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Chapter 17: The Transformative Classroom: Implementing a
One-Style Approach and Creating a Classroom Community
From Transformative Classroom Management. By John Shindler. ©2008
Reproduction is unlawful without
permission
Partial Chapter Text Only
In this Chapter
·
The 1-Style Classroom as
the “
·
Defining Community
·
Stages of Development for
the Transformative Classroom
o
Stage 1 - Foundation
§
Management Goals - Clarity
and Intention
§
Community Development Goals
– Safety and Belonging
o
Stage 2 – Transition
§
Management Goals - Shifting
Locus of Ownership and Cultivating Intrinsic Motivation
§
Community Development Goals
- Creating Identity and Group Accomplishment
o
Stage 3 - Encouragement
§
Management Goals – Facilitating
Vision and Self Direction
§
Community Development Goals
- Fostering a Cause Beyond Self and a Sense of Tribe
Maria is beginning
her second year of teaching. She has had high expectations for herself and her
class. She feels like by the end of the previous year she had developed a
workable set of routines and did not feel as overwhelming as she did at the
beginning of the year. She has worked hard at classroom management and overall
she has fewer problems than many of her colleagues. Maria has been clear about
rules and consequences. She gets a lot out of her students as they have
responded to her clear expectations. She has tried to stay away from
punishments and public shaming. And students feel pretty safe to talk to her.
They trust and like her. However, as she examines her class more closely, she
feels like it is too much about her. She feels the students are essentially
dependent on her direction and behave well (or not) because of what she does.
While she likes the level of order and sanity in the class, it is the long term
effects of her approach that concern her. It bothers her that the students
continuously ask her for confirmation that what they have done or are doing “is
OK.” Moreover, she feels that they act
tentatively when making decisions, and excessively rely on her to solve their
conflicts and problems, and it worries her when she hears the students make
comments such as, “Get back to work or Ms. Valdez is going to get mad at us.”
She appreciates that the students are aware of the consequences and are
interested in being on task, but she wishes that they would see the value for
why it is good to listen, be responsible, treat each other well and work hard
aside from being concerned about potential consequences from her. Maria sees
other teachers that allow students to make many of the classroom decisions and
use a lot of self-directed learning strategies, but she worries about losing
control. Some of the teachers that give over significant amounts of power to
their students seem to spend a lot of time disappointed in their students for
not being responsible. She does not want to spend all day lecturing her
students on how to act, or to descend into a 3-Style approach like the teacher
next door who gives her students a lot of freedom and all he seems to get is
chaos and kids taking advantage of him and the freedom he gives them. 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 17-a: Do you empathize with Maria? Why
of why not?
Like Maria
many teachers intuitively sense that that there is something more that their classroom
management could be accomplishing than merely obtaining obedience and order.
They recognize that a teacher-centered 2-Style of management or what Canter
(1986) refers to as “assertive discipline” is certainly preferable to taking an
authoritarian 4-Style approach (i.e., what Canter label as the “Hostile
teacher”). But they do not see a
teacher-centered approach leading to the kinds of growth and motivation that
they ultimately want to see from their students. They receive an endless supply
of advice for what “works” and for how to avoid ending up with a 3-Style
approach (i.e., which Canter terms “passive”). Yet they find that the majority
of advice that they are given either sounds to them 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 i.e., the transformative classroom. This chapter offers
practical strategies for developing a more student-centered form of management,
as well as for promoting a collective sense of responsibility and community in
one’s class.
Chapter Reflection 17-b: Some readers opened up this book
having 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 should provide some practical ideas to further
develop their 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.
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 is often rather foreign to many of our students, attempting to develop a
1-style classroom may require some patience as we will need to help our
students adjust to it and awaken aspects of themselves that may have become
dormant.
The
1-Style Classroom is possible at any grade level. I have seen fully functional,
self-directed classrooms full of 1st graders, and High School
Seniors, and all grades in between. I have seen 1-Style classrooms in all kinds
of schools. But we need to be realistic. Some students will take to this style
more readily than others. One the 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 been handed a group of students who is experienced at
being self-directed and is 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 17-c: Have you heard a teacher tell you that teaching
their students to be self-responsible will not work with their students? 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 (see
Figure 17.1). 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.
He/she is intentional in their effort to promote a shared vision among the
members of the class and effectively facilitate and manage that vision.
·
Self-Responsible. Students in the 1-Style
Classroom act responsibly, because they recognize that it is to the benefit of
both 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 a
higher levels of learning and function.
·
Clear Implicit Expectations. In the
1-Style Classroom, expectations are shared and understood on a deep level.
Knowing the expectations is not simply about remembering them, it is about
understanding why they are valuable and why when we all buy into them, things
are better.
·
Learner-Centered Instruction. As
discussed in Chapter 13, curriculum that engages and empowers the learner will
help promote the goals of the 1-Style Classroom more readily than more teacher
centered methods. Giving students ownership of their learning and ownership
over their management of their class work synergistically to produce the most
transformative results.
·
Self-Directed. The goal of the 1-style
classroom is that students learn to self-govern and demonstrate
self-discipline. Students learn that the only true discipline is
self-discipline.
·
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.
·
Group Functions Collectively. As
opposed to the 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 he/she can only
achieve their potential working
cooperatively with the other members.
·
Intentional Promotion of Success Psychology. In the 1-Style classroom, the teacher maintains an
awareness of how his/her actions are contributing the success psychology of the
students. The each of 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 classes’ progress toward greater collective
health.
·
Social Contract. The foundation of the
governance of the 1-Style Classroom is a well-established system of social
bonds, expectations, and rules. This “Social Contract” is explained in Chapters
9-11.
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.
·
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.
·
Communal Bonds in addition to Social Bonds. In Chapter 9, we examined the differences between
social and communal bonds. While communities, like any functioning body,
require social bonds, what defines them as 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 who 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.
·
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 “socially
constructed reality,” and way of life.
As
one can see, the 1-Style Classroom and the Classroom Community will have their
own unique characteristics (see Figure 17.1). 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. And for those teachers who desire
either one or the other, it will make a great deal of sense to create both
simultaneously as they operate synergistically.
For that reason this chapter will examine how to accomplish a classroom
that included the qualities of both.
Figure 17.1: 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-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 17-d: As you examine Figure 17.1, which of the qualities do
you find the most compelling? What are you essential goals for your students?
What Will it Take to Create My 1-Style
Classroom Community?
To
achieve a 1-Style Classroom Community it will require the following basic
requirements?
·
Intention. To successfully lead a
1-Style Classroom Community we must have a vision of what they want to
accomplish. The intention of promoting self-responsible students needs to be
ever present in our minds and guide our actions. The requirement of the 1-Style
teacher to be purposeful in what they say and do is far greater than any of the
other three management styles.
·
Awareness. We need to be ever conscious of
both the covert and overt factors (discussed in Chapter 3) within the classroom
“socially constructed reality” that will undermine our success. The mental
games (especially the 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 necessary.
·
Skills. Both this chapter and previous
chapters provide many strategies that will contribute to our success in this
effort. It will be necessary that we are familiar with the skills that the
students will need to obtain in the process of becoming more self-responsible.
As has been discussed many times in the book, it is important that we refrain
from certain dysfunctional practices in addition to incorporating more
effective practices.
·
Commitment. Creating a 1-Style
Classroom Community is difficult. If it was easy a greater number of teachers
would be doing it. But as we can see they are not. The 1-Style Classroom
requires commitment, patience and perseverance. The students will most likely
initially resist our efforts (they have grown accustomed being dependent and
dysfunctional) and we will likely experience a strong tendency to want to either
take over and adopt more of a 2-Style or give up and adopt more of a 3-Style.
We may find it necessary to give ourselves a “pep talk” once in a while and
remind ourselves why it is that we are taking the road that we are. Also, our
efforts will be more successful and less stressful if we are working
collaboratively with others who have similar goals for their classrooms.
Chapter Reflection 17-e: One of the disappointing realizations that many
idealistic and ambitious teachers make is that their efforts are not always
appreciated by their peers. In some schools this may take the form of a subtle
competitive attitude, whereas in some schools there may be open resentment
toward those that who are attempting to do something positive and ambitious.
The reasons why this occurs are complicated, but it is more common than most of
us expect when we enter the profession. Attempting to create a 1-Style
Classroom will likely engender resentment from some of your colleagues. It may
be helpful to find some colleagues that are supportive or your efforts and to
whom you can talk. Most teachers who head down the road of the 1-Style
classroom will need some emotional and technical support.
Assess the Receptiveness of Your Groups of
Students
Any
group of students can become a functioning 1-Style Classroom. Some groups will
just require more time and effort than others. For some groups of students, a
1-Style of management will feel familiar to other contexts in their life (i.e.,
home, previous classes, afterschool groups, etc). For these students, there
will be little remediation required. We will not be fighting against a failure
psychology and/or a hard mistrusting emotional shell. We will 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. 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 a 4-Style
with a group that is used to being treated that way. But there are a couple
reasons to maintain our intention to create a 1-Style approach with this group.
First, it is possible. There are not many who try it, but I have seen many
1-Style classrooms in schools where 95% of the other teachers in the school
assumed that the only thing that would work with the students was a 2 or
4-Style approach. It may take 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. We will only see the tip of the Iceberg of the
changes that we have made. Second, the students are worth it. We have the
choice to perpetuate the dysfunction or 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?
Developmental Sequence
Creating
a 1-Style Classroom Community can only be accomplished in a developmental sequence.
We will need to 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 will need to develop a foundation of trust
and clarity, before we can be successful promoting self-directed behavior.
Likewise, our students will need to feel as sense of belonging and identity
before the class will begin to look anything like a community. In the remainder
of this chapter, we will examine the development of 1-Style Classroom Community
in relation to each of the three developmental stages.
Stage 1- Formation
Management Goals – Clarity and Intention
The
foundation of the 1-Style Classroom is built upon the clarity of the
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. Therefore,
as the facilitator of the process, we need to be intentional about taking
action and raising awareness that promote clarity of expectations. High
expectations are nice. But students cannot rise to a level of behavior that
they do not know (on a real and material level). Having high expectations is
just a start. We must teach our expectations and the skills required to
function self-responsibly. Therefore, we will need to be deliberate about
creating the following features within the class.
·
Social Contract and Social Bonds. Students need to understand that 1)
they are safe, and 2) that they need to be responsible to the others in the
class. In chapters 9-11, we outlined the process of creating a social contract
and defined by well established social bonds. A social contract exists to the
degree that it is understood and shared. Therefore, we will know that it is
working when we see students take ownership of the agreed upon principles of
the contract. The collective sense of safety and faith in the contract will
come mainly from the fact that we consistently take action and implement
consequences, both positive and negative.
·
Culture of
Listening and Respect. To function effectively, the students in the class
need to have an expectation that they must be attentive and can expect that
others will be attentive to them – in other words being part of 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 12 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, being creative are all
abstractions. They will remain abstractions until they are “operationalized”
and made real within the students’ experience. The burden is on us to make
these ideas concrete and personally meaningful to students. Typically, we make
the assumption that either student already know what it means to exhibit these
behaviors, or that they will grasp the concept as a result of a handful of
verbal comments that we make. In most cases, we greatly over estimate the
degree to which students have an operational working knowledge of the concepts
that we use to describe good behavior. I challenge you to survey they yourself,
I bet you will be surprised. 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 practice action that we observed that characterized
the term. Second, as discussed in Chapter 14, 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 22. This can be done formally or
informally. If we have been given a class that seems to lack both a conceptual
as well as a behavioral knowledge of how to act in a responsible and functional
manner, these kinds of systems can be the most effective means for promoting
this understanding and changing behavior. The community development section
that follows will offer additional ideas in this area.
·
Putting 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 14 and 15. In this first stage, our primary focus should be on
teaching these skills rather than being too concerned with how effective each
appears. Therefore, avoid short cuts. For example, we need to maintain our
expectation that cooperative groups follow the protocols that we have set out
even if our students tell us that they do not want or need them. Once things
have devolved, it is difficult to reestablish the original expectations.
Class Meetings should be introduced when the group
is ready for them. When this is will need to be left to your judgment. A sound
freedom-respect frame and a culture of listening and respect need to be in
place before it is wise to attempt 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. Also,
we might start with shorter less consequential topics for class meetings, such
as whether we like the shades open or closed.
In addition, the Social Contract development and evolution process can
act to introduce the class meeting protocol. In these early stages, we need to
keep class meetings short and efficient. Students need to recognize they have
an opportunity to be heard, but excessive complaining, bird walking, 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 likely assign to you a role similar to those adopted by the
teachers that they have had in the past. It may be useful to tell them right up
front that “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 yourself or the
other students in the class.” Expect students to question your resolve early in
the year. In so many words, they will ask you (and test you), “Do you really
mean what you say?” “A few put downs are OK, right?” “Making a mediocre effort
is OK once in a while, right?” At some point they will learn, mostly 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 us so that
we need can to set it out on in the right direction.
Chapter Reflection 17-f: It is tempting to resent our students early in the
year for trying to test us, assuming that we are okay with their self-destructive
behavior, or implying that we really do not mean what we say. But we need to
give them a break and realize that they are just responding to what they are
used to. As things get better, they will forget the way that they were. When that day comes, are we still going to be
holding it against them?
·
Development of Clear Expectations
As was discussed in chapter 6, expectations are
rooted in the law of cause and effect. Students know if . . ., then . . . For
example, if they listen they will know what is going on, and things happen
smoothly, and if they do not, they will not know what is going on. In addition, there may be other consequences
that the teacher implements as well. 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 that “when the teacher gets
mad, he/she 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. But we must make the students aware
that there is a value to using the behavior and a consequence when it does not
happen. Lectures, guilt, preaching, chronicling failure seem like action, but
they are operationally useless. We must take action. Model the behavior deliberately. And over
time help the student recognize the value that behavior has to both 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.” Or
“this class has only responsible learners.” Or “the great thing about this
class is that we always listen to each other and expect to be listened to.”
The difference between 2-style and
1-style approach expectations relates to what the students are responding to.
In the 2-Style classroom the student is responding to clear and consistent consequences
and modeling. The student knows 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 learn more.
And it feels right on some intrinsic level. In most cases, both 1 and 2-Style approach
will need to begin with much the same set of strategies, but eventually the
teacher attempting a 1-Style approach will want to 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, we may not see it, but the
pervasive emotion in the room will likely be one of insecurity. Students may not show it, but on some level most of
them feel some apprehension and alienation from the other members of the class.
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.
As
the teacher we are the only one in the equation that 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. However, when we don’t get these basic needs met,
we compensate. Each students default compensation strategies will look a bit
different (e.g., acting like they are too cool, a know-it-all, apathetic,
overly accommodating, clowning, etc.) . But we need to maintain our awareness
of the fact that our students are not their compensation strategies. Moreover,
we need to avoid the trap of assuming that the existing dysfunctional group
dynamics (i.e., social Darwinism, casual abuse, drama, obsession with “their
thing,” etc) are natural. They may be normal, but they are not natural.
Chapter Reflection 17-g: Some readers may be wondering what I mean by
making a distinction between natural and normal. Natural is what is possible
and feels the most true to our nature.
In
Stage One of our process of community development we will therefore, need to
make 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 more affluent, our research has shown that students accept verbal abuse as
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 over time to the quality of life in a school.
This
is one of those areas where students need us to be absolute. We in our role of
classroom leader need to be absolutely intolerant of put downs, verbal abuse,
name calling, and bullying. If we are not, students will not feel safe.
Students need to see real enthusiasm for those things that you regard as
absolute. When there are acts of abuse, we need give consequences (see chapter
10), and send the message that “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).
But it will be a good place to use a mantra – e.g., “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 our class, within our walls, they are safe
from abuse.
Chapter Reflection 17-h: Reflect on the common experience of a new HS
English teacher. Their goal was to create a student-centered class, as part of
this she wanted her students to share their writing with one another and become
a community of authors. After two months, she was a little disappointed. While
her students were learning to share with her and access their inner creativity,
did not feel comfortable sharing their work with one another. What would you
tell this teacher? What stage of the community development process would you
put this teacher’s class?
Individual Value, Membership and Identity
Many
students spend their time in school feeling misunderstood, alienated, and as
though they have no value. Many times groups of friends, sports, clubs, and
even gangs can fill the void that results from these unmet needs. Yet, before
our students can be expected to come out of their self-protective shell and
consider the needs of others, they need to feel like they are valued and
“someone” in the group.
In
this early developmental period in the classes’ life, we need to send the
message that every student is important and valued. Every student needs to feel
like they have a contribution to make. Some of the strategies that will support
this goal will include 1) giving students roles and responsibilities, 2)
finding out who the students are, and 3) beginning cooperative 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 that have
demonstrated the maturity and the commitment required. So developing the
expectations for how to be a leader will require the same process as the
development of other expectations. The following pedagogical sequence may be
helpful to follow - 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 elevate 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.). 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. All
of us have a story, and no matter how shy we are, we want 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. We are all unique.
There are many effective strategies for helping
students share more of who they are with the other members of the class. In
primary grades it can be a powerful experience for students to write a poem
about themselves (See example at the end of the chapter). For students who are
older, we can select a number of ways that they can put their mark on the room.
We can have them create a personal collage. We can have them write a paragraph
about themselves as a caption to a drawing or photo of themselves. If we want the
information from each student to be more uniform, we can give them all the same
prompts, for Example
o
My name is:
o
My family includes:
o
3 Things I like:
o
3 Things I don’t like:
o
Most people do not know this about me:
o
My Favorite Movies are:
o
My Favorite Foods are:
o
My goal in life is:
Overt time it will also be 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 simple 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, get used to it.” 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 real 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,
Ultimate (but use a nerfball instead, it works better), cooperative relays,
creating a class logo in groups, capture the flag, or parachute activities.
Recalling our discussion of cooperative learning in Chapter 14, 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 (as described in Chapter
9), if done cooperatively, can contribute to the goal of promoting group
cohesion as well.
Chapter Reflection 17-i: Reflect on situations in which you were part of a
group of people who were unfamiliar to one another, and where 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 will be able to buy into the idea of the collective, they will need to
feel like that collective is safe for them as an individual. That means that
they will need to feel like the class is 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 that are 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. Avoid
victimizing humor i.e., 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 typically forms of
comedy that do not leave any scars.
It
will be useful to model self-disclosure and self-expression. But 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 the students will add to the emotional bank account as well as
act as a powerful positive recognition.
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 will need to 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. However, few if any of our students
will be able to define community when they walk in our door on day one. So we
will need to undertake some form of intentional process for defining it.
Initially we will need to create formal terms and language that defines our
concept of community. However, no matter how elegant our definition is, it is
an still just 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 (as discussed in Chapter 6)
o Self-assessment
of process and participation (as discussed in chapter 22)
o Student –
Student and positive recognitions (as discussed in Chapter 14)
o Concept
Attainment exercise for 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. 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 or Respect, Responsibility, Listening, Cooperation, Service,
and Effort, we would select one of them and then use it as a theme for the
month. The term could then be integrated into the curriculum or be 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 17.3 depicts some example of how
themes could be displayed with in chart form.
Figure 17.3: Examples of Community Themes
Concept: Listening
|
Looks Like |
Sounds like |
Feels Like |
|
Eyes on speaker Following directions Etc. |
One at a time Encouragement Etc. |
A Culture of Listening We care We want to learn Etc. |
Concept: Cooperation
|
Looks Like |
Sounds like |
Feels Like |
|
Taking turns Sharing Etc. |
Conflict being resolved Students on task Creativity at work Etc. |
We are part of a team Everyone is necessary We’ve got “flow” Etc |
Concept: Responsibility
|
Looks Like |
Sounds like |
Feels Like |
|
Doing our job Being effective in my group role Being accountable to the social contract Etc. |
Asking when we don’t understand No excuses, no whining Etc |
We are mature We can do it ourselves We trust each other Etc |
Chapter
Reflection 17-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. But if you are tempted to do it, do
it thoughtfully. For instance, if we gave a Wildcat (insert name of your school
mascot) 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 help us 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 putting it in the
face of the “have not’s”). If we feel compelled to give an award, consider
rewarding “quality progress/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., promoting 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 who are 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 “Wildcat” (i.e., selfless contributor).
Teaching Choices that Will 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
good that the effective practices will do. 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
what you do today)
·
Praise and rewards
·
Deficit models systems
(see also Chapter 21)
·
Destructive criticism or
fear of failure
·
Review the list of ways to
create a failure psychology in Chapter 8
·
A dysfunctional mindset
(see how to have a miserable day in the next chapter)
Chapter Reflection 17-k: The most difficult thing to do as a teacher is to
admit that something we are doing is working against our success. As you reflect
on the list of practices listed above that will undermine your success, do you
find any that you want to continue to use despite of your commitment to a
1-Style classroom? Our inner dialogue is probably telling us, “well it works
for me.” This may be true, but recall the examination of the phrase “it works”
in Chapter 3. 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 2 – 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, we
will want to make an increased effort to shift the locus of decision making to
our students. We should encourage the responsibility in the class to
increasingly take the form of self-responsibility. The students should feel
that they (figuratively) 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 the 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
the students their choices will be less driven by the question “What does the
teacher want me to do?” and more driven by the question “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
individual students, but at this stage in the process there should be a
distinct effort to hand the steering wheel to the students to the degree that
they are ready. As students come to recognize the functionality and emotional
safety in the class and gain trust in our leadership, we will be in position to
progressively hand over the decision making power. Therefore, we will 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 a format for presenting their projects.
Clearly to hand over the steering wheel to the students when
they do not know how to drive is more foolish than courageous. In the absence of the existence of structure
and clarity, expecting student to show some sort of self-regulated behavior is
the definition of the ineffective 3-Style teacher. So empowering students needs to 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 - i.e., “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 . . “
However, if the students fail to show the necessary level of responsibility, we
need to resist the temptation to show an excessive amount of disappointment,
shame them, or dwell on the failure. We simply need to reduce the amount of
freedom and responsibility that we give them, and then encourage them to do
better when we give them the opportunity in the future. 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 the capability, we need to shift from doing all of the thinking ourselves 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 Stage 3, 4) student-initiated problem solving. Empowering the students with decision making authority will act to promote genuine self-direction as they take ownership of “their” classroom community.
Chapter
Reflection 17-l: We might call it 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 ridiculous, but reflect on it more deeply. What is your
reaction to those that 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 1 to Stage 2 in the development of a 1-Style
Classroom. As discussed in Chapter 12,
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 the 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 the students begin to recognize the value of being part of a
system that is free of aggravation. This will happen a great deal more quickly
if we help the 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 student. 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 become less and less
necessary. Eventually, the students should feel that they expect to have their
hands on the wheel and will likely feel a little 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 the 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. Allowing students to come up with
plans builds both greater understanding and ownership. We simply need to help
them set the standard for what qualifies as acceptable, and fulfill our role as
the one who ultimately “makes the call” when there is one that needs to be made
i.e., delivers consequences, provides a global perspective, or recognizes the
need for a change.
Cultivating Intrinsic Motivation
In
the process of developing our 1-Style Classroom, we need to be very intentional
about the type of
motivation that we are promoting with our
students. If we deliberately or unconsciously include a lot of extrinsic
motivators (see Chapter 7), we will undermine our ability to create a
self-responsible community. Instead, we need to find ways to promote more
intrinsic sources of motivation within students. If the notion of intrinsic
motivation is foreign to us, we will need to be at least a little self-aware of
our tendency to want to revert to such strategies as prizes, praise,
comparison, 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 up the
floodgates of student potential. If we have done the groundwork in Stage One,
we can now effectively help the students tap into their inner sources of
satisfaction, motivation and love of learning. To do this 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 8, each pedagogical action that we take is either promoting or
undermining 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 the effect will be more empowered students. Teaching acts
that promote success psychology inherently promote intrinsic motivation.
·
Pedagogy that Encourages Engagement, Collaboration, Inquiry, and Flow. As discussed in depth in Chapter 13, 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. Learning is by definition intrinsically motivating.
Our natural state is to be continuously learning. We do not need to add
anything like prizes, or threats of a bad grade. These will work against the
cultivation of intrinsic motivation and our 1-Style classroom goals. 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
will need to be 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 to do this 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 process
breeds fear of failure and a tendency to externalize the explanation for an
outcome. Moreover, what we care about and what we model will have a profound
effect on how our 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 will want to get excited about
progress and effort, project an expectation that all students can meet the
targets (because they are so 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, we will get students who are mistrustful, anxious, and
attached to the outcome. On the other hand, if we create an environment that is
free of student-student comparison, taking chances is encouraged, 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, you will want to help
students transition away from focusing on “you” (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 that can promote a vision
aside from us - 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 our classroom that person needs to be us.
Vision has two parts - creation and dissemination. Therefore we need to be the
one who listens and the one who articulates. If we do not listen, the vision
will not represent the collective, so much as 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
We are the only person in the room
that is capable and positioned to interpret the big picture. Therefore, we need
to be attentive to students’ needs and concerns. The students 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 periodically 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 send a message to students that we care, and that their welfare
is your 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 will need to regularly articulate the observations, assessments
and concerns that we have, as well as those that we have heard. While we need to insure that we are sincere
in our efforts to help guide and resist the temptation to be either dogmatic or
disinterested. So 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. Therefore, the classroom vision is our
attempt to provide 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, becoming increasingly intrinsically motivating.
Just as we are the best ones to
point out that there has been growth, we are also the best one to effectively
articulate that there is a problem. Because we have been listening, and have
hopefully 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 dilemma to our class, “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 that we get an affirmative response).
OK, that was what I was hearing. So, let’s take five minutes (see Class Meeting
Protocol in the following section) and brainstorm better policies, and then
vote on the one that we like the 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 steering the ship on 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 make
our classroom social contract and shared vision increasingly more concrete,
meaningful and satisfying.
Chapter Reflection 17-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 have
accomplished this we should 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,
for those that reach this stage, a few cautions are in order. First, we need to
make certain that membership does not become a call to conformity. As students
experience increased pleasure from being part of a “We,” our job will need to
be to help them understand that each individual (who possesses their story,
differences, and membership in other collectives) is valued, not related to the
degree that they conform, but simply because they are. We will need to be
intentional 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.” Comparisons will become
inevitable, but we should encourage students to resist the temptation to want
to feel superior, engage in unhealthy competition with other classes, or look
down on other groups or teachers. Therefore, we will 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 (see Chapter 6),
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. This can be over done, and 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 likely
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, they 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 that is described in more detail in Chapter 14, 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 slighted 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 the one who helped
lead them to that accomplishment – us. Winning breeds liking, and liking breeds
more winning. Most of us, if we were to be asked the question, “When do your
students win together?” We would be at a loss for an answer. But as we examine how students experience
collective accomplishment more closely, we see that they can know the feeling
of winning together quite often. While of the means some may be manufactured,
most of them are quite naturally occurring.
Students
win together anytime they work together and succeed. Therefore, when we make a
positive recognition that they can now collectively do something that they
could not do 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,
and now do it quite efficiently, we are in essence telling them that they are
now winning. When students work together 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, and
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 they think about 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. Or
they can contribute to a school victory in sports, knowledge bowl, or dance. Or
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 us feel stronger as a “We.” It will seem beneficial in the short-term, but
will undermine our community in the long run. Our winning needs 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 usually
divisions within our own community. Therefore, whenever there is a collective
win within the context of a contest, we need to 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 as a relative phenomenon and get excited
about the teamwork, process execution and the level of effort.
Chapter Reflection 17-n: What are some of the ways that 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 17-2.
Class Meetings/Tribal Council
One strategy that will promote our
goals for both 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 (i.e., refrain from put down,
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 suggests that at this point we take the role of secretary, so that we
are sure that the ideas are represented objectively. 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. I suggest that you do your own research and
find a system that works best for you and your grade level. However, here are
some common features of most class meeting protocols.
·
Students need to make
suggestions for items to be discussed at the meeting. These can be problems
that need to be addressed, or ideas for class improvement.
·
Students need to be in a
circle, or at least all students should be 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 they need to include those responsible for carrying them out.
·
Meetings need rules, and
rules need to 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 developing as a community is empowering. We
should 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. 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.
Things that will 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 get better.
·
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 3 – Encouragement
Management Goals – Facilitating Vision and
Self–Direction
Very
few classes ever achieve this stage, so it is difficult to imagine what a truly
self-directed class looks like. But let’s paint a picture of 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 likely behind us, but we are
just as essential to the process of the classes continued growth and
development as we were before, but our role will not 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 is that we see, it is always a few bad
days away from reverting to something worse, and the reason that it does not is
that the students recognize the value and meaning in growing in the ways that
they are growing. Jealousies, entitlements, pride, insecurities, old habits
will all want to resurface. We need to
help them see that what they have created (i.e., the natural condition) is
better than the alternatives. On the one hand, that is difficult, because they
have just about every other source of influence (e.g., television, friends,
entertainment and sports role models) telling them the opposite – i.e., that it
is best to do as little as possible to get rich, think about yourself, and use
others to get where you want to go. On the other hand, we have some 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 is so
pervasive in our students’ lives.
How
do we promote this vision? As discussed in the last section, we need to be the one
that is articulating the essential reality in the class – “You are getting
better, and it shows!” No matter how much they have improved, no matter their
grade level, no matter how intrinsically they feel the improvement, there will
be a tendency to miss its significance, or at least take it for granted. And we
know from sports, when teams begin to take for granted what made them winners,
they quickly turn into losers. We need to therefore be the one that says, “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. So we will need to be gentle and
intentional when this happens. What we do not want to do, is to either
reinforce their act of externalizing (i.e., wanting us to solve their problem,
tattling on others, making excuses or acting helpless) by solving their problem
or buying into their helplessness. In so many words we need to empower them with
the answer, “I know you can do it” or “That sounds like a difficult problem,
how are you going to solve it?” We don’t want to give students any guilt for
being a little weak once in a while, or to be condescending when they do not
make the progress that other students are making. That will be
counterproductive, and more likely result in a total reversion. We need instead
to help our students recognize that 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 for them 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 for us 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
that helpless entity is a large portion of the class, we will want to use
essentially the same process as if it were 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
achieve a solution?” If the directions
are not clear, or students have not been taught the skills to accomplish a
task, we need to do our job and provide clarity and skills. But if students
have what they need for success, but still act helpless, it is useful to answer
their helpless questions with guiding clarifying questions (see Chapter 6). 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?”
When
we examine the preceding interaction within the social learning model we notice
that when we send an empowering rather than enabling message to one student,
the other members of the class learn 1) that you are not in the enabling
business, and 2) a way to think about solving any problems they may have had
that were similar to the students who asked the question.
Another
powerful act of modeling for the teacher attempting a 1-Style approach is to
engaging in the task with the students. This assumes our students have reached
a level of self-direction in which they do not need the degree of monitoring or
attention that they would have in earlier stages. 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 sends the message that 1) when
we said the words that this is “our class” we were sincere, 2) we are not above
the spirit of the social contract, and 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 the teacher when we take the role of the student. That
offers us an opportunity to role model exemplary student-teacher interactions.
Chapter Reflection 17-o: Have you ever observed a teacher take the role of
the student? What happened? My guess is that there was little or none of the
chaos that most people would assume there to be.
Community Goals – Encouraging a Cause Beyond
Oneself and Becoming a Tribe
If
we have been successful in developing a foundation of community within our
class, students will likely be open to thinking about their role in group in a
different way than then had traditionally. As students grow in their
realization that it feels better to think about other people rather than to think
in terms of their own narrow needs and wants, the idea of community becomes
less of an abstraction and more of an organic reality. 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 likely hear that question differently. They feel all the
communal bonds that have been cultivated inside them telling them that the
other members of the class are worth serving. They hear their basic needs
telling them that when they put other first, more basic needs get 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. Therefore in this stage of the process we need to help
students translate these new 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 by definition 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 with all the outcomes pre-determined. 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 simply need to bring that to the students’ attention.
For example, we might simply mention that “Over the past week, I have seen 4
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 kinds of statements, each student recognizes
that they have a good thing going and what the group needs from them is that
they continue to invest, take responsibility for themselves and look for ways
to make the group better. Once the student has taken on that mindset, we need
to do very little telling them what to do.
What Does the School Need From Me?
Once
the student becomes accustomed to looking for ways to contribute to the
classroom community, they will likely be open to making a contribution
school-wide. This will happen organically in most cases, 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 the
urge to make a difference for others 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 your students consternation. I have seen this
inner conflict within students in schools in which their teacher has created a
working community. The students feel so good in these classes, but do not know
how to begin to spread their positive experience to others.
Chapter Reflection 17-p: If you find that your students have developed an
effective working community insider of your class, and you are looking for ways
to have your students translate that behavior outside of the class. Be patient
and help the students recognize and process their challenges. It might be
empowering and comforting to point them to stories in the Civil Rights
struggles in the
One
of the powerful ways that students can make a contribution to the rest of the
school will be to take on the role of formal or informal conflict resolution
leader (see Chapter 15). Many schools incorporate a team of students in this
role. Student leaders 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.
If
we have succeeded in promoting a love of making a difference in our students,
enlisting them in efforts to improve the school are no longer chores, but
opportunities to make the school better. However, it will likely be more
effective if the ideas for school improvement were generated by the students
themselves. As the students increasingly recognize the value of thinking in
terms of the common good, and at the same time observe a growing disparity
between the way things are in the class and the way they are outside the class,
ideas for making a difference will come naturally. These ideas may take such
forms as school beautification, creating a garden, creating motivational
posters or artwork, raising money with a recycling drive or 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 real win-win. The younger students get positive role modeling and
one-on-one tutoring, and the older student get the experience of 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 will be a natural next for them to
think about how they can contribute on a broader scale. When students recognize
that they can make a difference, 1) they grow in their 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 Jean Anyon (1981) and other 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
student grows in their sense of self-worth. No matter their Socio-Economic
status, they learn to make a difference and in making a difference they
recognize 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. When school has taught me how
to take orders, I will look for jobs where all I have to do is take orders. If
school has taught me to be a self-responsible change agent, I will look for
careers that will allow me to use my gifts to make a difference.
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. Depending on our grade level and the
community in which we find ourselves, 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 have missed?
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? You
can borrow one or more the ideas presented in the chapter, such as holding
class meetings, but if you take a piecemeal approach, you may find that you are
disappointed in the results. A successful 1-Style Classroom requires a systemic
approach. Its components will need to be integrated with one another and it
will need to be constructed in a developmental progression. It requires
significantly more intention and thought than the other three management styles
(i.e., 2, 3 or 4). And it may not seem normal,
but the closer we examine it and the more we experience it, we find that it is natural. It is one of the very limited
pathways to helping our students reach their full potential.
In
the next chapter we examine the relationship between how we think and how
effective we are as classroom managers. One the one hand, no matter how
effective the strategies are that we adopt, our effectiveness will be limited,
if we have dysfunctional habits of mind. One the other hand, if we learn to
become more conscious, aware and intentional, we will experience a greater level of enjoyment and
effectiveness.
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?
.
References
Anyon, J.
(1981) Social Class and School Knowledge. Curriculum Inquiry, Vol. 11, No. 1 pp.
3-42
Canter, L. (1986) Assertive Discipline. Canter & Associates
Gibbs, J
(1995) Tribes: A New Way of Learning and
Being Together. Center Source Publications.
|
DeVoe, J., Peter, K., Kaufman, P., Ruddy,
S., Miller, A., Planty, M., Snyder, T., |
Indicators
of School Crime and Safety, Topic: Elementary and Secondary Education
Vol 5, Issue 4
Shindler,
J., Taylor , C., Jones, A., Cadenas, H (2003) Don’t Smile ‘til Christmas:
Examining the Immersion of new teachers into existing school climates. Yearbook
for the American Educational Research Association Urban Teaching and Learning
SIG.