Classroom Design Sable Brown 1 st Grade Practicum Classroom 03/23/15

Security and Shelter O Physical Security- classrooms should provide protection from bad weather, noise, extreme heat or cold, and noxious odors O Teachers should have safe supplies and equipment O Should have space for students who have wheelchairs, leg braces, or crutches. O Psychological Security- feeling that classroom is a safe, comfortable place to be O Should contain items that are soft or responsive to their touch, warm colors, bright accents, and varying textures help create security and comfort O Have space in classroom, in crowded classrooms it is easy to become distracted O Create spaces where students can retreat when things get too hectic Ex. Having a quiet corner where a student can go and sit and do work independently. In my practicum classroom there is a corner surrounded by shelves where a student can go and sit on the floor and read.

Social Contact O Interaction among students O Think about desk arrangements: clusters promote social contact b/c students’ are close together, rows help students concentrate on individual assignments, and horizontal rows has students focused on the teacher but still provides close neighbors on each side O Interior loop arrangement allows teacher to work the crowd, using the fewest steps Ex. My practicum classroom has the desk arranged in clusters for more social contact between the students.

Symbolic Identification O Refers to the info. that a setting provides about the people who spend time there O What does this classroom tell us about the students? O What does the classroom tell us about the teacher’s goals, values, and beliefs about education? O Personalize classroom space: post students’ artwork, birthdays, and photographs O Display materials that reflect the cultural backgrounds of the children and teacher O Teacher can display pictures of their family Ex. When I did my Child Development Center observation the preschool teacher had pictures of the students on the wall when you walked in the classroom, she also had their artwork and finished activities displayed on the walls.

Task Instrumentality O Ways in which the environment helps us to carry out the tasks we need to accomplish O Consider physical design of classroom and where things are placed O Do not want certain task distracting other students that are doing a different task Ex. In my practicum classroom the teacher has things stored away from desk, that students can get without distracting others, also the small group table is away from the other desks.

Pleasure O Is the classroom attractive and pleasing O Have some variation but not too much in décor of classroom, warm colors and cool colors; open, spacious areas and small cozy corners; hard surfaces and soft surfaces; textures that are smooth and those that are rough Ex. This classroom has a class library that looks cozy and comfortable, and is set up and decorated very nicely. Picture found on website called Beyond New Horizons.

Growth O Promotes children’s development: cognitive and academic achievement O Classroom should invite children into the learning experience, to explore, observe, investigate, test, and discover O Have open and closed materials and a print-rich classroom Ex. My practicum classroom is print-rich and also has things displayed on the walls that invites children into learning such as the word wall.

References O My Practicum Classroom O Child Development Observation O era/