What Does a Transformative Classroom Look Like?

To understand what makes a classroom a tranformative place, we might begin by examining four case studies. All four teachers have created what could be characterized as transformative classrooms.

As you read about each classroom, notice their common attributes: clarity of purpose, self-responsibility, bonds among students, and an increasing level of function over time. In other words, they promote skills that are critical for success both in AND outside the classroom.

ELEMENTARY CLASS

What first strikes a vistor to Ms. L’s urban public school third-grade class is the low level of anxiety and high level of confidence among the students, which allows them to take risks and express themselves. Today the students return to the classroom after recess and take their seats without any need for direction. After a smooth transition, the class is directed into a math lesson.

In contrast, the third-grade class next door comes back from recess somewhat rowdy and unfocused, and the teacher immediately begins to call out students who are misbehaving. The students finally open their math books after an extended transition.

During the lesson, only a few students volunteer to share their ideas because they worry that they will look incompetent, and the teacher interrupts the lesson many times to deal with misbehaving students.

Back in Ms. L’s class, every student appears engaged and eager to share answers and ask questions when they are not clear about the materials. The energy in the room is almost entirely focused on the activity, and no students feel the need to entertain themselves or their friends by misbehaving. Ms. L is calm and soft-spoken and refrains from any hint of negativity. She leads the lesson with questions that keep the students engaged and thinking critically, and there is a distinct flow to the activity. Throughout the lesson, the students look forward to being intellectually challenged.

SOCIAL STUDIES CLASS

Mrs. R teaches social studies in an urban public high school that is considered low performing by most measures: its dropout rate is above 50 percent. But in Mrs. R’s class, students are working collaboratively. The students are from different cultures, neighborhoods, and cliques within the school, but in Mrs. R’s class, they function as a unified team.

When this same group of students was observed the period before, they seemed to be mentally checked out and unruly. In that class, the teacher appeared to struggle with control, spending a lot of time raising his voice and threatening the students about what would happen if they didn’t get to work.

In Mrs. R’s class, in contrast, the students were entirely invested in the task and prpared when it was time to report their group’s findings. Maybe the best words to describe the class are trusting and respectful. The students respect each other, their teacher, and their learning, and they know that their teacher trusts and respects them.

5th GRADE CLASS

Mr. T teaches fifth grade in a suburban private school. What an observer first notices is that he has given control of the class almost entirely to the students when it comes to making decisions and solving problems. He calls his class “Mr. T’s Team.”

He commonly gives his class collaborative problem-solving exercises and simply watches from the sidelines. The self-directive skills that the students demonstrate are evidence of a great deal of training, practice, and reflection, but by this point in the year, Mr. T finds himself needing to intervene very little.

One of his tools is a participation assessment system that incorporates a clearly defined rubric for high-quality behavior. After a couple of months, almost all of his students have developed the habit of working at the highest level defined in the system, which is characterized by a student finding ways to help others succeed. As a result, most of the students in the class have internalized the notion that their success is contingent on their ability to contribute to the group and support others.

MIDDLE SCHOOL MATH

In this urban public middle school, most students fear and dislike math. But Mr. S’s math students bound into the classroom with a sense of positive energy. What a visitor notices first abou the way that Mr. S teaches is that he uses questions many times more than statements. The students are responsible for doing the thinking and problem-solving.

The guided-practice activity today is hands-on and active: students use algebra tiles to work out solutions to problems. When Mr. S asks students to report their findings, all students eagerly volunteer — in contrast to many other classes where weaker students avoid involvement. It is clear that the expectations in this class are well established for those occasions when the student who is responding struggles. Students are entirely supportive of those responding, and Mr. S stays with the responder and helps the student work through his or her thinking. The result is a group of students who feel empowered and safe to take risks.

From Professional Learning Board’s online continuing education course for teachers: Transformative Classroom Management: Positive Strategies to Engage All Students