Your Classroom’s Feng Shui and George Carlin
By Pete Hilling
1,200 square feet. Sounds like a lot of space. It may even look like a decent sized room, if it’s an empty one. Thirty feet by forty feet are the average classroom dimensions. How teachers use that space, is both a major factor in how well teachers teach, and how well students learn. With the introduction of SMARTboards and document cameras over the past five years, analyzing, planning, organizing and ongoing tweaking of the space teachers and students live in during the school day, is a must. The type and amount of furniture, teaching materials, or “stuff” to quote the great George Carlin, and technology in your classroom is a topic that requires careful thought, creativity and a new way of using the physical and digital spaces in classrooms. Setting up a classroom is a personal matter; one that every teacher undergoes at the beginning of each year and will often revisit during the brief respite on holidays. How many desks, tables and chairs are needed in a given space?
Teachers traditionally review the physical needs of their students in order to gain a better understanding of the classroom layout or design for optimal, safe teaching and learning. Some information is dictated by the number of students on the roster, the size and age of students (Review the lists in Chip Woods Yardsticks for a keen understanding of the physical, emotional and cognitive needs of each age 4-14), and the needs of students with unique physical limitations. Students and teachers must be able to move around the room in a relatively safe, easy manner. The careful planning for student and teacher movement from arrival, through centers or stations, to dismissal, will minimize the number of collisions, conflicts, and time lost transitioning throughout the school day. The careful selection of the amount and style of furniture in the classroom goes a long way toward supporting positive classroom management. Too many tables, desks, file cabinets, bookshelves, etc. and you have a maze that slows down movement from point A to B, detracting from teaching and learning. With the increase or addition of technology comes a change in how furniture is used, or not used in the classroom.
Teachers traditionally review the physical needs of their students in order to gain a better understanding of the classroom layout or design for optimal, safe teaching and learning. Some information is dictated by the number of students on the roster, the size and age of students (Review the lists in Chip Woods Yardsticks for a keen understanding of the physical, emotional and cognitive needs of each age 4-14), and the needs of students with unique physical limitations. Students and teachers must be able to move around the room in a relatively safe, easy manner. The careful planning for student and teacher movement from arrival, through centers or stations, to dismissal, will minimize the number of collisions, conflicts, and time lost transitioning throughout the school day. The careful selection of the amount and style of furniture in the classroom goes a long way toward supporting positive classroom management. Too many tables, desks, file cabinets, bookshelves, etc. and you have a maze that slows down movement from point A to B, detracting from teaching and learning. With the increase or addition of technology comes a change in how furniture is used, or not used in the classroom.
Classroom furniture has undergone major changes with the introduction of the SMARTboard. As SMARTboards were mounted on the classroom walls, the teacher workspace was redefined. The teacher laptop, and if possible document camera and other teacher tools, needs to be located near the SMARTboard. These pieces of technology could fit on a teacher’s “traditional desk,” but many teachers have moved away from using a teacher desk, to using a workspace, such as a table or presentation cart for these technologies. Do all students need a desk, chair, or table, if they work more comfortably on the floor given their developmental need to stretch or lay down when thinking, reading or writing? Is there a need for a file cabinet? With more teacher documents, maps and artifacts being digitized and able to be displayed on a SMARTboard with a click of a mouse, teachers are rethinking the need for the file cabinet (Just have to remember to back the work up on your “H” or external hard drive unless you have drank the Google-Aide!). If the file cabinet has gone the way of the overhead, it may be time to place the cabinet in storage and make room for a larger reading center or collaborative space where small numbers of students can work comfortably together at a table or on the floor. While George Carlin was razzing us all about the amount of “stuff” in our homes, his humor can easily be applied to the classroom. The classroom is home for teachers and students 188 of the 365 days in a school year. Careful consideration given to the amount of classroom “stuff” and its place, is an important factor in strong teaching and learning. If you are room-design challenged, there is almost always at least one teacher in your building who either appreciated George Carlin or has a classroom Feng Shui skill worthy of tapping.
