Calculating A Strong Social Dimension

Several of us from Cohort I have been fastidiously preparing for our first opportunities to be official facilitators of West Ed's RAISE Institute.  As I have been sitting down with the professional development materials from days one through five I am overwhelmed by the depth, scope, and sheer vastness of this highly integrated approach to teaching literacy within the context of our disciplines.  How can I possibly be an expert on all this material?  The truth is, I am not.  Nevertheless, I am a few steps ahead of those coming to the institute and thus I do think I have something to share - some successes and some crashes!  One of the advantages of facilitating (at the institute and at Berkley High) is that I am constantly reminded of the fundamentals that fuel a Reading Apprenticeship Classroom.  Today, I read an article from Voices from the Middle, Volume 13 Number 3, March 2006.  The article written by Harvey Daniels is called "The Hunt for Magic." and it really caused me to think about what I am going to do about the social dimension in my classroom this year. Daniels' challenges me because he puts forth that teachers have the capacity to shape and direct the classroom community that develops among his or her students.  It is not merely 'luck of the draw.'  I am guilty many years over of saying that I got a "bad batch" or a "bad mix" of students.  Daniels argues that is not the case and that I have more control than I think.  So this year, I am going to work on the six things that he says I need to enact throughout the year.

• Create widespread acquaintance and friendship patterns in the room.  Everyone must know each other person well; people who know each other almost always like each other.  My fellow science colleague creates a rotating seating chart in which students choose their  seat but in which they must sit next to someone new every time.  She incorporates a mad libs activity to help them get to know each other.  Perhaps I'll ask her to teach me how to get this going in my class.  
• Make sure that you and all students have realistic and mutual expectations about how people will act together in this community.  (See next bullet)
• Create with the students a set of simple norms, not a list of misbehaviors and punishments, but statements about how we work and treat each other  in this place.  Last year I worked on developing norms with my students.  I was surprised and delighted when they developed such a comprehensive and thoughtful list.  Where I ran into trouble was when I didn't use the norms consistently throughout the year.  This year, students will all get a copy and I will check in with them about how we are doing.  This "check-in" will have to be intentional and find itself written in my lesson plans.
• Open up every possible channel of communication among the people in the room, both oral and written, on-to-one, girls to boys, in pairs, small discussion groups, and whole-class conversations.
• Distribute responsibilities and opportunities for leadership to every student in the class.  Structure academic tasks so that individual students can demonstrate, and other recognize, each person's unique talents and strengths.
• Develop with students a structure and pattern for dealing with conflict when it arises, as it inevitably will, and then use it consistently.

It's time engage my mind and figure out the strategies and routines that will help me work on these six charges.  I thought I'd start here and see if I could generate some conversation about how to approach this challenge - so step right up and let the magic begin!