Classroom Design

Floor Plan

Description

I want my classroom to encourage collaboration between students, so I set students desks up in pods so students are able to easily work with and ask questions of the others in their group. Another benefit of pod arrangement as opposed to spread out desks is that the teacher may call on a group of students rather than each student individually, freeing up more time that can be used for instruction. For example, if the teacher is dismissing students from their seats to go line up at the door, they can dismiss by table.

I chose for the teacher's desk to be directly across from the door so the teacher can easily see who is entering or exiting the classroom. I also put the teacher's desk midway between desk pods and the small group table, but not too close so that the teacher may monitor students as they are working while giving students enough space so they do not feel the teacher is directly in front of them at all times.

I placed work areas (library, centers, and computer workstation) in the far corners of the classroom and far enough away from students' pods to decrease distractions that may arise as students work in different areas of the classroom throughout the day. I placed shelving with materials between pods and the small group table and between the door and the small group table to decrease distractions at that location. Another reason I placed work areas far away from one another and put up barriers (material shelving) between certain areas of the classroom is to prevent high areas of traffic as students transition throughout the day.

Rationale

My rationale for placing students' desks in pods was that a mentor teacher of mine placed students in pods and they seem to benefit from being able to bounce ideas off one another and help one another. My decision to place students in pods is also backed by classroom management theorist Alfie Kohn who stressed that the classroom should be viewed as a community in which the students are members, and as in any community, the members need to interact with one another in order to get things done (Charles, 2008, p. 84). I placed the teacher's desk along the wall but in the center of the room and left plenty of open space to allow the teacher to monitor students as they work in different areas of the classroom throughout the school day. This allows the teacher to develop "withitness," a term coined by Jacob Kounin meaning alertness in the classroom (Charles, 2008, p. 58).

Wall Plan

Word Wall (For Academics)

Description: As a new word is learned in the classroom, it is added to the word wall. I like this type of word wall in particular because words can be organized according to their beginning letter. I will use a word wall because I believe it will be extremely beneficial for students, particularly in the earlier grades when they are learning a great deal of vocabulary throughout the school year. Repeated exposure to the words will help students learn them as well as reference how to spell them whenever they need.

Connection: I have seen word walls during field experience. My mentor teacher uses a word wall to help students learn the hundreds of vocabulary words they are exposed to throughout the course of the year and this constant exposure helps them remember the words.

(https://www.mrsjudyaraujo.com/word-walls/)

Acts of Kindness (For Community Building)

Description: The Act of Kindness Wall is posted with different options for random acts of kindness students can perform for others in the classroom. I will use the Act of Kindness Wall in hopes of encouraging teamwork and helping students build positive relationships with the other students in the classroom.

Connection: Alfie Kohn stressed the idea of classrooms being communities in which the students are members (Charles, 2008, p. 84). In order for the classroom to function positively as a community, students need to build positive relationships with their peers in the classroom. I see students committing acts of kindness for others as a way to help build those relationships.

(https://www.pinterest.com/pin/78109374767449371/)

Classroom Jobs (To Support Classroom Management)

Description: The teacher assigns classroom jobs to students and a display on the wall keeps track of which student has what job at a particular time. I plan to use this system to give students responsibilities in the classroom and help speed up the cleaning up/organization of the classroom by dividing roles so that more time can be focused on instruction.

Connection: Assigning classroom jobs is an example of a democratic classroom in which like the teacher, students are fully involved in the functioning of the classroom (Charles, 2008, p. 84). My mentor teacher for a field experience rotated classroom jobs on a weekly basis. I noticed that students were excited to have classroom responsibilities and took their roles very seriously. For example, the student who was flag holder always remembered when the school announcements came on to grab the classroom flag for the Pledge of Allegiance. The students in charge of the lights always remembered to be at the end of the line and turn off the lights when the class exited the classroom.

(https://topnotchteaching.com/classroom-management/classroom-jobs/)

A Space for All Learners

The classroom floor plan is designed to keep students with different learning styles in mind. The desk arrangement in pods allows for students to work independently, ask their peers questions or for assistance while working independently, and in groups. Students' pod placement can be rearranged throughout the school year based on each student's need. Students who do not get along or work well together can be moved to prevent distractions and students who need more one-on-one assistance from the teacher can be moved closer to the board or the teacher's desk. I have seen my mentor teacher for my field experience move students on almost a weekly basis based on their instructional needs or to keep them from getting distracted by another student.

Both the floor plan and the wall plan are welcoming to students of diverse backgrounds and families. Based on the flexibility of the pods seating arrangement, students who may need more individualized attention or assistance from the teacher based on their background can be moved closer to the board or the teacher's desk. For example, my field classroom had an ELL student who spoke very little English. At the beginning of the year, my mentor teacher sat him next to a student who was fluent in his native language to help him get accustomed to the classroom. As he adjusted, the issue of the pair talking during instructional time became an issue, so the teacher separated them and moved the ELL student to sit closer to the front of the room so she could easily access him to provide him instructions one-on-one and offer him more individualized attention. The wall plan also keeps in mind students from diverse backgrounds, particularly the word wall and acts of kindness. Having a wall of vocabulary words students can easily access makes language-acquisition easier for all students, but particularly ELL students who spend so much of their energy learning English that adding grade-level vocabulary words is an added hurdle. Encouraging students to commit acts of kindness for their peers promotes relationship-building among all students in the classroom and can help students from diverse backgrounds who may be unfamiliar to the classroom feel more welcome.

References

Araujo, J. (n.d.). Word walls. Mrs. Judy Araujo. https://www.mrsjudyaraujo.com/word-walls/

Charles, C. M. (2008). Building classroom discipline (9th ed.). Pearson.

Fluitt, T. (n.d.). Acts of kindness wall. Pinterest. https://www.pinterest.com/pin/78109374767449371/

What do you think about classroom jobs? (n.d.). Top Notch Teaching. https://topnotchteaching.com/classroom-management/classroom-jobs/

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