Everyone’s #1 Job

The primary value that a democratic classroom operates around is that the number one job of all members is to make sure that “everybody gets it.” This means that cooperative work is a large part of the learning process and students at all levels need to be prepared to engage with others to both support and learn from each other.

Class Jobs

The second primary value of a democratic classroom is that the class should be student-led and all members should play an integral role in its function. The teacher’s role is to mentor and moderate. Every student is also given a job that allows them to have an opportunity to lead and to hold all students accountable for expected behaviors. Students keep the same job for one semester and then switch to a second job second semester. Feedback on job performance is provided during class meetings. Google documents needed for jobs that have record keeping aspects will have links posted on the Canvas Home Page once this application is live.

Class Meetings

The third value of a democratic classroom is recognizing the importance of group communications. We have conversations as a group to address three different aspects of class. First, in our initial class meeting, the group determines the class norms that all members agree to follow. Second, meetings are used for discussions to resolve any class issues that may occur. Last, class meetings are used for team building activities and as a time for some students to execute their respective jobs.