Session Overview
“What we have to face is that the more we ‘manage’ students’ behaviour and try to make them do what we say, the more difficult it is for them to become morally sophisticated people who think for themselves and care about others […]. In saying that a classroom or school is a ‘community’, I mean that it is a place in which students feel cared about and are encouraged to care about each other”
(Alfie Kohn from Beyond Discipline: From Compliance to Community (1996).
How do we do this? A fundamental factor is our communication with ourselves and with others. Fiona will be taking you through the 4-step process of Nonviolent Communication (NVC), and touching on other aspects of the NVC philosophy such as ‘Reward & Punishment’ and ‘Rules & Values’, with a view to creating a holistic, respectful classroom community.
This session will provide you with:
- Strategies for developing classroom communities
- Some culturally responsive approaches to communicating with students
- Ideas for engaging students who are not engaged
- A range of ways of thinking about how dialogue can influence the 'social' side of learning
In preparation, Fiona requests that you watch a Video on TeacherTube and consider what might be the effects of such a demonstration.
The session will be facilitated in Adobe Connect.
 | Fiona WhiteWith over 20 years professional experience in education, management, commerce, industry, recruitment and customer care in the UK, France and New Zealand, Fiona has a great understanding of the costs of conflict in the classroom. Fiona uses approaches to develop thriving, culturally responsive classroom communities, using strategies such as listening actively and respectfully, ensuring the student feels 'heard', and then asking the right questions to empower her students to find their own solutions. Fiona is based in East Auckland, where she has her own Mediation and Conflict Coaching practice - Mediation Matters - and holds a clinic one day a week at the local Citizens Advice Bureau. |
