Hi
Class, My name is Katy and I will be your discussion leader for the week.
This
week we are wrapping up our Zadina text by taking a step back and looking at
the big picture. Zadina includes a small section in which she discusses the
physical environment of a school, specifically students feeling safe and relaxed in their school environment. This piqued my interest. I teach at a school
where the heating and cooling system is so old that it takes 2 days to turn on or off the boiler system, so those two days in early March where it was 80 degrees on Wednesday
and 40 degrees on Thursday, the physical environment (hot and sticky) truly
impacted my students ability to concentrate. When looking more into classroom
environment I found a lot of literature on classroom environment in terms of
classroom culture, but very little on the physical environment. This surprised me.
I know that I get a “feel” for a class and a teacher just by walking in the
room, even when no one is present.
I
have submitted two articles and a youtube video for you all to enjoy this week.
I am excited to get this conversation going.
This
week I would love to hear your thoughts on:
1. What pre-service
training (in college or certification program) or support from your school did
you receive concerning your physical classroom environment?
2. My first year
teaching I rearranged my classroom 3-4 times the first semester… what mistakes
did you make with your environment and what have you learned? Or, if you are
not in the classroom, describe some really great or poor examples of classroom
environment?
3. Based on your
readings this week, what is one thing you might like to try this year, next
year, or when you are in the classroom, in terms of your classroom’s physical
environment?
