Professional Development

Responsive Classroom Launches PD Courses for Middle School Teachers

• By Leila Meyer
• 01/27/16

Center for Responsive Schools (CRS) has expanded its professional development courses to include middle school educators.

CRS focuses on bringing social and emotional learning programs into the classroom. Until now, its professional development courses have been geared towards elementary school teachers, but the organization has launched two new courses designed specifically for middle school teachers. Introduction to Responsive Classroom for Middle School is a one-day course being offered this March in Hartford, CT, Minneapolis, MN and New Orleans, LA. Responsive Classroom Course for Middle School Educators is a four-day course, which will be offered in more than 10 locations throughout the United States.

"We are bringing Responsive Classroom into middle school because we want to ensure that students continue to make gains when they leave elementary school and enter this next critical period in their school careers," said Lora Hodges, executive director for the Center for Responsive Schools, in a news release. "Our expansion to middle school is the next logical step to meet our mission to ensure a high-quality education for every child, every day."

The one-day introductory course "will teach middle school educators how the Responsive Classroom approach boosts middle school students' social and academic skills while reducing behavior problems," according to information from CRS.

The four-day course will teach middle school teachers and administrators how to use core Responsive Classroom practices and strategies, including Responsive Advisory Meeting, Interactive Modeling, teacher language, a framework for teaching discipline and engaging instruction. "These practices and strategies will engage students academically, build positive school and classroom communities, help teachers manage classrooms effectively and develop students' intrinsic motivation to choose socially responsible behaviors," stated a news release from CRS.

Registration for Introduction to Responsive Classroom for Middle School is already open, and registration for Responsive Classroom Course for Middle School Educators will open in early February.

Further information about both courses can be found on the Center for Responsive Schools' site.