How to Democratize your Classroom

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How to Democratize your Classroom

• Shella Zelenz, M.A.Ed., Ed.D.
• Education Consultant
• Also Available
• How to Democratize your School
• http//zelenz.com

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Overview

• What does democracy look like in a classroom?
• How do you implement student-led democracy in
  your classroom?
• What are the risks?
• Does this create behavior problems?
• Does this take extra time away from precious
  lesson time?

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Long-term goal

• To create a self-maintained classroom
• Students take ownership of their learning
  experience
• Students take responsibility for their actions
  and ownership of their community
• Teacher spends more time facilitating learning
  and less time managing behavior
• Students are more motivated to learn

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The Present Situation

• Students are told the classroom rules
• Students are held accountable to rules that they
  have no control over
• Students may rebel because they have no ownership
  over their experience
• Students are not as empowered as they could be to
  self-manage

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Development up to present

• What are your current classroom challenges?
• Is the way that your classroom operates similar
  to the democracy in which the students live?
• Do you feel it would benefit the students to
  learn how to operate in a democracy?
• What would your classroom look like if the
  students held more ownership over their entire
  experience in your classroom?

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Potential Alternatives

• Do you spend more time enforcing rules than
  teaching?
• Do you find resistance in your students when you
  reinforce those rules?
• How many things have you tried?
• Do you still have students who won't comply?
• Do you trust your students? Why? Why not?

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Recommendation

• The guideline will offer you an alternative way
  in which you can run your classroom
• Running a classroom democracy encourages
  participation by your most challenged students
• Students will take ownership in collaborating to
  support community participation in community
  established guidelines.
• The teacher will have more time to interact with
  students
• Classroom behavior will improve dramatically