Responsive Classroom Professional Development

Our interactive, engaging, and thoughtfully designed Responsive Classroom courses prepare educators to create optimal learning environments where students can develop the academic, social, and emotional skills needed for success both in and out of school.

Course Summary

Strategies and practices for using Responsive Advisory Meetings to support the unique needs of adolescent students.

Middle school students are in a period of tumultuous growth and change. In this one-day workshop, deepen your understanding of the five major challenges that middle school students face during adolescent development. Take a detailed look at The Responsive Advisory Meeting Book to learn about how Responsive Advisory Meetings help meet the developmental needs of middle school students.

Suitable for:

Educators of grades 5-8

Prerequisites:

None

Key Features:
  • Examine specfic challenges that are unique to middle school students, such as:

    • Academics

    • Self-esteem

    • Fitting in

    • Peer pressure

    • Disappointment/rejection

  • Deepen their understanding of the reflect and recalibrate purpose of Responsive Advisory Meeting

  • Increase their knowledge of the role and responsibilities of being an advisor

Course Summary

Walk away with hundreds of new ideas to bring the academic curriculum into your Morning Meetings.

Learn how to use the four components of Morning Meeting to increase academic engagement and improve students’ connection to and understanding of the core curriculum. In this one-day workshop, you’ll explore practices and strategies for modeling and teaching social and academic skills during Morning Meeting while continuing to meet your students’ needs for belonging, significance, and fun.

Suitable for:

Educators of grades K-6

Prerequisites:

None

Key Features:
  • Develop Interactive Modeling lessons to teach essential skills during Morning Meeting

  • Plan Morning Meetings that connect to the curriculum and help grow skills and behaviors that lead to academic success

  • Learn Morning Meeting activities that help students feel belonging, significance, and fun

Course Summary

Language is one of our most powerful tools for supporting students.

At its core, learning is all about communication. A powerful exchange of ideas requires active listening, purposeful questions, clear reasoning, and respectful disagreements. In this one-day workshop, you will assess, reflect upon, and improve the ways you teach the skills students need to effectively communicate. You will also identify and practice strategies for using teacher language that deepen student academic engagement and learning.

Suitable for:

Educators of grades K-8

Prerequisites:

None

Key Feature:
  • Develop a plan to support students’ practice of core speaking and listening skills

  • Collaborate and problem-solve with peers in breakout sessions

  • Engage with a process for changing your teacher language

  • Experience community-building activities to use with students

Course Summary

Apply Responsive Classroom strategies to your unique, constantly changing environment.

Special area teachers face the remarkable challenge of imparting expertise across grade levels, in small windows of time, often with an entire week between classes. But special area teachers also have a unique understanding of childhood developmental patterns as they help students grow and change year after year.

In this one-day workshop, explore how you can leverage that knowledge to support students in any learning environment, and discover how core Responsive Classroom practices can be used to enjoy the opportunities and address the challenges of special area settings.

Suitable for:

Educators of grades K-6

Prerequisites:

None

Key Features:
  • Identify specific developmental patterns in students across grade levels

  • Generate ideas for how to manage a changing environment that serves a wide range of ages and stages

  • Learn to apply core Responsive Classroom practices in time-pressured special area classrooms

Course Summary

Find an approach to misbehavior both you and your students will appreciate.

Regardless of grade level or subject matter, misbehaviors will happen. An educator who responds to power struggles, defiance, and meltdowns using a consistent discipline framework creates a predictable learning environment in which students can thrive. In this one-day workshop, discover effective strategies for understanding, addressing, and reducing challenging behavior in the classroom in order to create the ideal learning environment for your students.

Suitable for:

Educators of grades K-6

Prerequisites:

4-day Responsive Classroom Elementary Core Course

Key Features:
  • Deepen their understanding of Responsive Classroom practices that can be used to address common and problem behaviors

  • Identify strategies to address emotional outbursts and meltdowns

  • Consider the impact of stress on student behavior and create plans to address needs associated with stress

  • Learn strategies to manage and support students coping with toxic stress

Course Summary

Find new ways to create a positive experience for every member of your learning community.

While every person impacts the school’s culture and climate, school leaders are entrusted with developing, guiding, and sustaining a positive culture. This seminar will examine Responsive Classroom principles, strategies, and practices that will strengthen the school culture. Opportunities to engage in reflection and planning conversations with peers and Responsive Classroom experts will enhance the skills leaders need to transform classrooms and schools.

Suitable for:

K8 school leaders, SEL coaches, counselors, Responsive Classroom leadership team members

Prerequisites:

None

Key Features:
  • Identify and define key components of a positive school culture

  • Examine ways to create the conditions for a positive adult culture

  • Explore ways to lay the foundation for a positive student culture

  • Review strategies that help include and invest students’ families in the school culture

Course Summary

 Responsive Classroom is an evidence-based approach to teaching that’s deeply rooted in social-emotional learning and focused on engaging academics, positive community, effective management, and developmental awareness. You will learn how the approach uses practices and strategies for teaching and discipline that create the optimal learning conditions for students to develop the academic, social, and emotional skills they need to be successful in and out of school.

Suitable for:

Everyone

Prerequisites:

None

Key Features:

 With the option of either a full or half day, you will develop an understanding of the Responsive Classroom approach through:

  • Considering the developmental characteristics of students

  • Establishing practices such as Responsive Advisory Meeting and Morning Meeting to build and nurture a positive, safe, and inclusive learning environment

  • Exploring the proactive practice of Interactive Modeling to support student success

  • Integrating interactive learning structures to support cognitive, social, and academic growth

Workshop

Connecting Morning Meeting to Academics

Walk away with hundreds of new ideas to bring the academic curriculum into your Morning Meetings.

Learn how to use the four components of Morning Meeting to increase academic engagement and improve students’ connection to and understanding of the core curriculum. In this one-day workshop, you’ll explore practices and strategies for modeling and teaching social and academic skills during Morning Meeting while continuing to meet your students’ needs for belonging, significance, and fun.

Workshop

Improving Teacher and Student Language

Language is one of our most powerful tools for supporting students.

At its core, learning is all about communication. A powerful exchange of ideas requires active listening, purposeful questions, clear reasoning, and respectful disagreements. In this one-day workshop, you will assess, reflect upon, and improve the ways you teach the skills students need to effectively communicate. You will also identify and practice strategies for using teacher language that deepen student academic engagement and learning.

Workshop

Introduction to Responsive Classroom

Responsive Classroom is an evidence-based approach to teaching that’s deeply rooted in social-emotional learning and focused on engaging academics, positive community, effective management, and developmental awareness. You will learn how the approach uses practices and strategies for teaching and discipline that create the optimal learning conditions for students to develop the academic, social, and emotional skills they need to be successful in and out of school.

Workshop

Leadership Seminar - Cultivating School Culture

Find new ways to create a positive experience for every member of your learning community.

While every person impacts the school’s culture and climate, school leaders are entrusted with developing, guiding, and sustaining a positive culture. This seminar will examine Responsive Classroom principles, strategies, and practices that will strengthen the school culture. Opportunities to engage in reflection and planning conversations with peers and Responsive Classroom experts will enhance the skills leaders need to transform classrooms and schools.

Workshop

Responding to Misbehavior

Find an approach to misbehavior both you and your students will appreciate.

Regardless of grade level or subject matter, misbehaviors will happen. An educator who responds to power struggles, defiance, and meltdowns using a consistent discipline framework creates a predictable learning environment in which students can thrive. In this one-day workshop, discover effective strategies for understanding, addressing, and reducing challenging behavior in the classroom in order to create the ideal learning environment for your students.

Workshop

Special Area Teachers

Apply Responsive Classroom strategies to your unique, constantly changing environment.

Special area teachers face the remarkable challenge of imparting expertise across grade levels, in small windows of time, often with an entire week between classes. But special area teachers also have a unique understanding of childhood developmental patterns as they help students grow and change year after year.

In this one-day workshop, explore how you can leverage that knowledge to support students in any learning environment, and discover how core Responsive Classroom practices can be used to enjoy the opportunities and address the challenges of special area settings.