Restorative Practices in the Classroom
REAL-739/MSED-739

This course introduces participants to Restorative Justice concepts, practices, and strategies in the classroom. Culturally appropriate restorative justice practices can be used in schools, particularly in classrooms, to help create a culture of care in schools. Participants will learn how to facilitate circles, and integrate an applied understanding of conflict resolution and mediation principles into Restorative Justice processes that help students to learn the self-awareness and self-management skills they need in order to achieve school and life success.

Research shows that there needs to be a sense of school connectedness and caring and nurturing relationships between the teachers and the students so that there can be an increase in the students’ positive experiences of schooling and responsible self-monitoring of their behavior.

College of Education Mission

The mission of the College of Education is to prepare competent and caring educators who understand students, serve the community and develop professionally to become ethical decision-makers and leaders.

Understanding Students

Participants will acquire a deep understanding of the basic principles of restorative justice, focusing on the primary principle of relationships providing students with multi-tiered systems of support, trauma informed care and social emotional learning.

Serving the Community

Participants will be able to engage in and train others to facilitate community circles for building a sense of belonging and connectiveness in schools, particularly in the classroom.

Finding Our Professional Selves

Participants will learn how to engage in and train others to facilitate restorative conversations, restorative circles, and restorative assessments for creating harmony in schools, particularly in the classroom.

Access to standards referenced in this section can be found HERE

By the conclusion of the course, each participant will be able to do the following:

1. Define the principles of restorative justice practices such as establishing relationships, building a culture of care and community circle. IPTS 2b, SES 3a, InTASC 1, NBPTS 1
2. Identify and engage in restorative conversations, restorative circles and restorative assessments for creating harmony in schools, particularly in the classroom. IPTS 2B & 2G, 11, SES 5b. 2B.3a, NBPTS 5
3. Explain strategies for facilitate classroom conference circles to respond to wrongdoing and conflicts as a group, and to use restorative interventions and problem solving tools to resolve conflicts and promote positive behavior. IPTS 2b, SES 3a, InTASC 1, NBPTS 1
4. Respond restorative to major and minor misbehavior problems and to facilitate classroom conference circles upon reentry of a student after a major infraction so that they can repair and restore harmed relationships. IPTS 2b, SES 3a, InTASC 1, NBPTS 1
5. Develop an Action Plan to implement restorative justice practices, multi-tiered systems of support, trauma informed care and social emotional learning in your classroom or educational area. IPTS 10, 11, 11J, SES 4a, 3A.5a, 3B.4b, InTASC 9, 10, NBPTS 4, 5

Course Assignments Overview

Weekly Reading and Text Discussions: Each there will be discussion questions in the Canvas LMS to which you will respond using content gained from the book sections read and/or the Digital lectures and video clips of that module. If appropriate, give examples from you own classroom. Respond to two other students and/or teacher posts per week.

Action Plan : You will develop an action plan to integrate the course learnings in your course, school or educational area i.e. to emphasize restorative justice practices, multi-tiered systems of support, trauma informed care and social emotional learning in your classroom and your classroom management plan, or in the school, or your area of educational responsibility.

Restorative Circles: Participants will show mastery of the two major restorative circle conversation types by either: 1)  attending weekly on-line synchronous class sessions in which they will implement restorative conversations using a script or 2) taping themselves engaged in a restorative conversation with at least one other participant using a script.   

Students should use the USF portal as the first resource for guidance and support on items such as student complaints, safety, security and transportation questions, contact information for various USF departments, student support services such as counseling and academic resources. Information on these resources can be found in the For Students section of the USF portal.

• A complete listing of university policies and procedures can be found in the University of St. Francis Catalog and Student Handbooks. Students are expected to follow all policies in the USF Catalog and Student Handbook, both of which can be found in the student portal.
• Students are expected to be familiar with and follow the various procedures and guidelines regarding USF’s COVID-19 Response, including the USF Preparedness Plan and other materials incorporated in the Saints United resource hub (https://www.stfrancis.edu/saints-united/).
• Policies not covered in this document will be handled in accordance with the USF Catalog, Student Handbook, and Program Handbook as applicable.

Academic integrity requires that all academic work be wholly the product of an identified individual or individuals. Collaboration is only acceptable when it is explicitly acknowledged. Ethical conduct is the obligation of every member of the University community, and breaches of academic integrity constitute serious offenses. Since a lack of integrity hinders the student’s academic development, it cannot be tolerated under any circumstances. Violations include but are not limited to: cheating, fabrication, facilitating academic dishonesty, plagiarism, and denying others access to information or material. See the University of St. Francis Catalog for further clarification and information on grievance procedures.

The Academic Resource Center (ARC) located in Room L214 in the Library (815-740-5060) offers various types of academic services.  Online and distance learning students can contact ARC for appropriate resources.  ARC serves students who need tutoring in many areas of study including writing and math.  Library services include a number of online services and full text databases.  Call the Library at 815-740-5041 for additional information.  If you need academic-related resources or assistance, please contact the Academic Resource Center.

The University strives to be in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the ADA Amendments Act (ADAAA). A student who requires special accommodations or arrangements due to a disability should contact the Office of Disability Services. This contact preferably should occur no later than the first week of classes. Early contact before the semester starts is encouraged to allow sufficient time to provide accommodations. Extra time is needed for some types of accommodations such as sign language interpreters or special text formatting. Should a need arrive after the start of a semester; the student is encouraged to contact the Office of Disability Services as soon as possible. Note that accommodations are not retroactive. Each case will be reviewed on an individual basis to determine reasonable and appropriate accommodations.

USF is committed to ensuring the full participation of all students in its programs, regardless of the course format. If you have a documented disability and need a reasonable accommodation to participate in a course, complete course requirements, or benefit from the University’s programs or services, please contact the Office of Disability Services at 815-740-3631 or [email protected] . The Office of Disability Services is in the Academic Resource Center (ARC) and is located on the second floor of the LaVerne and Dorothy Brown Library in room L214. Consultations are welcome, please contact the Office of Disability Services for an appointment.

If you are experiencing any difficulty using Canvas or need technical assistance, you have several options to receive support:

1. 24x7 Live Canvas Support. Canvas has a 24 hour support by clicking on ? Help while in Canvas. You can Chat with Canvas Support, Report a Problem, or call the Canvas Support Hotline. If you experience technical difficulties or have a question about Canvas, you can receive support 24 hours a day seven (7) days a week through the Canvas help menu. From the help menu; select Report a Problem to send an email support request, select Chat with Canvas Support (Student) for a “live” text-based click-to-chat session, or to speak to someone directly use the toll-free number listed under the Canvas Support Hotline (Student). NOTE: Responses to Canvas’ email based Report a Problem request system will go to your USF stfrancis.edu email account, NOT your personal email.
2. Online Self-Service Help Resources. A student user guide and other resources for solving issues related to Canvas can be found at techsupport.stfrancis.edu
3. You can phone the Technology Support Center for personal help at (815) 768-8324 or (866) 337-1497 (toll-free) between 8:00 AM and 4:30 PM Central Standard Time, Monday through Friday or fill out a Technology Support Center ticket and select Canvas/Online courses as the component.

For any technical support issues that are not related to Canvas, you can also contact the USF Technology Support Center (TSC). You can reach them via:

• Phone: 1-815-768-TECH (8324)
• Email: [email protected]
• Web: techsupport.stfrancis.edu
• Or visit them on the first floor of Marian Hall