I'm always so concerned with what I'm teaching and how I'm teaching that I often overlook where I'm teaching. The truth is, though, that the classroom environment plays a major role in students' learning. The challenge this week was to try to make no-cost changes to improve the classroom learning environment. This week has already been quite crazy at school, so I did not have much time to make extensive changes, but I was able to make a few which I have outlined below.
First, although it is a small change, I made some of my spaces more organized. I eliminated the clutter in front of my window, and took down some useless cords from the ancient, no-longer-functional television in the front of my room (the television was supposed to be removed last year, but, as you can see, they obviously haven't gotten around to it yet). These small changes really made a big difference in the overall welcoming presence of the room.
BEFORE
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AFTER
BEFORE
AFTER
Next, I made the front corner of my room more interactive by adding a "Students' Recommended Reads" area next to my already existing "Mrs. McConnell's Recommended Reads" display. I have a recommendation box on top of the chromebook cart. While I only had the display up for two days so far, I have received several recommendations, and many students have stopped by to at least take a look at the list. This is definitely a work-in-progress, but I think it's a practical and engaging use of this space. I want my students to feel like their thoughts are important in my classroom, and this wall is just one way to do that.
The biggest change I made was to the arrangement of my desks. Since I teach high school ELA, a large portion of class time is spent discussing literature. As a result, having desks in straight rows with students looking at the back of their peers' heads is not exactly practical. I tried to set up a more discussion-based layout. I'm still not 100% thrilled with this set-up, but it's a step in the right direction.
BEFORE
AFTER
Am I thrilled with the current layout of my room? Definitely not. However, there are several restrictions keeping me from improving it. The first is the chromebook cart which is large and ugly and, unfortunately, one of the first objects to catch the eye in the room. This cart is often housed in my room, but it is a community cart that other teachers can check out. As a result, it must be easily accessible to other teachers. I'd love to move it to the back corner of my room, but that's just not a practical solution.
Another major issue with the room is the desks. First, the desks all only open from the left side, which makes placing them in permanent pairs or groups impossible because students would not even be able to sit down. Even having the desks close to each other, as in my remodeled version is causing problems because there's not enough room for students and books, backpacks, purses, etc. Additionally, several of my classes have 30-31 students which means that a vast majority of space is taken up by desks to accommodate all of my students, and having fewer desks is not an option.
What else can I do to improve my classroom?
With some additional funding, I could make several improvements to my classroom. I would LOVE to get new desks with chairs that could easily be moved into innumerable collaborative or individual configurations depending upon the daily tasks. The desks below would make much better use of my space and would foster collaboration. Unfortunately, buying 30+ of these desks and chairs would cost far more than $1,000.
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| from Worthington Direct |
On a more practical note, with $1,000 I could add a collaborative work area to my already-existing space. To make more open space in my room, something to look into would be to remove some of my bookshelves and rearrange our English department storage closet to store more of my books in there. If I could do that, I would have more room to set-up collaborative work spaces in my room. If I can open up space against the far wall with the window, I could get just a few of the desks and chairs pictured above to create a collaborative work area. These desks could be rearranged to work on group projects, participate in literature circles, serve as a discussion panel, conference with me about papers or projects, etc.
I could also improve my chromebook cart. While I cannot really move my cart, I could get a smaller one. Our school also has several newer, sleeker carts that are about half the size of mine. Something similar to the cart below would help draw attention away from the cart in the front of the room. With one fewer distraction in the room, students can focus more easily on the day's educational tasks.
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| from School Outlet |
Finally, the lighting in my room could be improved. I have windows with movable blinds, so I have some control over the amount of natural light that comes into the room. However, on cloudy days, not much light shines through. This causes a problem when I'm using my projector. When I have the lights on, it is too bright to see the screen, but when I turn the lights off, the room is almost pitch black. There are two possible solutions to this problem. One would be to install a dimmer into my light switch so that I can control the amount of artificial light in the room when the natural light is not cooperating. A more realistic fix would probably be to buy some lamps and strategically place them around the room. Having a couple of the lamps below would be a relatively inexpensive way to drastically change the lighting in my room. With this, I can create a warm, inviting room that welcomes students but does not instantly put them to sleep.
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| From Warisan Lighting |
Creating this blog has sparked some short term and long term goals for the layout of my classroom. This is something that I know I need to give more attention to because it really makes a huge difference. One of my goals for the rest of this school year is to be more aware of the layout of my room and try to make adjustments to make it better. I'd love to hear from other teachers who have some "quick-fix" advice for making classroom environments more conducive to learning.
References
USC Rossier Online (2015). The science of classroom design. [Infographic]. Retrieved from https://rossieronline.usc.edu/science-of-classroom-design-infographic/
Wade, Mary. (2016). Visualizing 21st-century classroom design. Retrieved from https://www.edutopia.org/blog/visualizing-21st-century-classroom-design-mary-wade
Elaine,
ReplyDeleteI love a good classroom cleanse now and then. We as teachers are always too busy prepping lessons, teaching them, or diminishing our piles of paperwork and grading to make our classrooms super clean and organized. I loved the simplicity of just cleaning up areas that had been neglected because we do not have the time. I try to do a classroom cleanse every month or so, just to stay organized and file paperwork. I love the "Recommended Reads" section! I have incorporated a Writing Super Star bulletin board, where one to two students per class are recognized for their essays. I thought it was corny at first, but they love seeing their name displayed for everyone to see and be recognized for their hard work.
Years ago, I had the attached desk/chair combo in my classroom and absolutely despised it. You cannot rearrange your room to accommodate the awkward seating of those particular desks. Not sure why someone would have created them! I do however, like the alternatives you have selected to replace them. They seem very versatile and small, which can help to create more open space in your already crammed classroom. It's unfortunate that you have to keep the chrome cart in your room daily. Whenever I would borrow them for my students to use, I could not wait to wheel it away to its home. It takes up so much valuable space!
Recommendations: I once had the desk/chair combo furniture in groups. The one in the center would be facing the projector and on either side, I would have another desk/chair facing the side walls. My students could see the board when teaching a lesson, but could easily slid into their seats and collaborate when needed. It does take up a lot of room though.
Is there anyway you can eliminate some desks and replace them with small tables and separate chairs? One year, a teacher and I swapped classroom furniture to give ourselves variety and to define different areas of our classroom. It is difficult when you are limited with the furniture you are provided.
Thanks for your post!
Kelly
Hi, Kelly,
DeleteI don't think I would have room to do the 3 desk configuration since I have so many desks, but that sounds like a great layout! However, I'm definitely going to see if there are any available tables that could be swapped out for some of the desks. That would be an easy way to allow for flexibility of individual and collaborative work. Thanks for the idea!
Elaine
I love the desks you chose for your $1000 budget. They seem easily maneuverable and can be combined for any layout. I can also relate to the bulky computer cart, but mine houses laptops and not the small chromebooks. Your before and after pictures are so satisfying to view because you can see the small changes in a big way. Decluttering was also something I had to focus on in my room.
ReplyDeleteYou mentioned you're not entirely sold on your new layout. What are your concerns with the new shape?
Hi, Christi,
DeleteThanks for your feedback! My biggest concern with the new layout is that the desks are too close together for students to easily move in and out of them. As a result, the desks keep getting moved out of place slightly, which gives the room a disorganized look. Ideally, if I can free up some space on the side of my room, I can spread the desks out a bit more to solve this problem. I may try a few other layouts to see if I can find one that better accommodates these particular desks until I can find another solution.
Elaine
Hi, Katie,
ReplyDeleteThanks for the suggestion of asking others for lamps. I get e-mails from colleagues all the time asking for random things, and it always seems that they are able to find these items from other teachers; it's definitely worth a try asking for lamps! In regards to decluttering, I'm going to try to make more of an effort to do it more often. It's such a cathartic experience to walk into my room after reorganizing!
Thanks for your feedback!
Elaine
Hi Elaine!
ReplyDeleteI love the simple changes you made. They really are big changes in the scheme of things! Our time in the classroom is so busy, it is very easy for things on our end to become disorganized and cluttered. I fall into that trap daily! As easy as it may sound to set aside five minutes a day to straighten things up, I completely understand how it is easier to forget or run out of time. I am encouraged by you to make this a priority, for it truly makes more of a difference then realized. I did a clean-up on Thursday after school, and it was amazing how much smoother my day went on Friday! I find this to be true every time I clean up, but somehow, I always fall back into the clutter pit. We will see how my daily attempt goes!
I also admire your attempt to improve the layout of your desks. You have tricky desks to work with, and I am not sure I would be able to figure out a different layout besides rows! I love the arcs you came up with! Although it is already causing problems for you, I hope that you can work out the kinks and find benefits to the desks in that design!
I appreciate your suggestions for lighting. I also have run into the same issues as you, and I think those lights would be an excellent fix to the problem. I will be keeping my eye out for lights that would help with lighting.
Thank you for the ideas!
Hannah