Responsive Classroom
Our Grades K - 4 teachers utilize the Responsive Classroom approach to education, which focuses on community building and incorporating social-emotional learning while creating a sense of belonging in the classroom and School across all subject areas.
The Responsive Classroom approach empowers educators to create safe, joyful, and engaging learning communities. Numerous St. Anne's-Belfield faculty members are certified Responsive Classroom teachers.
The following classroom practices are at the heart of the Responsive Classroom approach:
- Morning Meeting: Gathering as a whole class to greet each other, share news, and warm up for the day ahead.
- Class Constitutions: Students create classroom rules and guidelines together to foster a climate and environment that reflects how they want to live, work, and play together, while encouraging social growth, academic excellence, and emotional support.
- Interactive Modeling: Teaching children to notice and internalize expected behaviors through a unique modeling technique.
- Positive Teacher Language: Using words and tone as a tool to promote children’s active learning, sense of community, and self-discipline.
- Logical Consequences: Responding to misbehavior in a way that allows children to fix and learn from their mistakes while preserving their dignity.
- Guided Discovery: Introducing classroom material using a format that encourages independence, creativity, and responsibility.
- Academic Choice: Increasing student learning by allowing students teacher-structured choices in their work.
- Classroom Organization: Setting up the physical room in ways that encourage students independence, cooperation, and productivity.
- Working with Families: Creating avenues for hearing parents insights and helping them understand the schools teaching approaches.
- Collaborative Problem Solving: Using conferencing, role playing, and other strategies to resolve problems with students.
