Day 6: Reflections on a Classroom

A view from the doorway of Room 211

I have a room in our school where I hang my coat and where organization is my responsibility, but I am trying hard not to narrow my thinking on this topic. I don't want to let myself get caught up in the idea that learning is limited to a single space and I definitely don't want students to feel that the only space they will learn is in my classroom.

My habits of spreading out
even in a limited area.

That being said, I am also not going to ignore the impact that environment can have on learning. As stated in earlier posts, organization is a challenging area for me. One of the goals I set for myself as I moved into a new classroom this year, was to limit the amount of space that my clutter took up in the room. I want the room to be a space where students feel safe learning, and I know from first hand experience (my wife and kids are often my guinea pigs!) that my habit of "spreading" instead of organizing can be both frustrating and stressful. My first strategy to reduce the impact of my poor habits is to limit the amount of space I'm allowed in the room. On the advice of a wise, experienced teacher I've pushed my desk right against the wall. This limited space has already led me to organizing my desk top in the first 2 weeks of the school year. I also want the room to reflect the students that bring it to life and the learning that they are doing this year. That means taking the time to display their learning in the room. I've started this, but it will be the mid-year blitz that really tests this goal.

As I said earlier, I really don't want to limit the learning environment to one classroom. My school is graced with all kinds of amazing spaces that were designed from the outset to be learning areas. To this end, my colleages and I have have worked hard to show the students how they can learn in a variety of areas includng large gathering areas, small break-out areas and other teachers' classrooms. We are working hard to make sure students don't feel like it's a holiday every time they leave their homeroom. We have team-taught and had students collaborate with students outside their homerooms to encourage this mindset and culture.

Finally, pictures really can say more than words, so here a few of the spaces we've been using so far:

My colleague's room after our joint "Book Frenzy" lesson.
Students started in my room and then moved into
her room to "feed" on some great books.
Wish I had a picture of the energy the kids had.

Our Break-Out Space. Waiting for students
spill out of classes while still learning.

Our "Gathering Space" where students
play "Review Bingo" together.

A break-out space acting like a min-library
until our Learning Commons is ready.