position where they need to make personal decisions about other
students, but at this stage in the process there should be a distinct effort to
transition the steering to students to the degree that they are ready. As
students come to recognize functionality and emotional safety in the class and
gain trust in our leadership, we will be in position to progressively hand over
decision-making power. We never want to put a student in a position to grade
another student’s performance, but we can empower the class as a whole to decide
on a consequence for a particular contract violation, or on a format for
presenting their projects.
Clearly, to hand over the wheel to the
students when they do not know how to drive is more foolish than courageous. In
the absence of structure and clarity, expecting students to show self-regulated
behavior is the definition of the ineffective 3-Style teacher. Empowering
students must be done with explicit recognition that they have shown the
requisite evidence of responsibility. It will be useful to maintain a very
clear and deliberate awareness within the class that the responsibility-freedom
social frame is operating: “when you are able to show me ______, I will let you
decide ______.” and/or “Since you were able to ______ I think you are ready for
_______.“ Should students fail to show the necessary level of responsibility,
resist the temptation to show disappointment, shame them, or dwell on failure.
Simply reduce the amount of freedom and responsibility given and explain they
will have future opportunities to elevate their skills. Being explicit in our
treatment of this “frame” relationship will help underscore the point that the
empowerment process takes as long as it takes. It may happen quickly or it may
take all year. It is up to the students.
As students show their capability we should shift from doing all of the thinking to letting them do the thinking. The result will be that they will grow in the trust of their own ability to solve problems and to take greater ownership over executing the solutions that are developed. The sequence of the transition should take the following form: 1) initially -- teacher explanations, then shifting as soon as possible to 2) teacher-led discussions, then when the students have developed the skills 3) student-led discussions and finally in the third stage, 4) student-initiated problem solving. Empowering students with decision making authority will promote genuine self-direction as they take ownership of “their” classroom community.
Chapter
Reflection 15-l: Fitzclarence & Giroux (1984)
call this the ‘paradox of power” –- the more we give power away the more power
that we have. On first examination, this idea may seem flawed or even absurd,
but reflect on it more deeply. What is your reaction to those who try to
control you? When they ask you to do something, what is your instinct?
Conversely, when there is someone who allows you to make up your own mind and
respects your decisions, do you find yourself wanting to earn their respect?
While the idea of control is certainly complex and dependent on a number of
factors, challenge yourself to look past a superficial notion of power as you
build your classroom vision.
Technical Management -- Shifting from
Extrinsic Recognition to an Intrinsic “Awareness of Value”
The intention and execution of our efforts in
the area of technical management will have a profound impact on our ability to
make a successful transition from Stage One to Stage Two in the development of
a 1-Style Classroom. As discussed in Chapter 5, the goals of good technical
management are smoothness, efficiency, safety (emotional and physical) and
clear communication within a culture of listening. While the level of
efficiency within a 1-Style student self-directed classroom will not likely be
any greater than that within a more teacher-directed 2-Style class in the area
of technical management, the 1-Style approach will have two other important
benefits. First, it can achieve a self-regulated class, and require very little
direction or energy from the teacher. Second, it will function to promote the
other goals of our 1-Style classroom community, whereas using a more
teacher-centered form of technical management will limit our potential to
achieve these goals.
The key to moving from a more teacher-centered
form of technical management to one that is more student-centered will be to
shift the attention of the students from a possible consequence from an
external agent if they don’t act responsibly to having them consider the
intrinsic value and benefits of being part of a respectful, safe and efficient
class. This shift is encouraged when students begin to recognize the value of
being part of a system free of aggravation. This will happen quickly if we help
students recognize this value. For example, as the class is listening to one of
their peers, we might briefly note how nice it is that people in the class
listen to one another and expect to be listened to. Likewise, when the students
begin to naturally move with a purpose that reflects intentional consideration
for others, we should point it out and encourage them to reflect on the value
of their actions. These recognitions can take any form that we feel is most
effective given the needs of our students. One method is the use of simple
reflective questions (that are essentially rhetorical and therefore don’t
really need to be answered); for example, “How long did it take us to shift
from the lab to our seats? I counted about 40 seconds. At the beginning of the
year it took a lot longer; how does it feel to be able to trust others will be
ready when you get back to your seat?” Or “How does it feel to be in a class
where you are listened to when you are speaking?” These questions shift the
locus of control from the teacher to the students. They create an awareness of
the intrinsic value of the behavior. As the behavior takes on its own value and
is associated with personal and collective satisfaction, the need for the
teacher to maintain an extrinsic recognition and/or consequence structure
becomes increasingly less necessary. Eventually the students should feel that
they expect to have their hands on the wheel and may even feel a bit insulted
that the teacher would need to take control with extrinsic interventions.
However, during this transition to full student self-direction, it will still
be necessary to implement consequences when students fail to meet expectations
such as 100% attention.
At this stage, we should allow students to
decide how best to execute routines, chores and procedures (
Cultivating Intrinsic Motivation
In
the process of developing a 1-Style Classroom, we need to be very intentional
about the type of
motivation that we use for students. If we
deliberately or unconsciously include many extrinsic motivators we undermine
our ability to create a self-responsible community (Ryan
& Deci, 2000). Instead, find ways to promote
more intrinsic sources of motivation within students. If the notion of
intrinsic motivation is new, be at least a little self-aware of any tendency to
revert to such strategies as prizes, praise, comparisons, emphasizing grades,
awards, and challenging the students to impress us. This tendency is
understandable as most of the motivational strategies that were used with us as
students were extrinsic in nature. But after building a foundation of trust and
responsibility we are in a position to open the floodgates of student
potential. If we have done the groundwork in Stage One, we can now effectively
help students tap into their inner sources of satisfaction, motivation and love
of learning (Ryan & Deci, 2006).
It will be useful for us to strive to create the following conditions:
·
A Learning Environment that Promotes a Success Psychology Rather than a
Failure Psychology. As discussed in detail in
Chapter 7, each pedagogical action that we take either promotes or undermines
our students’ psychology of success. If we make choices that build our
students’ sense of internal locus of control, acceptance and belonging, and
mastery-orientation we will see more empowered students. Teaching acts that
promote success psychology inherently promote intrinsic motivation.
·
Pedagogy that Encourages Engagement, Collaboration, Inquiry, and Flow. The most effective way to promote engagement, love
of learning, and tap into more internal sources of motivation is to structure
the curriculum in a manner that encourages active learning (Devries & Zan,
1994). Learning is intrinsically motivating. Our natural state is to be
continuously learning. We do not need to add anything such as prizes or threats
of a bad grade. These work against the cultivation of intrinsic motivation and
1-Style classroom goals (Ryan & Deci, 2000). Allow students to solve problems, take part in
inquiry-based activities, learn cooperatively, create projects and put it all
together, publish and present their work, find out where their love and gifts
lie, and take ownership of their own assessment and personal goal setting.
Our role in the process of empowering our students
is more cheerleader than dispenser of knowledge. We need to help students of
all ability levels worry less about grades and more about learning. To do this
we need to make sure that our grades do not penalize students for taking
chances or being creative. One way is to try to encourage attention to the
process as much as possible and the product as little as possible. Assessing
process breeds internal locus of control as well as mastery-orientation and
therefore more intrinsic motivation. Assessing product breeds fear of failure
and a tendency to externalize the explanation for an outcome. Moreover, what we
show caring about and what we model will have a profound effect on how students
view their work. If we want externally motivated, helpless-orientation
students, we should keep them concerned about making mistakes, make a big deal
about who is doing better, get excited about displays of innate talent or
cultural capital, and maintain an expectation that “realistically only a few
students will do a good job.” In contrast, if we want internally motivated,
mastery-oriented students, we want to show enthusiasm about progress and
effort, to project an expectation that all students can meet the targets
(because they are clear and standing still), and encourage students to take
risks, be creative, and make mistakes.
·
Structural Conditions that Promote Intrinsic rather than Extrinsic
Motivation. Sometimes it is not so much what
we say, but what the context promotes that determines how the students think
and act. For example, if we have created an inherently competitive context, no
matter how much we encourage cooperation, taking chances, and being satisfied
with doing one’s best, students will be mistrustful, anxious, and attached to
outcomes (Kohn, 1986; Watson & Battistich, 2006). On the other hand, if we
create an environment free of student-to-student comparison, taking chances is
encouraged, and knowledge is not defined by right or wrong answers but is a
byproduct of the process of discovery and research, the context itself sends
the message that there is nothing to fear and a great deal to gain. In other
words, the context itself is needs-satisfying. Where students find that they can
meet needs in a context that produces a minimum amount of fear of failure,
their sources of intrinsic motivation will emerge and blossom.
Cultivating a
Vision within “Our” Class
In Stage One of the process of creating our
1-Style classroom community, our expectations needed be very clear and
explicit. In Stage Two, they will need to be just as clear, however, we will
want to help our students transition away from focusing on “me” (the teacher)
and “me” (the individual student) toward focusing on the collective “us.” To do
this we will need to create a collective
vision. A vision acts to guide a group of individuals toward collective
function and purpose. It tells “us” what we have agreed to and what principles
we use to make decisions. In essence, the vision is the collective intention.
There is no one else in the class who can
promote a vision aside from the teacher. The vision in any class is
recognizable to the degree that it is coherent, and that means someone has to
manage it. In the classroom it is the teacher. Vision has two parts -- creation
and dissemination. The teacher must listen and articulate. If we do not listen,
the vision will not represent the collective, just our own subjective
perspective. If we do not articulate the emerging vision, it never gets
communicated to students. Let’s examine each of these aspects in more detail:
·
Listening
The teacher is the
only person capable and positioned to interpret the big picture. We must be attentive
to the needs and concerns of our students. They need to trust that we are
paying attention and that we are perceptive enough to know when things require
a need for action. This involves being present to the students, being attentive
to their needs, and asking questions. For example, if we feel there is an issue
related to group dynamics, we might take a quick poll and ask who rates the
group dynamics as safe and functional and who does not. Asking questions and
taking flash surveys sends a message to students that we care and that their
welfare is the first priority. When they know we are listening it will help
them trust that the decisions we make are grounded in good information and are
intended for the common good.
·
Articulating
Concurrent with the
process of listening, we should regularly articulate the observations,
assessments, and concerns that we have along with those that we have heard,
being intentional that we are sincere in our efforts to help guide and
resisting the temptation to be either dogmatic or uninterested. When we
articulate the vision we need to project a confident, proactive, thoughtful
message. We are progressively encouraging students to take more control of the
steering wheel. The classroom vision provides a clear map for our student
drivers -- a map that leads to a functional and satisfying learning experience.
We can help students recognize and trust that the vision is leading them to a
desirable destination by drawing their awareness to the beneficial places that
we have already gone. For example, we might say to them, “I noticed that all of
the groups were immersed in the task for the whole period. What do you think
was the cause, and how did it feel?” In that statement, we project that our
vision involves their approach to learning, and the learning activities
themselves become increasingly intrinsically motivating.
The role of the
teacher includes articulating the class’s growth; the teacher also articulates
when there is a problem. Since we have been listening and have sampled student
concerns from multiple sources, we are in a unique position to make
assessments. Running our assessments past our students can support the
vision-building even further. For example, we might pose the following
situation: “I am hearing a lot of concern that the honor system we are using
for equipment is being abused. Is that an accurate assessment? (assume an
affirmative response). Okay, that was what I was hearing. So, let’s take five
minutes (see Class Meeting Protocol, next section) to brainstorm better
policies, then vote on the one that we like best.” This interaction will have
the practical benefit of fixing a problem that was causing stress. It also will
have an additional symbolic benefit. It will make the statement that the
teacher is proactive in assessing the direction of the ship, and is an
effective leader in navigating the ship to a successful course. As a result,
the level of trust is raised a level. Not only do the students learn to trust
us a little more, they also gain another level of trust in themselves as a
collective. Repeated incidence of vision-building interactions such as these
act to develop our classroom social contract and shared vision to become
increasingly more concrete, meaningful and satisfying.
Chapter Reflection 15-m:
Recall groups and organizations with
which you have been a part of that you would say had “vision.” What did the
leaders in those organizations do to promote that sense of vision? What lessons
can you take from this situation into your classroom?
Community Goals – Collective Identity and
Accomplishment
If
we were successful in Stage One of the process, the class should feel a sense
of belonging and an acceptance of who they are by the other members. If this
goal is accomplished we will notice how much easier it is to achieve our
1-Style Classroom management goals. The next stage in the progression toward
becoming a self-responsible community will be for the group to begin to take on
a collective identity. As the group becomes increasingly loyal and
other-centered, the communal bonds within the group will be strengthened and
each student’s need for belonging will be met more successfully.
However,
a few cautions are in order. First, we need to make certain that membership
does not become a call to conformity (Watson & Battistich, 2006). As
students experience increased pleasure from being part of a “we,” our job will
be to help them understand that each individual (who possesses their own story,
differences, and membership in other collectives) is valued not in relation to
the degree they conform, but simply because they are. Be intentional also about
encouraging the members of our classroom community to embrace one another’s
racial and ethnic identities. Second, we need to help them learn how to be a
“we” without having to create a “they.” Kohn (1996) identifies the tendency for
some collectives to become what he calls “pseudocommunities” which operate in
fear-based oppositional identity rather than a natural state of belonging.
Comparisons may be inevitable but we should encourage students to resist
temptations to feel superior, engage in unhealthy competition with other
classes, or look down on other groups or teachers. We need to support an
identity that is built on a collective effort toward growth rather than feeding
a collective ego.
Promoting a Healthy Group Identity
Some
of the strategies that will help promote our class’ group identity will include
the following:
·
“In this Class” Mantras. When
we use a phrase such as “In this class we only use “affirming language,” we
help the class define itself in a positive way. These mantras act to shape the
identity of the class over time. We will know that they have been internalized
into the collective identity when we hear the students use them with one
another.
·
Branding -- Mottos, Logos, Songs, Nicknames. It will strengthen the group identity to have some
degree of brand identification. It is possible to overdo this and it should not
be undertaken in a contrived manner, but it can be a fun way to build
community. Would the class benefit from a logo? What about a logo design
contest? Would the class benefit from a motto or a few slogans? Again, if the
students pick up the idea and run with it, it will be more meaningful. Any
branding must be positive and needs to come from the students. Does the class
have a favorite song? Can you find ways to use that song to bond the group? For
example, if the group has just accomplished something meaningful, to afterward
sing the class song sends the message that “we have an identity” –- “we have a
song”
·
Traditions and Rituals. Promoting the
development of rituals and traditions accentuates the shared quality of the
group’s experience. Again, these will be more powerful and more fun if the
ideas for them come from students. They can take many forms and will look
different at different grade levels and for different subjects. In a primary
class we may have the tradition of saying “good morning” in unison to the
teacher, a guest, or a student calendar activity leader. In a secondary class,
you may develop the ritual of giving polite applause after presentations. You
may put a trivia question on the board each morning for fun. One powerful
ritual (described in more detail in Chapter 12) is to have students give
positive recognitions of other students after a cooperative learning activity.
One way you will know that your traditions and rituals have taken hold is when
the students feel cheated when they miss out on the opportunity to take part in
them on a particular day.
Encouraging Collective Accomplishment
When
students succeed collectively, their communal bonds are strengthened. Moreover,
they develop a positive association with one another and with you, who helped
lead them to the accomplishment. Winning breeds liking, and liking breeds more
winning. If asked, “When do your students win together?” most of us would be at
a loss for an answer. Upon examining how students experience collective
accomplishment more closely, it is clear they can feel that they are winning
together quite often. While of the means some may be manufactured, most of them
are naturally occurring.
Students
win together anytime they work together and succeed. When we make a positive articulation
that they can now collectively do something that they could not before, we let
them know they won. They like themselves more, they like each other more and
they like us more as a result. For example, if we tell them that they used to
struggle to put all the equipment away before the bell but now do it quite
efficiently, we are in essence saying that they are winning. When students
cooperate to put together challenging projects or presentations and as a class
we recognize how well “we” did, we acknowledge that we have won. We attempted
something that we could not have done alone, could not previously do as well,
and succeeded. As the class moves more completely into Stage Two of the
community development process this feeling of winning becomes increasingly
attached to doing things for the common good. The students find that when their
actions are informed by how things work best for the collective, outcomes that
are good for everyone follow.
Students
can also win in more traditional, albeit manufactured ways, as well. They can
be judged the best in a contest or in comparison to other classes in some way.
They can contribute to a school victory in sports, knowledge bowl, or fair. We
can point out that they have better behavior or test scores than other classes.
But as mentioned earlier, be careful not to create “theys” just to make a
stronger “we.” It might seem beneficial in the short-term, but will undermine
our community in the long run. Winning has to come from a win-win mentality
rather than a win-lose mentality. When we get caught up in a win-lose mentality
we introduce fear of failure, enemies, and divisions within our own community.
Whenever there is a collective win within the context of a contest, keep the
class focused on the process aspects of the task rather than the outcome. To
emphasize this, we will want to ignore the notion of the win and get excited
about the teamwork, process execution, and the level of effort.
Chapter Reflection 15-n: What are some of the ways you have seen teachers
help students develop a collective identity? What are some ways that you have
seen students win together as a collective? Were they ideas that you feel are
healthy and effective? Share these ideas with your group in class as part of
Chapter Activity 15-2.
Class Meetings/Tribal Council
One strategy that
will promote our goals for a self-directed class and the development of
communal bonds is that of the class meeting. Useful models for class meetings
are offered by Donna Styles (2001) and Jeannie Gibbs (1995). The class meeting
provides a concrete opportunity for students to display their
self-responsibility and communal relationship. Once students have demonstrated
the ability to listen attentively and actively, use positive language
(refraining from put-downs, personal attacks and instead use “I-messages”), and
a commitment to solving problems as a responsible collective, they are ready to
run their own meetings. Styles (2001) suggests that at this point we take the
role of secretary so we are sure that the ideas are represented neutrally. She
also recommends that we let the students know that we will maintain the right
to veto ideas that we feel are bad for the community or simply are not doable
for us.
We need to
establish a clear protocol for our class meetings. You can do your own research
to find a system that works best for you and your grade level. However, here
are some common features of most class meeting protocols:
- Students make suggestions for items to be
discussed at the meeting. These can be problems to be addressed or ideas
for class improvement.
- Students should sit in a circle or at least
able to see each other.
- Meetings need to have a time frame.
- Meeting records need to be kept.
- Once action items have been decided upon, include
those responsible for carrying them out.
Meetings need rules, and rules should be sacred. The rules suggested by
Gibbs in her book Tribes are:
1.
Attentive Listening
2.
Appreciation/No Put-Downs
3.
Right to Pass
4.
Mutual Respect
The process of development as a community is
empowering. We will see evidence that students are growing in their sense of
self and developing more of a psychology of success. Being part of a community
provides a powerful sense of belonging (Rogers & Freiberg, 1994). The
increasing amount of responsibility acts to foster each student’s internal
locus of control, and the emphasis on contribution as opposed to talent
promotes the students mastery-orientation (Dweck, 2000).
Things that undermine your ability to progress
to the next stage:
·
Being insincere and/or
sending the message that you do not really trust students and your acts of
empowerment are simply exercises.
·
Bailing students out,
hovering, taking over when they struggle
·
Neglecting your active
role in the process and descending into a 3-Style approach.
·
Assuming bad days mean
that your goals are wrong. Use problems as a form of assessment for what needs
to improve.
·
Focusing too much on
either the top-performing students -– those who are taking the idea of community
and enthusiastically running with it, or the low-performing students -– those
who are resistant to buying into the idea of being part of a community. If you
neglect the most functional, they will revert to the mean. If you neglect the
least functional, they may jump ship completely. Help each level student grow
at their own pace.
Stage Three -- Encouragement
Management Goals -- Facilitating Vision and
Self–Direction
Very
few classes ever achieve this stage. Let’s envision what is taking place at
this stage. Students have internalized the value of high function. They have
taken ownership of the social contract and demonstrate high levels of
self-responsibility. They have learned the skills for solving their own
problems and for raising issues to improve the effectiveness of the social
contract and class procedures. Students have also made a significant shift
toward thinking in terms of what is good for their growth and the welfare of
the class as opposed to what the teacher wants them to do. So what is left for
us to do? It is true that the heavy lifting is behind us but we are just as
essential to the process of the class’s continued growth and development as we
were before. Our role will be less about molding and more about reflecting back
to students how they are doing.
Most
importantly, at this stage we need to be the facilitator of the class vision.
No matter how functional the behavior, it is only a few bad days away from
reverting. The reason it does not is because the students recognize the value
and meaning in the ways that they are growing. Jealousies, entitlements, pride,
insecurities, old habits always want to resurface. We need to help them
continue to see that what they have created (the natural condition) is better
than the alternative. That can be difficult because just about every other
source of influence (e.g., television, friends, entertainment and sports role
models) tells them the opposite: that it is best to do as little as possible to
get rich, you should only think about yourself, and it is okay to use others to
get where you want to go. On the other hand we have powerful influences on our
side. The 1-Style classroom community is simply more satisfying on a deeper
level and is free of the stress and struggle that can be so pervasive in our
students’ lives.
How
do we promote this vision? We do this by articulating the essential reality in
the class: “You are getting better, and it shows!” No matter how they have improved,
no matter their grade level, no matter how intrinsically they feel the
improvement, there will be a tendency to overlook its significance or to take
it for granted. We have seen sports teams begin to take their winning ways for
granted and quickly turn into losers. We need to say out loud, “Look at how far
you have come, and think about how you feel now as compared to before.”
It
will be natural for students to periodically revert to externalizing their
responsibility. It is normal. We all do it. It is important to be gentle and
intentional when this happens. We do not want to reinforce the act of
externalizing (e.g., wanting us to solve their problem, telling on others,
making excuses or acting helpless) by solving their problems or buying into their
helplessness. We empower them with an answer such as, “I know you can do it” or
“That sounds like a difficult problem, how are you going to solve it?” Of
course we do not guilt students for showing a little weakness once in a while,
or act condescending when they do not make the progress that other students are
making. That would be counterproductive and likely result in a total reversion.
Instead, help students recognize: 1) they have solved problems like this before
(i.e., demonstrated an internal locus of control); 2) have persisted through
frustration before (i.e., demonstrated a mastery-orientation); and 3) there is
a process to incorporate to get to their goal. It may be our conflict
resolution procedure, or the social contract, or the steps to doing the
project, or any number of processes that we have put in place. It will be
useful to shift the student’s awareness from their negative unconscious
thinking to the moment -- “What is important now?” “What is the first step in
the process to getting the problem solved?” Within this interaction our goal is
to be empathetic, help them raise their level of awareness, and encourage a
psychology of success mentality.
When
a large portion of the class seems to be operating from a helpless pattern, we
use the same process as if we were working with an individual. Our fundamental
message to the group should be “I hear you, I empathize, I will do my part to
help, but I know that you can solve this problem. So what should we do first to
move toward a solution?” If the directions are not clear or students have not
been taught the skills to accomplish a task, our job is to provide clarity and
guide skill attainment. If students have what they need for success but still
act helpless, it is useful to answer their helpless questions with guiding
clarifying questions. For example, if a student asks, “We’re stuck, what do we
do?” we might answer, “Have you read the directions carefully?” or “Have you
made sure that in the second step you listed and then classified all the
qualities of the object?”
In
examining the preceding interaction within the social learning model, notice
that sending an empowering rather than enabling message to one student gives
the other members of the class the opportunity to learn: 1) that you are not in
the enabling business; 2) a way to think about solving any problems they may
have had that were similar to the question that was asked.
Another
powerful act of modeling for the teacher developing a 1-Style approach is
engaging in the task along with the students. This assumes students have
reached a level of self-direction in which they do not need the degree of
monitoring or attention that they would have earlier. When we are able to work
side-by-side with our students they can see how we approach a task, how we
solve problems, and how we interact with other members of the group. When we
model being the most attentive, positive, other-centered member of the class,
it has a powerful influence on the students. It says: 1) when we said the
words, “this is our class” we were sincere; 2) we are not above the spirit of
the social contract; 3) the class still runs smoothly if it loses a teacher and
gains nothing more than another great classmate. It can be fun and instructive
to put a student in the role of teacher when we take the role of student. It
offers us an opportunity to model exemplary student-teacher interactions.
Chapter Reflection 15-o: Have you ever observed a teacher take the role of
the student? What happened? A prediction would be there was little or none of
the chaos that most people would presume.
Community Goals -- Encouraging a Cause Beyond
Oneself and Becoming a Tribe
If
we have been successful in developing a foundation of community students will
be open to thinking about their role in a different way then they traditionally
might. As students grow in their realization that it feels better to think
about other people rather than of their own narrow needs and wants, the idea of
community becomes less of an abstraction and more of an organic reality (Kohn,
1996; Rogers & Freiberg, 1994). In Stage One when we asked the question,
“What can you do right now to help the class as a whole?” most students likely
heard “the teacher wants us to be nice to each other.” In Stage Three, they
hear that question differently. They feel the communal bonds that have been
cultivated telling them that other members of the class are worth serving. They
hear their basic needs telling them that when they put others first, more basic
needs are met and they experience a greater level of satisfaction. They feel
the power of being able to contribute in their own unique way and use their
special talents and gifts to make their mark. In this stage of the process we
have to help students translate these realizations into practical action. This
applied action will happen at different levels. First, students find more
unique and effective ways to contribute to the group as their individual
personality emerges within the collective. Second, the students will be ready
to make a difference within the school as a whole. Third, students will begin
to connect the feeling of being part of a classroom community to being part of
the global community and as a result will want to find ways to make a
contribution to the world in some form.
What Does the Group/Tribe Need From Me?
Once
students have developed an intrinsic appreciation for being part of a
community, we simply need to encourage their energy and ideas as they arise.
Given that it is only a true democratic community if it reflects the will of
the students, we will not want to put too many of our fingerprints on things at
this stage. We do not want to make cookie cutter replicas in each of our
classes. As much as possible, we should help ensure that the process occurs
organically rather than pre-determining outcomes (Kohn, 1996). Moreover, we
need to make sure that the community development process is not being co-opted
by a few big-personality students
When
things are going well, we bring that to the students’ attention. For example,
we might simply mention, “Over the past week, I have seen four students use
conflict resolution strategies really successfully. It looks like you don’t
need adults to help you solve your problems any longer. That has got to feel
good.” When we make these statements, each student recognizes that they have a
good thing going and the group needs them to continue to invest, take
responsibility for themselves, and look for ways to make the group better. Once
the students have taken on that mindset, we need to do very little directing.
What Does the School Need From Me?
Once
the students become accustomed to looking for ways to contribute to the
classroom community, they will be more open to making a contribution
school-wide (Elias & Schwab, 2006). This will happen organically as
students recognize that the functionality, quality of life, and communal bonds
that are occurring inside the class should be shared with those outside the
class and feel impelled to make a difference in the school. However, if the
reality outside the class is dramatically different (i.e., there are mostly
4-Style classroom cultures, a high level of conflict, or a failure psychology
in the school), this will likely cause consternation for students. This inner
conflict has been evident in schools in which a teacher has created a working
community. The students feel so good within the class, but do not know how to
begin to spread their positive experience to others.
Chapter Reflection 15-p: If you find your students have developed an
effective working community inside your class and you are looking for ways to
have your students translate that behavior outside of the class, be patient.
Help the students recognize and process their challenges. It might be
empowering and comforting to point them to events in the Civil Rights movement
in the
One
of the powerful ways that students can make a contribution to their school will
be to take on the role of formal or informal conflict resolution leader/peer
mediator (Chapter 12). Many schools incorporate a team of students in this
role. Student leaders/peer mediators have the capacity to be many times more
effective than adults in this function. This role gives students an opportunity
to make a significant difference as they develop valuable leadership and
interpersonal skills (Johnson & Johnson, 1999).
If
we succeed in promoting a love of making a difference in our students,
enlisting them in efforts to improve the school are no longer seen as chores
but opportunities to make the school better. It will be most effective if ideas
for school improvement are generated by the students themselves. As students
increasingly recognize the value of thinking in terms of the common good and
observe a growing disparity between how things are in the class to how things
are outside the class, ideas for making a difference will come naturally. These
ideas may take such forms as school beautification, creating a playground,
creating a garden, creating inspirational posters or artwork, raising money
with a recycling drive or rummage sale. Ideas can also take the form of
exhibitions of the work of the classroom community. Some ideas for these might
include such things as a gallery walk for other classes, a book sale or store
run by the students, a science fair, a readers’ workshop exhibit, or a field
day refereed and organized by your students.
Students
in the intermediate grades can attain a great deal of intrinsic satisfaction
from peer tutoring. This requires the cooperation of another teacher, but it
can be a win-win. The younger students get positive role modeling and
one-on-one tutoring, and the older students get to experience learning by
teaching.
What Does the World Need From Me?
As
students grow in their level of responsibility to others and experience the
satisfaction of making a contribution, it is a natural next stage to think
about how they can contribute on a broader scale. When students recognize that
they actually can make a difference: 1) they grow in the recognition that they
have gifts, talents, and skills that are of value in the world, and 2) they
will want to find opportunities to use those gifts.
As
the work of Anyon (1981) and others points out, much of the problem with teacher-directed
curriculum and obedience models of management are that they rob the student of
any sense of power or value. When obedience and conformity are held up as the
highest form of behavior, students’ sense of worth, power, and uniqueness dies
a slow death. In the 1-Style classroom community, the students grow in their
sense of self-worth. No matter their socio-economic status, they learn to make
a difference, and in making a difference they realize their gifts and their
power to change the world. Being part of a nurturing community has the effect
of raising each student’s career expectations and helps them find their
passion. If school has taught us how to take orders, we will look for jobs
where all we do is take orders. If school has taught us to be self-responsible
change agents, we will look for careers that will allow us to use our gifts to
make a difference (Elias & Schwab, 2006).
We
can support our students’ interest in making a difference at this stage in the process
by promoting such activities as service learning, community activism, and
engaging in the social issues of the day with concrete, relatable goals and
activities. Depending on the grade level and the community environment, we
might look for opportunities for our students to engage in the larger
community. We might have them volunteer or integrate a service learning project
into our curriculum. We might include ways for students to make personal social
commentary within our assignments. Do our students need to be exposed to
aspects of our society that they not yet encountered? When we provide
opportunities for students to experience new places together it has the effect
of strengthening their bonds. When we discover together, we win together.
CONCLUSION
Is
a 1-Style classroom community possible with any group of students? Yes. But it
will take longer with students who have not been given a create deal of
responsibility in the past. Can I use some of the ideas, but not others? Yes.
You can borrow one or more of the ideas presented in the chapter (e.g., holding
class meetings) but if you take a piecemeal approach you may find you do not
get superior results. A successful 1-Style Classroom requires a systemic
approach. Its components need to be integrated with one another and constructed
in a developmental progression. It requires significantly more intention and
thought than the other three management styles. At first glance it may not feel
familiar or normal, but the closer we
examine it and the more we experience it, we discover that it is natural. It is one of the delimited
pathways to help our students reach their full potential. In essence it is the
transformative classroom.
In
the next chapter we examine the relationship between our thinking and our effectiveness
as classroom managers. No matter the effectiveness of the strategies, our
efficacy will be limited if we have dysfunctional habits of mind. However, if
we learn to become more conscious, aware, and intentional, we will experience a
greater level of enjoyment and success.
Journal
Reflections
1. When
have you felt community? How does that experience contribute to what you want
to accomplish as a teacher?
2. After exploring
this chapter, reflect on what you found to be useful. Do you have reservations
about attempting a 1-Style Classroom?
Chapter
Activities
1. In
groups, share your answers to the “Who Am I” poem in the chapter.
2. Reflect on your
own classroom. Answer the following questions:
How will I ensure a
safe emotional climate?
How will I help
make the concept of community more concrete and operational?
What are some of
the ways that my students can win together?
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