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Get your Classroom "ready to learn"!
Get your Classroom "ready to learn"!
Every Saturday, I take my 6-year-old son to the library to work on CEP 811 homework. This week's assignment is related to learning environment design, which gets me thinking: what makes the library such an attractive place to study? What makes it so enjoyable that my son can play for three hours? As I write this blog, I observe the environment of the library I am in. There are three aspects of its design that help people learn: first, the lighting is warm yellow, and the colors of the furniture and wallpaper are low-saturation greens, yellows, blues, etc., which make me feel comfortable and relaxed. Second, the computers are in the central area, with printers and office supplies placed nearby. The desk space is ample. I don't feel crowded when I place my laptop on the desk. Third, one side of the computer area is a quiet study area with bookshelves separating it from the middle; the other side is a group study area where I see tables with wheels that can be assembled or separated. People in the three areas do not disturb each other. The design of the children's area surprised me even more! My son often lingers here when it’s time to go! First, the children's books are displayed at a low height, and any child who can walk can reach any book. Second, role-playing, toys, building blocks, coloring, and other activities are all next to the floor-to-ceiling windows, which overlook a small park. Many children run around in different activity areas, but those reading kids are not disturbed. Third, on the other side, there are many small classrooms, one of which is filled with LEGO, making it very easy to organize. I believe good learning environment design surely inspires adults and kids!
Luxin Xue's First Grade
Chinese Immersion
Classroom.
Use with permission.
I teach first grade in a Chinese immersion elementary school. There are 29 students in my class, and my classroom design is shown in the picture above. There are three reasons why I like this design. Firstly, it has both collaborative and independent learning areas. Students work on learning centers that require collaboration on the carpets around the classroom, and they work independently at their own desks. Secondly, the message I send to students is that Chinese class is very fun. The word wall and posters are the most important learning resources for students. A good classroom environment is like a “buffet”, where you can find whatever you need immediately. Thirdly, as a teacher, my favorite part is the clear categorization of teaching materials and manipulatives. Each box has a unit name on it. I can find anything accurately and quickly, which makes my teaching very smooth. At the same time, students know that any box with a unit name on it belongs to the teacher, and cannot be touched without permission.
I also noticed some problems. In this design, the area for collaborative learning is too small. When students sit on the front carpet for whole group instruction, 5-6 students can't see the whole smart board due to the limited space, which of course affects their learning effectiveness. I cannot assist several students at the same time because their desks are too far apart. The design of the library gave me some ideas. I rearranged the classroom as shown in the following picture.
The library separates reading areas, quiet areas, computer areas, and conversation areas. I divided the teacher's office area, independent learning area, cooperative learning area, and whole group instruction area in the classroom, so that students do not interfere with each other. I saw that there were wheels under the tables in the library that could be connected, so I thought of connecting the tables together, which leaves more space for the cooperative and whole group instruction area. At the same time, I can also arrange students who often need one-on-one help into one group. I often use the smart board in my teaching, and I like to invite students to come to the front to interact. After the space became larger, the time for students to walk to the front became much shorter, and my teaching efficiency also improved a lot. I also noticed that there were independent tables and chairs in the corner of the library, so I prepared a small chair and put it in the corner of the classroom. If students need to calm down, they can go and sit there. Of course, this design also has drawbacks, such as when students sit in their seats, they face each other sideways towards the smart board, which makes it more difficult for first-grade students to concentrate.
I can mix and match these two types of classroom designs. A welcoming learning environment should encourage interaction, communication, and collaborative work, because “the communities of practice framework, where learning is an ongoing part of social interaction rather than a discrete activity, allows us to see how different elements of makerspaces work in concert in each space” (Morton, 2012; Wenger, 1998).
References:
Floorplanner - Create 2D & 3D floorplans for real estate, office space or your home. (n.d.). https://floorplanner.com/
Sheridan, K. Halverson, E.R., Litts, B.K., Brahms, L, Jacobs-Priebe, L., & Owens, T. (2014). Learning in the making: A comparative case-study of three maker spaces. Harvard Educational Review, 84(4), 505-531.
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