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I can help create a student-centered, dialogic classroom space through my pedagogy by:

Holding in-class seminars or deliberation that seek to foster democratic enlightenment or engagement, thereby teaching for discussion, not just teaching with discussion (Parker, 2010, p. 2816).

Focusing on reflection and praxis in order to be able to examine and update my own classroom pedagogical techniques that can better uphold the values of a democratic classroom. (Collins, Hess, and Lowrey, 2019, p.6) Important to this is also learning more about the way that others run their classrooms, as learning from the community of teachers is a great way for everyone's teaching to become better catered towards student growth.

Helping students learn the value of discussion and encountering perspectives different than their own from people they may not know by urging them to think about others' opinions, tools that are useful in their greater civic lives (Parker, 2010, p. 2826)

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Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young - Teach Your Children

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Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young - Teach Your Children (Official Music Video)

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I can utilize classroom management to create democratic classrooms by:

Setting up the physical classroom space to be conducive to democratic engagement (Collins, Hess, and Lowrey, 2019, p.6)

ex. setting up the classroom to have all classroom members facing each other in order to set the intention of group collaboration and participation. This also creates a level of accountability, especially when you can see everyone in the classroom!

Urging involved, reciprocal relationships with students, which value students' voice, input, and community-building (Collins, Hess, and Lowrey, 2019, p. 4).

In order to have a strong classroom, community needs must also be met (Ayers, 2020).

Giving voice to students in the classroom when it comes to setting class norms and expectations democratically (Collins, Hess, and Lowrey, 2019, p. 6)

If I am looking to facilitate class seminars or deliberation, both the students and I must make class expectations clear in order to avoid disrespectful participation and urge meaningful engagement (Parker, 2010, p. 2820)

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This session, we focused on how trauma-sensitive practices positively affect the learning environment. Ways I could do this in the classroom include:

Explaining to the students what the "upstairs" and "downstairs" brain does, and why it is important to their learning (Souers & Hall, 2016).

Letting students know that I am always a resource to be able to talk to if they want to (Souers & Hall, 2016).

Understanding that student behavior may actually stem from something deeper than surface-level discontent, such as trauma-- thinking deeper about whether or not students' actions are informed by something they can easily control. (Souers & Hall, 2016)

Self-reflection upon my own "upstairs/downstairs" status, so that I can help myself return to the "upstairs" to best help my students. (Souers & Hall, 2016)

Be flexible in the way that I handle my classroom, especially when it comes to students who are actively experiencing trauma. Although I will not stop demanding excellence from them, I understand that trauma is a lot for a student to handle. I hope to always be understanding in the future with due dates if this is something my student needs in order to attempt to learn while in their "upstairs brain".

Perhaps low-stakes beginning of the class check-ins work well with this, such as asking the class how their week went and having them give a thumbs up, middle, or down reaction if they would like. This might urge mindfulness of all involved, and open up dialogue.

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This session, I read about classroom management techniques (body language & voice) as well as emotional resilience in the classroom.

In order to be able to foster a democratic classroom amongst my students, I know I need to be able to manage a classroom that upholds the values of respect, empathy, and compassion. To do this, Berger, Strasser, and Woodfin's Management in the Active Classroom point out that both my body language and the voice and tone I use are important.

Although some (not I) might think of classroom management as an endeavor done through an authoritative command of the classroom, these practices go directly against the idea of a democratic classroom. Instead, in order to keep control of my classroom while still fostering a democratic learning environment, confident body language is paramount (Berger, Strasser, and Woodfin, 2015). Although I might not feel confident, I know I need to come off that way-- students respect and understand those who believe they can keep the class safe and under control.

Another important classroom management skill that can help me foster a student-centered, democratic classroom is my voice and how I use it. As a previous camp counselor, I know how counterintuitive yelling at children can be-- it's as if they hear you, but immediately write off what you asked of them! I know that practicing calm, respectful inflection will not only help aid me in managing my classroom, but it will help students truly understand that what I have to say is valuable (Berger, Strasser, and Woodfin, 2015). One of the more important tips I got from this section was the idea that getting 100% of students to pay attention and be quiet when practicing a "self-stop" is unrealistic, and actually can be ineffective (something I definitely witnessed as a camp counselor) (Berger, Strasser, and Woodfin, 2015). I do not want to risk making my students feel as if I am patronizing them-- this will have to be a tool I use carefully.

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This session, I read about classroom management techniques as well as emotional resilience in the classroom.

In Berger, Strasser, and Woodfin's Management in the Active Classroom, I learned that teaching is as much about the content that you are presenting as it is about the manner in which you present it. Both my body language and my voice, inside and outside of the classroom will help students understand my expectations beyond what I have written explicitly in their course expectations, and they are both everyday classroom management tools I know I will constantly be utilizing (Berger, Strasser, and Woodfin, 2015). One of the strategies suggested that I know I will be practicing in my classroom is having others observe and give feedback about my classroom presence (Berger, Strasser, and Woodfin, 2015). I know, for example, that I like to shift around a lot and fidget, which may take away from a student's learning by having them focus on my body language rather than content. I hope to be able to recognize these practices in myself and work on eliminating them. By practicing a confident presence, students will in turn have more confidence in me as their educator (Berger, Strasser, and Woodfin, 2015).

Confidence is also something that Aguilar argues ought to be projected in a school environment. Resilience, Aguilar points out, comes from not just your mentality, but also from the way that a teacher carries themselves-- as if they belong, and with purpose (Aguilar, 2018). I know that in my lifetime, I will be worried about imposter syndrome and whether or not I am coming off well to my students-- Although these are legitimate worries, as Aguilar suggested, I will try to take a step back and re-examine why I might feel a certain way before feeling utterly helpless (Aguilar, 2018). As an educator, I will focus on knowing myself best, both my positives and deltas, so that I can play to my strengths and work on further growth in specific areas. By knowing myself, I will better be able to foster a student-centered environment-- Knowing the ways I work best can help me best help my students.

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This session, I watched the SXSW EDU video, Daring Classrooms by Brené Brown, and reflected upon the role that vulnerability has in both the classroom and in my daily life.

Something that really struck me about this video was the idea of a shame-resistant classroom. In the middle of the talk, Brown speaks about the difference between guilt and shame-- guilt is directed at the action, whereas shame is directed at self-worth (Brown, 20:37). I believe that this distinction is important, especially in cultivating my classroom environment to be student-centered. If my students and I don't believe ourselves to be worthy of knowledge, worthy of a seat at the table, and worthy of equitable treatment, it would be almost impossible for students and I to center ourselves in their learning experience.

Another point mentioned in the video was the importance of self-perception when it comes to shame-prone vs. guilt-prone learners. To be shameful is to believe that you are the only one in the world feeling a certain way-- to feel alone. As an educator, it is inherently my job to work against this notion. Beyond academic repercussions, Brown points out that being shame-prone as opposed to guilt-prone students are at higher risk of dropping out of school, attempting suicide, or engaging in high-risk drug and alcohol-related behaviors (Brown, 22:12), all consequences that impair a student's learning ability far beyond my own classroom, but instead for the rest of their lives. If I want to set my students up for success, I know I must actively build a shame-resilient culture, and encourage my students to be firm in their inherent self-worth.

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This session, I watched the SXSW EDU video, Daring Classrooms by Brené Brown, and reflected upon the role that vulnerability has in both the classroom and in my daily life.

In this video, Brown explains that before someone is considered courageous, brave, or strong, they need to be vulnerable (Brown, 6:11)-- this is something paramount to a classroom experience. I think that in many cases, advocating for your own knowledge can be a difficult thing, almost impossible without expressing one's own vulnerabilities. Because of this, in order to advocate for student-centered learning vulnerability will be integral to my classroom.

To build upon that a little, I also believe that as an educator and even more broadly as a leader in my community, if I expect others to be vulnerable with me, I need to take the first step and model it myself. If I ask students to share their points of view, this might even mean me explaining my own perspective. I know that I was raised in a family that heavily values personal privacy, and although I will always value privacy to some extent, if I want my classroom to be a dialogic, leave-no-stone-unturned classroom, I need to urge myself to be vulnerable with both myself and my students.

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This session, we focused on how trauma-sensitive practices positively affect the learning environment.

Experiencing trauma dramatically reduces just how much a student can learn in the classroom by inhibiting executive function (Souers & Hall, 2016), therefore I as an educator have a vested interest in being able to bring students back to a state where they can utilize their executive functioning skills to their full potential.

By explaining to students to be cognizant of their "upstairs brain" and their "downstairs brain", and what it looks like to be using either, I as an educator will better be able to give students the language and tools to seek help (Souers & Hall, 2016). Not only will students be better able to communicate their needs to me, but by keeping an open dialogue about our "upstairs" or "downstairs" brains, I as an educator can know when to give tools to students to get back to their "upstairs brains" (Souers & Hall, 2016).

Another thing that will help me better cater to diverse learners is an awareness of student differentiation of executive functioning skills. I also know that as an educator it is important to be aware that every learner will always be at a different place in their journey of developing their executive functioning skills, as mentioned in the Executive Functioning video (Augustine, 2020). This means that 'growth' for one student doesn't necessarily look the same for another-- this is okay! A classroom can grow immensely through each student's different strengths.

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This session, I watched the SXSW EDU video, Daring Classrooms by Brené Brown, and reflected upon the role that vulnerability has in both the classroom and in my daily life.

Towards the end of her video, something that struck me was the importance of intervening when someone is shaming another. Although Brown talks about it with respect to siblings and parents, I believe that as a teacher, it is also my responsibility to step in and to be a force of intervention when it is necessary, in order to uphold the value of a shame-resilient classroom (Brown 25:32).

One way that Brown explains that we can do this is through empathy. She says that once someone speaks up and expresses empathy, people don't feel so alone in their experiences-- expressing empathy is what grabs someone by the hand and pulls them back into the group. This practice can feel so liberating, for both the listener and the storyteller. I remember someone asking me about my personal history and then instead of throwing her own judgment of my situation into the mix, she asked me "How did that make you feel"-- Instead of feeling as if my voice didn't matter, I felt like someone was there genuinely to listen to me. I hope to be that force in my students' lives as well. So many times, it just takes one person to be genuinely invested in showing empathy to change someone else's whole perspective on life!

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For this session I read a chapter from Berger et. al's Management in the Active Classroom about the importance of classroom routines and communication, and how they might fit into a secondary school classroom, as secondary-level classes are generally more brief.

While many people often think that high schoolers are resilient when it comes to change (and they are), this does not necessarily mean that the best learning environment is a constantly changing one. Students enjoy consistency when they are asked to learn, even when they are asked to broach different subject areas. This is especially important when it comes to learners who may find change especially disorienting, such as students with ADHD or students who have experienced trauma.

To best cater my educational practices to my students, especially toward diverse learners who need consistency more than others, Berger et. al. points out that the consistency of a routine in the classroom is important. When structuring my lessons, 'bookending' my lessons with centering activities can get students ready to learn, helping set the tone for the classroom (Berger et. al., p.47). Through meaningful transition times, students will be able to take a moment to be social and refocus themselves in order to tackle the next activity (Berger et. al., p.44). A good general practice that aids in classroom organization is also holding students accountable and responsible for their own classroom, whether that be the condition of shared class materials to the rules of the classroom-- through encouraging student responsibility of their own learning environment, organization will naturally begin to happen.

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For this session, I read a chapter from Berger et. al's Management in the Active Classroom about the importance of classroom routines and communication.

One of the things that most struck me in relation to democratic classroom management when it came to Management in the Active Classroom's section on routines was the importance of accountability. This section spoke pretty heavily about the importance of students' investment in their own space, and how when a teacher facilitates student involvement in guideline-setting, students more readily accept responsibility when it comes to classroom materials and following classroom rules (Berger et. al., p. 56).

Another section that explained a democratic way of classroom management was the section about nonverbal signals, which I think applies very heavily to a high school context. If I as a teacher try to advocate for all of my students when it comes to taking part in the classroom, it is always easier to nonverbally, and slyly signal to students when they are not participating positively in the classroom (Berger et. al., p.64). A caveat to this perhaps, is that although nonverbal signals are powerful, they are perhaps not effective for all learners. Imagine a learner who falls on the autism spectrum, for example. I need to be cognizant of IEPs specifically, so I can remember that different students grow better with different classroom management techniques.

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This session, I read Berger's Management in the Active Classroom, pages 77-90, which addressed group work, as well as how best to facilitate group work.

The section that I feel best relates to creating a student-centered, dialogic classroom space was the 'Group Work and Group Discussion' section, especially when they mentioned urging students to utilize academic language when they are participating in groups, such as "I want to build on what ___________ said." or "I respectfully disagree. I think that ___________." (Berger 87). I think that urging the use of these phrases not only helps make students feel like soon-to-be experts in social studies, but it can also help students be respectful towards all opinions, which encourages more open participation.

I know that as an educator, I will also use these phrases when I am elaborating on student comments-- I will be in charge of modeling respectful responses to comments and being someone who can show students how to behave when collaborating with others' viewpoints.

I know that having students really learn how to interact with others is essential for the world outside of my classroom. The skill of coming to group understandings, or at least being able to talk openly about differences of beliefs, in a way is ultimately student-centered in its own, macro, big picture way. As it stands, America is becoming more and more polarized, which doesn't lead to open communication a lot of the time-- by learning rules of respectful participation in group dialogues, hopefully, this might not be as big of an issue for my future students.

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This is a session that emphasized the importance of group work within the classroom. This image displays the interconnected nature of groupwork.

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This session, I read Berger's Management in the Active Classroom, pages 77-90, which addressed group work, as well as how best to facilitate group work.

The portion I felt most applies to creating more equitable and inclusive educational experiences was the section about practicing giving clear discussions in a meaningful way. This section struck me because I hadn't considered how the manner in which I give my directions might work for some students, but not for others. Because I want to give the clearest directions possible, I want to make my message come across as clearly as possible-- this does not always mean talking in a clear tone of voice. Something that this chapter suggested specifically, was to give secondary students 'direction sheets,' with the directions printed on them already so that they could reference the directions as they go (Berger, 81).

The creation of a direction sheet, along with the suggestion of creating a slide show to show the students are both excellent examples of how I can keep my classroom organized, while also catering to the needs of diverse learners-- it can be a lot for certain learners to be expected to remember complicated multi-step directions, AND to complete the activity. Additionally, I may have students who are hard of hearing or deaf, which only heightens the need for slideshows that thoroughly lay out the directions to the activity. It stinks to be the only student who does not know what is going on in the classroom, and not understanding directions also pushes students towards unrelated social mingling or getting off task, rather than actively learning.

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In this session, we focused on the value of opinions within the classroom, as well as when holding on to an opinion might be inappropriate, due to a lack of knowledge within a subject. I read Stokes's No, You’re Not Entitled to Your Opinion in lieu of this.

Within the classroom, especially within a classroom that constantly addresses different, oftentimes contested issues, it is clear that open-mindedness is paramount when it comes to my mindset. Stokes pointed out that "all too often, [the phrase "I'm entitled to my own opinion" is] used to shelter beliefs that should have been abandoned," (Stokes p. 1) and that rather than helping spur a dialogue, this phrase immediately stops it in its tracks.

As an educator, I know it will be a little challenging to stand up for the students who I know have opposing political views to my own, however, this just means that I must make a concerted, ongoing effort to do so. By keeping this emphasis on catering to all students front and center in my practice, I know that I also will in turn help make my classroom a more inclusive space, as well as a space where students feel more comfortable speaking up and sharing their opinions (although they may not fully be informed). As an educator, as well as a social studies educator specifically, I hope to help my students become more informed, on BOTH sides of the debate, always. Perhaps this will have open-mindedness cemented as a value that we will always strive towards in my classroom.

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In this session, we focused on the value of opinions within the classroom, as well as when holding on to an opinion might be inappropriate, due to a lack of knowledge within a subject. I read Stokes's No, You’re Not Entitled to Your Opinion in lieu of this.

With respect to my own pedagogical approach within my classroom, I hope to take Stokes' words to heart: " You are not entitled to your opinion. You are only entitled to what you can argue for" (Stokes, p.1). Although this by no means means that I will be always explaining my own opinions on the issues that we come across in class, it does mean that I will always advocate for my own full sense of understanding of the topics that I seek to broach within the classroom. If I as an educator do not seek the knowledge behind both sides of an argument, how can I in good faith seek to have my students approach issues with an open and informed mind? This also brings up another point that I think is very important to the classroom: being able to admit one's shortcomings with respect to knowledge about certain topics.

It can be vulnerable to admit that I don't necessarily have enough information to be able to make up my mind on certain topics, but I also think that as an educator, it is necessary to be deeply familiar with my own lack of knowledge so that I can encourage my students to examine theirs. If I  believe that classroom culture begins with my actions, this is paramount to creating a student-centered experience-- students will feel more comfortable in admitting their lack of knowledge on certain topics, as well as in practicing informed participation if I model what that looks like.

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Knowing your areas of growth is a beautiful thing (and it doesn't cause 5-car pileups in the classroom). 

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This week we read Socratic Seminars in Science Class by Jeanne Ting Chowning and learned a lot about Socratic seminars, what they provide for the classroom, as well as how to implement them in our classrooms.

To me, a Socratic seminar is a good pedagogical tool to be able to have a dialogic space within the classroom because they are so heavily reliant upon dialogue. By guiding students through conversation topics and letting them come to conclusions themselves about deep questions, the classroom looks inherently student-centered-- my role in a Socratic seminar is not to state whether or not certain ideas are correct or incorrect, instead it is to nudge students' conversations in a way that helps new ideas be brought up.

Another reason Socratic seminars are important within the classroom is their ability to draw out different perspectives on the same topic. Chowning states "During the seminar, questions such as “Who has a different perspective?” will move the discussion along," (Chowning 39) pointing out how Socratic seminars rely heavily upon the proliferation of students' unique and new ideas.

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This is me, going through crisis (Kumashiro) in the classroom but being okay with that.

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This session, we tackled Kevin Kumashiro's Against Common Sense, a book that seeks to rebuke the idea of 'traditional' education within the classroom.

In Against Common Sense, Kumashiro points out that teachers act in multiple ways, as learned practitioners, as researchers, or as a professional. This connects to classroom management because it points out how teachers work in different ways to help students come to a more holistic understanding of class content. One of the things that Kumashiro pointed out as being especially important within all three of these roles is the ability to be okay with discomfort within the classroom, and this to me means that as an educator I need to be receptive to student-initiated changes in my classroom management that can better help my students learn. This also, to me, means that I need to expect my students to feel discomfort when they are learning "troubling knowledge," (Kumashiro, p.9) but in spite of this, I cannot give them the license to shy away from moments like this. Because having a more open relationship with discomfort also means that my classroom management will have to accommodate this.

In order to accommodate the increase in discomfort within my classroom, I need to create a classroom environment that is comfortable with discomfort. To do this, I believe that scaffolding up to discomfort is important-- students need to have a body of knowledge that allows them to interact with discomfort. Additionally, setting norms for respectful interaction within my classroom is increasingly important here, because respecting all academic perspectives is hard and takes work to do. In order to get around the initial feeling of resistance to new opinions, practicing the skill of having an open mind is increasingly important.