I am honored to be working alongside school leaders and teachers to bring ever more light, love, and deep learning to each one of their students.
Coaching in their classrooms, conference rooms, hallways, and lunchrooms is the best way to support new learning. Amazing things happen when we work with educators, not just talk about it. Public school teachers show up brilliantly (and lovingly) each day. When we can see through the static of chaos and permit ourselves to follow up on and nurture what transforms learning for a student, the fire for teaching and learning ignites. The answer is always right in front of us. The rest just becomes noise, and, in those moments, joy blossoms again throughout public schools.
Recently, I’ve been asked, “what are the natural consequences for holding students accountable in the post-pandemic classroom?”
If you are reading this, you know that student behavior in the classroom is a big issue in public schools. More than ever, the time is right to unpack what we mean by the word “consequence.” Two words influence how we build systems to promote a safe, student-centered learning environment. Systems based on enforcing accountability, and systems producing evidence of student responsibility. Accountability and responsibility, while related words, are not interchangeable, and planning around the tiny differences between both leads to considerable gains in student learning.
TWO Words With Tiny Differences That Make A World of Difference: Accountability and Responsibility.
Accountability: When we structure classrooms with consequences to hold children accountable, we design a culture in which the primary power holder (and determiner of the consequence) is the teacher.
The Focus of this Lens: Consequences applied to students this way focus on students' character and treat this set of skills as static. Classrooms such as these tend to assume students know how to navigate complex, dynamic social situations. Applying these consequences is the work of the teacher. When we set up a classroom in this way, accountability is transactional.
The Message This Sends To Our Students: If consequences are seen and applied through an accountability lens, we create the following learner culture message:
● If you do something wrong, a consequence awaits you.
● Your job is to act according to the teacher’s definition of “correct behavior” and follow the established procedure.
Applying consequences through this lens of application tries to
coerce students into compliance.
Responsibility: When we structure classrooms specifically to develop skills for being responsible, we design with individual student needs in mind and a willingness to gather and respond safely to these needs in a way that promotes learning for all. How the class accomplishes this collaboratively changes from group to group within narrow parameters for safe emotional and physical behavior.
The Focus of this lens: Consequences applied with this lens is the work of the whole classroom. When we help each other learn pro-social and pro-learning behaviors together, everyone is challenged and learns content and behavior far more deeply.[1] With this lens, the initial power is held by the teacher and gradually released as all in the room develop the following specific, pro-social, and pro-learning behaviors:
how to enter the classroom,
how to self-initiate engagement in a task,
how to apply focus, reduce impulsiveness how to reduce distractions personally,
how to develop and foster empathy and kindness and apply that to other learners
how to self-evaluate, how to seek formative feedback,
how to act on feedback,
how to advocate for my needs both with other students and with the teacher.
The Message to Students: If consequences arise from shared agreements, commitments, and ongoing group and individual reflection, the message becomes: “We are all responsible for creating the learning environment that inspires, challenges, and focuses us.”
○ When you do something wrong, you are responsible for recognizing and reflecting on how this impacts those around you and yourself. You are responsible for
■ Repairing, restoring, and improving the situation
■ Learning how to repair, restore and improve
○ Your job is to make mistakes to improve your and your classmate's learning ability. Your job is to co-create what this looks like, how we enforce our agreements, and how we respond and improve across time.
To Get to Academic Content, Commit to Developing Pro-Social Learning Behaviors:
Student behavior can burn us out if we allow the space between what we wish to be true and what is true to create stress. Taking a few mindful moments to accept where your students are regarding their proficiency with learning behaviors is a critical first step. When we accept students where they are, we know what to teach next. As with any new habit, small steps and explicit instruction matter. Never underestimate the power of brief, explicit direct instruction, followed by precise, timed rehearsal and heavy positive reinforcement of the current positive, pro-social behaviors.
Simple Ways to Communicate Your Value Developing Responsibility in Your Classroom:
- Greet Students At the Door: You must be AT the door when students arrive, shake their hand (high five or fist bump), and make eye contact while saying their name.
- Bell Work: Be sure to go over the bell work THE DAY BEFORE YOU TRY THIS. This delivers the message that the entering-the-classroom procedures are what’s important.
- Don’t expect perfection. This is a win if most students simply enter quietly, put their phones away, and begin the bell work.
- Do not praise the student; reinforce and affirm the action.
- Instead of generalized praise, reinforce what students do correctly.
- Success Criteria: Have the progress chart for that day’s learning intention and success criteria before each student arrives. Use their self-assessment as the Exit Ticket.
- Stand by the door at the end of class, say, “Thank you for being here today,” and take their progress chart with their self-evaluation.
- Don’t Forget to Seek Student Voice Meaningfully: Have students review a new habit silently and in writing. Ask them questions like
- Question 1: “How did practicing this new procedure make you feel safer and more focused in our classroom?”
- Question 2: “What specifics might improve this to help build a sense of focus, safety, and inclusiveness as we start our classroom each day?
- Question 3: “What is needed to help our class better become leaders for the school in developing focus, curiosity, and a feeling of safety in our classroom?”
When We Embrace Where Student Actually Are, We Know What to Teach Next:
The gap between what we wish to be true about our students and what is their reality will always create stress for teachers. The time is now to give ourselves permission to teach the skills that allow students to focus, be safe, and leverage the strengths of those around them. Teaching in this way requires shared agreements between teachers, explicit instruction with clearly defined success criteria, and practice and self-assessment opportunities students feel good about owning. While it might take time to launch this, it will free your students up to master the academic content more deeply and powerfully.
- Chris Briggs-Hale
Certified Professional Coach
https://waterfalllearning.com/
References:
Smith, Dominique, et al. The Restorative Practices Playbook: Tools for Transforming Discipline in Schools. Corwin, 2022.
Frey, N., Fisher, D., & Smith, D. (2019). All Learning Is Social and Emotional ([edition unavailable]). ASCD. Retrieved 22 January 2023 from https://www.perlego.com/book/3292585/all-learning-is-social-and-emotional-helping-students-develop-essential-skills-for-the-classroom-and-beyond-pdf (Original work published 17 January 2019)
“New Study Reveals Six Benefits of School Restorative Justice.” Psychology Today, Sussex Publishers, https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/between-the-lines/201605/new-study-reveals-six-benefits-school-restorative-justice.
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