INQUIRY INTO DESIGN OF PHYSICAL SPACE
Keeping in mind the five functions of the classroom setting as outlined by Weinstein and Novodvorsky (2011), I will look first at how my classroom addresses the function of providing students with security and shelter. Although the school does not have central air, ours is one of the lucky classrooms to have an air conditioning unit, something that came in handy during the extreme heat of the first few days of class, while at the same time making some distracting noises. Attempting to create an environment of psychological security as well as physical security, Mrs. Garrison and I spent some time during professional development softening up the room. While we did not have a lot to work with (the entire building might be considered a bit cold and outdated), we covered the bulletin boards with colorful fabric, hung literature-themed posters and student artwork on the walls, and put together a small classroom library for students to borrow from for pleasure reading.
Seating seemed like it was going to be an issue, as there were initially more students on several of Mrs. Garrison’s rosters than there are desks in the room. So far, however, the number of students that have shown up to our largest class has been exactly the number of desks we have. Mrs. Garrison’s teaching philosophy is one that values group work, so we arranged the desks into four rows of four groups of four desks each (floor plan diagram above, right). When the students are taking a test, she simply has them move their desks into front-facing rows - the desks are small and light, so adjusting according to the task at hand is a fairly effortless procedure. Both Mrs. Garrison’s desk and my desk are located in the front of the classroom (as is the Smart Board), and most activities involving the entire class are oriented in this direction. It seems that this is in part a matter of space - as it is a fairly full room, there is not much room in the back for the teacher to stand to present material (down the hall in a similarly laid out but larger room, I have observed another teacher take advantage of the extra space to lead discussions from various sides of the room - this seems like an effective way, when possible, to involve students seated near the back, who might otherwise become disengaged or distracted).
Regarding symbolic identification (making sure the classroom doesn’t resemble a motel room in terms of sterility), as I mentioned before, we have already hung artwork from past students around the room, and the plan is to display samples of student work on the bulletin boards as the year progresses. This seems like a good way to personalize the classroom and highlight student achievements. I asked Mrs. Garrison if she ever ran into the problem of students being embarrassed to have their work on display, and she said that since most of her students are in the magnet program and tend to be proud of their academic abilities, this was not usually an issue. Still, she makes sure that the students’ names are not visible on the work (this reduces unhealthy competitiveness as well as avoiding calling possibly unwanted attention to individual students) and asks the students for their permission before putting up their work.
On the first day of school, students were involved in the design of the physical space by being allowed to choose their own seats. These seats then became the students’ designated seats (and a seating chart was drawn), primarily to help Mrs. Garrison and me start putting names with faces. Of all the environmental decisions that have been made so far, this is the one that raises the most questions for me in terms of effective classroom management. It seems fairly obvious that, given the option to choose their seats, students who tend to be less engaged, or those that are less interested in the subject, will gravitate toward the back of the room, or whichever part of the room that is farthest from the teacher’s desk. While allowing students to sit where they want surely adds to the pleasure and comfort they feel being in the classroom, how do we counteract the negative effects this might have on students trying to distance themselves from instruction? Should we aim to optimize engagement among such students by having them switch seats, or will this lead to resentment and further disengagement? Is it better to adjust our own physical position within the classroom (standing in the back even though it seems impractical to do so, given the lack of space)? When it comes to the design of physical space, how do we balance the ideal of democracy with the practical need for order?
Finally, there is the issue of us having to share our room. While we are in the same room for all our classes, there are two other teachers (one math, one social studies) who also use our room during our lunch and planning periods. The main concern this raises is how to create a space where students can find us outside of class, whether it is to make up a missed test, get extra help, or just talk about their personal life. Since physical space, in this way, plays an important role in building meaningful relationships with students, how might we go about addressing this?
Seating seemed like it was going to be an issue, as there were initially more students on several of Mrs. Garrison’s rosters than there are desks in the room. So far, however, the number of students that have shown up to our largest class has been exactly the number of desks we have. Mrs. Garrison’s teaching philosophy is one that values group work, so we arranged the desks into four rows of four groups of four desks each (floor plan diagram above, right). When the students are taking a test, she simply has them move their desks into front-facing rows - the desks are small and light, so adjusting according to the task at hand is a fairly effortless procedure. Both Mrs. Garrison’s desk and my desk are located in the front of the classroom (as is the Smart Board), and most activities involving the entire class are oriented in this direction. It seems that this is in part a matter of space - as it is a fairly full room, there is not much room in the back for the teacher to stand to present material (down the hall in a similarly laid out but larger room, I have observed another teacher take advantage of the extra space to lead discussions from various sides of the room - this seems like an effective way, when possible, to involve students seated near the back, who might otherwise become disengaged or distracted).
Regarding symbolic identification (making sure the classroom doesn’t resemble a motel room in terms of sterility), as I mentioned before, we have already hung artwork from past students around the room, and the plan is to display samples of student work on the bulletin boards as the year progresses. This seems like a good way to personalize the classroom and highlight student achievements. I asked Mrs. Garrison if she ever ran into the problem of students being embarrassed to have their work on display, and she said that since most of her students are in the magnet program and tend to be proud of their academic abilities, this was not usually an issue. Still, she makes sure that the students’ names are not visible on the work (this reduces unhealthy competitiveness as well as avoiding calling possibly unwanted attention to individual students) and asks the students for their permission before putting up their work.
On the first day of school, students were involved in the design of the physical space by being allowed to choose their own seats. These seats then became the students’ designated seats (and a seating chart was drawn), primarily to help Mrs. Garrison and me start putting names with faces. Of all the environmental decisions that have been made so far, this is the one that raises the most questions for me in terms of effective classroom management. It seems fairly obvious that, given the option to choose their seats, students who tend to be less engaged, or those that are less interested in the subject, will gravitate toward the back of the room, or whichever part of the room that is farthest from the teacher’s desk. While allowing students to sit where they want surely adds to the pleasure and comfort they feel being in the classroom, how do we counteract the negative effects this might have on students trying to distance themselves from instruction? Should we aim to optimize engagement among such students by having them switch seats, or will this lead to resentment and further disengagement? Is it better to adjust our own physical position within the classroom (standing in the back even though it seems impractical to do so, given the lack of space)? When it comes to the design of physical space, how do we balance the ideal of democracy with the practical need for order?
Finally, there is the issue of us having to share our room. While we are in the same room for all our classes, there are two other teachers (one math, one social studies) who also use our room during our lunch and planning periods. The main concern this raises is how to create a space where students can find us outside of class, whether it is to make up a missed test, get extra help, or just talk about their personal life. Since physical space, in this way, plays an important role in building meaningful relationships with students, how might we go about addressing this?