Creating a Caring Community
Strategies
- The students and the teacher create class guidelines together and post them (Google Doc, Ning, other website) (Kohn, 1996)
- Use team-building activities to create a community in class where students feel comfortable, encouraged, and accepted (Kohn, 1996)
- Extend this community into an online community where students can share resources (Google Community, Ning, other community site)
- Use message boards for hosting discussions (Google Community, Ning, other forum-style sites)
- Have each student make an avatar/character to represent himself/herself during class and online activities
- Have each student make a profile to establish who he or she is within the community
- Have high expectations of your students and let them know it (Wong, 1998)
- Create a class profile of your students so that you will have a better idea of who they are as both people and learners
- Use statistics and data software to look for patterns in your students' performance. Data, especially grades and attendance, can be big indicators of problems both inside and outside of the classroom
- Model the behavior you want and expect, and expect your students to ask to do whatever you do in class (Villa, Thousand, & Nevin, 2010)
- Have a Respect Agreement to which everyone contributes ideas on what constitutes respectful behavior between students, teachers, and the facilities and equipment (Claassen, 2008)
Philosophical Grounding
A large portion of my teaching philosophy is dedicated to the idea that students need to be given responsibilities and be held accountable for their actions. Many of the strategies above can be utilized to help the students establish their own guidelines for behavior and respect in class, which not only will have a large impact on the climate of the class but will also be significant when utilizing some of the discipline strategies that come later. The more that students are invested in the class and take ownership of the class, the less likely it is that discipline issues will arise. Since much of their work will extend into the digital realm, I want my students to have a strong online community as well. This will help give a voice to many learners who may not feel comfortable speaking up in class normally. However, I think establishing a strong community in the physical classroom can be very helpful in managing the digital community too.
A large portion of my teaching philosophy is dedicated to the idea that students need to be given responsibilities and be held accountable for their actions. Many of the strategies above can be utilized to help the students establish their own guidelines for behavior and respect in class, which not only will have a large impact on the climate of the class but will also be significant when utilizing some of the discipline strategies that come later. The more that students are invested in the class and take ownership of the class, the less likely it is that discipline issues will arise. Since much of their work will extend into the digital realm, I want my students to have a strong online community as well. This will help give a voice to many learners who may not feel comfortable speaking up in class normally. However, I think establishing a strong community in the physical classroom can be very helpful in managing the digital community too.
Citations
Claassen, R. & Claassen, R. (2008). Discipline that Restores: Strategies to create respect, cooperation, and responsibility in the classroom. South Carolina: Booksurge Publishing.
Kohn, Alfie. (1996). Beyond Discipline: From compliance to community. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.
Villa, R.A. Thousand, J.S. & Nevin, A.I. (2010). Collaborating with Students in Instruction and Decision Making. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.
Wong, H. & Wong, R. (1991, 1998, 2001, 2009, 2013) The First Days of School: How to be an effective teacher. Harry Wong Publications.
Claassen, R. & Claassen, R. (2008). Discipline that Restores: Strategies to create respect, cooperation, and responsibility in the classroom. South Carolina: Booksurge Publishing.
Kohn, Alfie. (1996). Beyond Discipline: From compliance to community. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.
Villa, R.A. Thousand, J.S. & Nevin, A.I. (2010). Collaborating with Students in Instruction and Decision Making. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.
Wong, H. & Wong, R. (1991, 1998, 2001, 2009, 2013) The First Days of School: How to be an effective teacher. Harry Wong Publications.