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Class norms
are the behavioral expectations or rules of the class. Class norms
inform us how we are expected to behave towards each other and towards
the materials we use in school. Students who are partners in composing
class norms are more likely to experience a level of ownership, participate
in instruction, and engage in mutually respectful and cooperative
relationships. In addition, students and instructional team members
jointly developing and implementing norms shifts some of the responsibility
for supporting and encouraging socially appropriate interactions from
the teacher to the students. It also helps to insure that students
indeed understand the classroom communitys expectations and
provides the rationale for them to monitor and change their own behaviors.
Once students have demonstrated a basic understanding of the core
concepts of trust, sharing, belonging and respect,
the instructional team and the students can jointly develop class
norms that support the concepts. Norms may be written at either a
general or specific level. Norms written at a general level do not
specify the particular behaviors in which students are expected to
engage and are applicable in a wide variety of situations. Some examples
of general class norms are: be a good neighbor, respect
others and yourself, and be kind. Norms written
at a specific level identify distinct behaviors, such as raise
hand before talking, or walk in the hallways, and
are usually only applicable in particular situations. For purposes
of this curriculum norms should be developed at a general level such
that they are relevant in a wide variety of situations. Specific behaviors
to support the norms will be selected jointly by students and instructional
teams as part of teaching collaborative skills. Regardless of their
level of specificity, class norms need to be developed jointly by
the instructional team and students. Click here to see sample
norms from our partner classrooms. |
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