Student Perceptions of Responsive Classroom in an Urban Setting

Responsive Classroom is an approach to elementary teaching that focuses on the social, emotional, and academic needs of children by creating a warrn classroom environment. Responsive Classroom incorporates ten classroom practices into its educational framework. These classroom practices consist of: morning meeting, rule creation, interactive modeling, positive teacher language, logical consequences, guided discovery, academic choice, classroom organization, working with families, and collaborative problem solving. Through the use of in- depth interviews, this study seeks to explore student perceptions of Responsive Classroom based on a specific population of urban students. Themes that emerged from the interviews were: (l) Responsive Classroom establishes a warrn classroom community; (2) Responsive Classroom promotes positive interaction through teamwork; (3) Responsive Classroom teaches responsibility through academic choice; (4) Responsive Classroom provides accountability for actions through logical consequences; and (5) Greater education is received through the use of principles and classroom practices of Responsive Classroom