“How you organise your classroom depends on how you believe your children will learn” Arthur et al, Learning to Teach in the Primary School.
Classrooms layout can effect learning, teaching and one of the most influential processes of reflecting.
We have been given a inventive task to design our own versions of what we could like as our classrooms. We’d given the challenge of having 28 students of which only 6 were girls. I thought I have hundreds of ideas before I started but I soon released that I would have to my best and put all of these into one frame.
There have been numerous changes to classroom layouts in previous decades due to the finding of Piaget and his theory behind exploration and discovery. I had always felt quiet intimidated when i saw classrooms with rows facing the front, giving less of an opportunity to work collaboratively and lack of social space.
To start of, I knew that I wanted to have windows which are low down windows so that the children can have an open space to look out to and be able to reflect upon the natural environment around them.
Children will have cushions and bean bags to sit on around the side of the classroom, however after completing my sketch I realized that this will be a disruption to the rest of the class. Instead having a quiet reading corner in place would be more useful and productive areas which will encourage the children to read and stimulate ideas and thought.
The layout of the tables where designed keeping in mind a Socio-constructive manner of learning, including approaches of cooperative leaning and peer work and assessment, Here are a few explanations of why the tablets are placed that way.
“Social constructivists such as Bruner…the ideas of Lev Vygotsky… the role for talking and listening.” Arthur et al, Learning to Teach in the Primary School.
This promotes a range of things:
Dialogic enquiry-using letters, notes or a written form to present their ideas.
Learning through apprenticeship-different models.
According to Arthur et al, Learning to Teach in the Primary School.
I thought it would be a great idea to have a positive behaviour management reinforcement side in the classroom which will include a wall display of the children’s work which they have chosen. this will display work which a child has worked on regardless of it being the child’s best piece ever or it even being complete. it reinforces to the child that their work is appreciated and valued and the teacher has acknowledged their hard work.
Additionally, I have created a large open space in the middle of the classroom to allow children space to engage with each other. To have room to do whole class discussions whilst having everyone on the floor, without any distractions and paying attention.
