Paola Dalmonech
CPB 011.3957 – Reflective Practice Seminar II
Prof.Frias
October 7, 2009
Journal #2
Observing classroom organization and design for literacy development
The room’s physical layout, the arrangement of desks and working space, the
attractiveness and appeal of bulletin boards, and the storage of material and supplies
constitute and form a large part of the classroom organization. The classroom I am
interning in seems to be warm and well run for certain aspects; however, there are some
things I consider a little inconvenient and uncomfortable. Perhaps, the main reason is
because the class is very numerous and thirty desks barely fit in the room; unfortunately,
the room doesn’t offer a lot of space. I think that arranging the room in a way that you
can make eye contact with every student and reach each of them with ease is very
important.
The classroom presents four sets of desks. The first one is right at the entrance,
and it’s composed by four desks. The other three groups are aligned throughout the
classroom in a way that they literally occupy the whole space. The first table consists of
nine desks where eight are put face to face and one is in the rear of it because it doesn’t
have a partner. The second large group of desks has exactly ten students divided into two
lines of five that look at each other. The third and last group is composed by seven
students where again one is placed at the tail end. Therefore, although we are not looking
at the actual picture of the classroom, we can imagine the lack of room in the case where
the teacher needs to pass through the desks. There should be aisles or small corridors
between one large group and the other because I see even the students having difficulty in
walking through. The space in this classroom is very little; consequently, the arranging of
the desks appears to be a little confusing and disorganized.
Then, the closets are located against the left wall that you encounter as soon as
you enter the room. If they are properly closed after being used, they don’t represent form
of disturb because there is enough room before you get to the first large group. The pencil
sharpener is placed aside the closet near the door where students have access if necessary
only at the very beginning of each period; otherwise, it becomes source of distraction.
The blackboard with now the arrival of the smart board are hang up to the wall in a way
that face the students’ desks in profile. Thus, if the students need to look at the teacher
while writing on the board, they have to turn their backs for adjusting. I think this is not a
benefit because students are supposed to maintain a correct posture on their chairs
without moving too much. However, very often the teacher tells them to meet her at the
rug which covers the part of the floor that is right next to the small table used by the four
students mentioned above. Since the rug is not big enough for fitting each student, the
teacher asks some to remain seated on their desks while the lesson is being explained.
Clearly, the physical layout for this section of the teaching reflects the conditions of the
room; nevertheless, despite the environmental plight, the teacher is able to maintain
silence and discipline among the young learners. This is thanks to her talent and
determination.
Going back over the design of the classroom that I am describing, I see that on the
closets’ doors the teacher hanged several papers to display her students’ work. On the
windows, she put up posters, charts, and created a learning center that functions as a
reminder for the students in case they find themselves in difficulty. She had to use the
windows for the simple fact that the class doesn’t offer a lot of usable space. However,
the lighting in a classroom is fundamental because it’s an environmental feature that
affects students in the learning process. A room should be both well lit and dimly lit
because some students learn best in bright light, but others do significantly better in low
light. In fact, my teacher gives children the opportunity to sit whatever they please as far
as they do the work.
The storage of the room is right above the closets; all the wonderful materials are
gathered into paper boxes, baskets or Tupperware containers. Other papers such as the
calendar, the alphabet letters, the numbers…occupy the upper walls that surround the
room. Furthermore, what astonished me was the teacher’s desk that is not found to be in
front of the classroom but in a corner behind the students. At the beginning, I thought that
it was a little odd, yet later on, I started noticing that the teacher rarely uses it; it
represents just another piece of furniture covered by a multitude of papers. The only
occasions I saw the teacher using the desk were when she pulled out students for
assessment.
Finally, near the teacher’s desk I am able to see how well she established the
reading stations where students shop for their books every morning before starting the
school day. This had to be done nicely and quietly because it’s an area accessible for
those who work best in silence; that silence helps kids concentrate better.
My class doesn’t present the best physical arrangement mainly due to the lack of
space, but the teacher catches the students’ attention anyway. She effectively conveys the
enthusiasm in teaching; as a consequence, students become more stimulated in learning
and begin to adapt to the environment though it’s small and a little unpractical.