Belvedere is proud to be a Responsive Classroom school, ensuring an environment that is safe, challenging, and fun for all children.

What is Responsive Classroom?

Responsive Classroom is a student-centered, social and emotional learning approach to teaching and discipline. It is comprised of a set of research, and evidence-based practices designed to create safe, joyful, and engaging classrooms and school communities for both students and teachers.

Six Basic Principles of Responsible Classroom:

1. Teaching social and emotional skills is as important as teaching academic content.
2. How we teach is as important as what we teach.
3. Great cognitive growth occurs through social interaction.
4. How we work together as adults to cre­ate a safe, joyful, and inclusive school environment is as important as our individual contribution or competence.
5. What we know and believe about our students—individually, culturally, developmentally—informs our expec­tations, reactions, and attitudes about those students.
6. Partnering with families—knowing them and valuing their contributions—is as important as knowing the children we teach.

Responsive Classroom in Action

In addition to covering academic subjects, teachers play a crucial role in fostering positive social skills among students. This involves teaching them essential aspects of positive communication, such as taking turns, listening and speaking respectfully, and collaborating effectively in group settings. Within the Responsive Classroom approach, these principles are put into action through daily Morning Meetings, where students share their thoughts and aspirations, as well as collaboratively establishing rules for the classroom. Interactive modeling is used to demonstrate specific skills needed for both academic and social activities. The approach also emphasizes positive teacher language, collaborative problem-solving, and providing students with choices in their academic pursuits, coupled with logical consequences.

Responsive Classroom and the IB Learner Profile

The integration of the IB Learner Profile with Responsive Classroom practices is evident in how students actively develop specific attributes outlined by the IB. Teachers not only connect these attributes to the curriculum but also facilitate discussions about their meanings, fostering a deep understanding among students. For instance, the emphasis on positive social skills in Responsive Classroom, including communication and collaboration, contributes to the development of attributes such as caring, communicators, and open-mindedness.