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Created by the Mobile Technology Learning Center at the University of San Diego

Facilitating Classroom Meetings Educator builds a classroom culture that provides a safe learning environment, which encourages the growth of social and emotional intelligences.

Key Method Educator hosts regular meetings in his or her classroom to build a positive, safe, and encouraging environment.

Method Components Suggested strategies for hosting daily meetings

§ Designate a space and time to host a daily whole-group meeting in your room. § Set the tone for respectful learning. § Allow opportunities for student input and student interaction (see the Resources section for more

examples). - Greetings: Students greet each other by name, often including handshaking, clapping, singing, and

other activities. - Sharing: Students share some news of interest to the class and respond to each other, articulating

their thoughts, feelings, and ideas in a positive manner. - Group Activity: The whole class does a short activity together, building class cohesion through

active participation. - Student-led Discussions

§ Practice social skills that transfer to real-life situations in the school day. - Relevant skills demonstrate cooperation, collaboration, respect, responsibility, and empathy.

Supporting Research § Allen-Hughes, Lily. "The Social Benefits of the Morning Meeting: Creating a Space for Social and

Character Education in the Classroom." (2013). http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED541211.pdf The literature reveals the following 21st century skills need to be taught to students to facilitate their success in the future: problem solving, critical thinking, empathy, collaboration, creativity and respect. The literature supports the idea that a form of community building meetings, hosted frequently in the classroom, help promote necessary learning and social skills, empowering students both in academic and social settings. Student academic achievement is affected positively from the work accomplished in Morning Meeting and student behavior improves.

§ Mensah, Emmanuel. "Middle Level Students' Goal Orientations and Motivation." Journal of Education and Training Studies 3.2 (2015): 20–33. http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1054934.pdf The study used a phenomenological lens to explore middle level classroom goal perceptions and classroom experiences that were pivotal in motivating students to achieve their learning goals. A

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thematic analysis of participants' perspectives showed that classroom lessons that are more engaging, teachers' positive disposition and personality, personal connection with learning experience, application of varied instructions, and supportive teacher relationships are key classroom experiences in driving middle level students to achieve their learning goals.

Resources

§ Education World, Class Meetings: A Democratic Approach to Classroom Management, http://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/profdev/profdev012.shtml

§ Responsive Classroom, Morning Meeting: A Powerful Way to Begin the Day, https://www.responsiveclassroom.org/article/morning-meeting-powerful-way-begin-day

§ Edutopia, The Power of the Morning Meeting: 5 Steps Toward Changing Your Classroom and School Culture, http://www.edutopia.org/blog/morning-meeting-changing-classroom-culture-lisa-dabbs

§ Edutopia, 20 Tips for Creating a Safe Learning Environment, http://www.edutopia.org/blog/20-tips-create-safe-learning-environment-rebecca-alber

§ Learn NC, Creating a Safe Space for Students to Take Risks, http://www.learnnc.org/lp/editions/firstyear/258

Submission Guidelines & Evaluation Criteria To earn this micro-credential, you must receive a passing evaluation for Parts 1 and 3 and an Exemplary score for Part 2. Part 1. Overview questions (300-word limit)

§ Please describe the student population that you facilitated classroom meetings for, including the following descriptors: grade level, demographics, number of students in each class, content area, schedule (block, periods, etc.). - Passing: Description of student population is clear and specific.

§ Please describe all the systems and strategies you used to build in opportunities for daily meetings. - Passing: Activity description is clear with sufficient detail to know what the educator did to build in

a daily meeting. Part 2. Work examples/artifacts Please submit work examples/evidence that were created while conducting classroom meetings (such as links to writing, audio, images, video, or other products), including such items as:

§ An annotated video displaying a classroom meeting § Student reflections on how classroom meetings have helped to build classroom culture

Your artifact will be assessed on the following rubric. You must earn an Exemplary score on this portion of the submission in order to earn the micro-credential.

Needs Improvement Developing Exemplary

Evidence suggests classroom meetings are irregular and/or do not contribute to building classroom culture.

Evidence suggests classroom meetings have begun to boost classroom culture, but may be missing key parts, such as a clear protocol and/or student respect.

Evidence demonstrates the meetings have established a strong classroom culture. Students know the protocol and are respectful of their peers.

Part 3. Reflection Provide a reflection on what you learned using the following questions as guidance (200-word limit):

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§ What have you learned about classroom management, student achievement, or classroom culture while facilitating classroom meetings? Moving forward, how might your practice change as a result of what you have learned? - Passing: Educator reflections clearly state how specific daily interactions have affected

relationships with students. Educator reflections also clearly indicate how building relationships with students has influenced their classroom. The educator has also described how this experience will affect their future practice.