Space of the Classroom

During my student teaching, I have had to reconsider my perception of a safe, inclusive, and comfortable learning environment for students. As John Hollingsworth and Silvia Ybarra explain, conventional formal education has always required that students gather in a classroom for instruction from a teacher/s. Classrooms have always been the organized vehicle for instruction (2009). As I discuss in my Pedagogy section of this portfolio, my ideal classroom is one in which students have the resources they need, a variety in seating and working areas. In designing and theorizing the most effective classroom environment, I emphasized that students need to feel safe, comfortable, and prepared with resources in order to learn (Johnson 2005). While I still prioritize addressing Maslow's hierarchy of needs (1943) in my classroom design plans, I now realize that the preparation for meeting student needs expands beyond the physical space of the classroom. Creating a learning environment when each student is in a different space is difficult but possible, and it begins with developing a sense of community among students and teachers.

Pictured below is a graphic I found helpful during my student teaching. The image served as a reminder that, as a teacher, I needed to create a positive learning atmosphere for students in order to facilitate literacy and learning no matter the context in which our learning was occurring. This graphic was especially helpful as I developed my concept of what it means to be in an ELA classroom. My perception of an effective classroom throughout my student teaching became a question: How can I motivate students and foster an atmosphere of engagement and collaboration from behind a computer? Gonzalez helped me answer that question: show students what it means to love reading and writing, encourage open conversation and discussion amongst students, offer students variety and diversity in materials, and give students the space to reflect upon their lives, families, and work. In leading a virtual classroom in which we read together, talked together, and connected with one another through the Zoom chatbox, my cooperating teacher and I felt successful in the community that had developed. Students became familiar with our reading and writing routine and were open with us about the ways in which they were, or were not, connecting to class materials. In emphasizing the element of connection -- between bodies in the classroom and between materials -- I realized that an optimal classroom environment can be created anywhere. As we have all learned during the past year, it is possible and essential during times of crisis to form communities even without access to spaces or the ability to gather. It is the sense of community that truly defines an effective classroom.