3 Ready-to-Use & Hands-On Strategies to implement tomorrow

Outcomes/Take-Aways:
Participants learn to build three basic building blocks of how to create a democratic classroom within which students learn the 4 C’s of 21st Century skills: collaboration, communication, creativity (and innovation), and critical thinking; students become civically engaged and empathetic global citizens inside and outside of the classroom. Educators learn how to use the following sequentially integrated strategies:

Class Agreements: Create class agreements in which youth collaborate to create learning community curriculum and assessment norms, classroom environment and management– a system which invites a deeper level of self and group accountability to performance and behavior.

Community Building Through a Social Justice Framework: Create a powerful team in which all students are integral to the whole; use group grades and theatre of liberation to build group integrity, cooperation, collaboration and compassion. Inside the context of building a powerfully collaborative learning community, address and discuss issues of identity and diversity effectively to raise awareness of how students can become active change agents for equity both within and outside the learning community.

Class Jobs: Share ownership and responsibility of class, teaching and community with students. Learn how to lead, not manage, students to become co-leader-teachers. The result is that students become more invested in the learning community and by extension, their own academic success and that of their classmates.

Outcomes/Takeaways

• Structures for a Culture of Equity & Inclusion
• Restorative Practices including:
• Class Agreements
• Class Meetings
• Community Building
• Class Jobs & Roles
• Student Leadership
• Understanding Behavior from Social Justice Frame

This interactive workshop engages administrators to explore hands-on strategies for building inclusive, democratic learning communities where students do not have to check their identity at the door.

The social-emotional learning foundation of democratic classroom leadership enables students to embrace their learning in unprecedented ways. Students strengthen the 4 C’s of 21st Century skills: collaboration, communication, creativity, and critical thinking as well as create authentic relationships with classmates.

Design your classes to create engaged civic leaders and global citizens.

Outcomes/Takeaways

• Participate in a highly collaborative and engaging workshop for K-12 educators of public schools
• Count on workshop time to integrate new strategies into existing instructional plans and syllabi
• Become a part of an ongoing supportive learning community
• 30 free clock hours

Participants learn to build a democratic classroom within which students learn the 4 C’s of 21st Century skills: collaboration, communication, creativity (and innovation), and critical thinking; students become civically engaged and empathetic global citizens inside and outside of the classroom. Educators learn how to use the following sequentially integrated strategies:

Class Agreements: Create a process in which students collaborate to build curriculum and assessment norms, classroom environment and management. Build a reliable system which invites a deeper level of self and group accountability to performance and behavior.

Class Meeting: Establish a weekly forum in which students leaders and Educator leader work out all “behavioral”, performance, classroom climate issues as well as a space to build unprecedented authentic relationships (student to student as well as student to educator). The result of which is a return on investment for content and achievement in academic and affective domains.

Community Building: Create a powerful team in which all students are integral to the whole; use group grades and theatre of liberation to build group integrity, cooperation, collaboration and compassion.

Class Jobs: Share ownership and responsibility of class, teaching and community with students.

Peer Accountability Structure: Lead class to create a learning community in which students hold each other accountable and elicit the best from one another for behavior and learning outcomes.

Process for Mutual Respect: Move beyond reward & punishment; learn to use natural & logical consequences, encouragement rather than praise, and to build on the positive while minimizing mistakes– methodologies based on mutual respect (“power with” rather than “power over”).

Culture of Critical & Systems Thinking Essential for Interdependent Cooperation: Facilitate project-based learning in which students learn and practice leadership skills to address critical 21st global issues.

Structures for a Culture of Equity: Inside the context of building a powerfully collaborative learning community, address and discuss issues of identity and diversity effectively to raise awareness of how students can become active change agents for equity both within and outside the learning community.

• Class Agreements: Create class agreements in which youth collaborate to create learning community curriculum and assessment norms, classroom environment and management—a system which invites a deeper level of self and group accountability to performance and behavior.
• Class Meetings: Establish a weekly forum in which student leaders and Educator leader work out all “behavioral”, performance, classroom climate issues as well as a space to build unprecedented authentic relationships (student to student as well as student to educator). The result of which is a return on investment for content and achievement in academic and affective domains.
• Community Building: Create a powerful team in which all students are integral to the whole; use group grades and theatre of liberation to build group integrity, cooperation, collaboration and compassion.
• Class Jobs: Share ownership and responsibility of class, teaching and community with students.
• Peer Accountability Structures: Lead class to create a learning community in which students hold each other accountable and elicit the best from one another for both behavior and learning outcomes.

4 Hands-On Strategies for K-12 Educators Developing Democratic Classrooms

Outcomes/Take-Aways:
Participants learn to build the basic building blocks of how to create a democratic classroom within which students learn the 4 C’s of 21st Century skills: collaboration, communication, creativity (and innovation), and critical thinking; students become civically engaged and empathetic global citizens inside and outside of the classroom. Educators learn how to use the following sequentially integrated strategies:

Class Agreements: Create class agreements in which youth collaborate to create learning community curriculum and assessment norms, classroom environment and management– a system which invites a deeper level of self and group accountability to performance and behavior.

Class Meeting: Establish a weekly forum in which student leaders and Educator leader work out all “behavioral”, performance, classroom climate issues as well as a space to build unprecedented authentic relationships (students to student as well as student to educator). The result of which is a return on investment for content and achievement in academic and affective domains.

Community Building: Create a powerful team in which all students are integral to the whole; use group grades and theatre of liberation to build group integrity, cooperation, collaboration and compassion.

Class Jobs: Share ownership and responsibility of class, teaching and community with students.

Gain the basic understanding of all negative human behavior and how to work with each student who seems out of reach — whether it is the student who demands your undue attention, the student who likes to show their power over you, who goes as far as taking revenge out on you, or the student who seems hopelessly withdrawn and unwilling to do any work or participate at all.

Understand the fundamental differences between praise and encouragement. Praise is disempowering yet prevalent in our homes and schools. Learn to build on positive and to minimize mistakes. Our society is obsessed with pointing out mistakes which leads to discouragement and disengagement.