Domain 2: Mrs. Park's Classroom Environment

I consider Mrs. S to be coordinated. She has her materials well labeled and organized throughout her classroom. Her desk area also appears organized. Mrs. S shared with me that she begins her school day one hour before the students arrived. This schedule allows her to plan for the day ahead. Mrs. S‘s classroom is large but functional. She has a total of 30 students in her class. The seating arrangement consists of 6 sets of grouping desks as Mrs. S has 6 groups of 5 students to an area. This set up offers several benefits including encouraging collective learning,

They require a variety of supports, such as homework assistance, as they progress through the school curriculum. A large number of students in the classroom are Polish and they come from upper class families. The physical arrangement of the room is similar to a traditional classroom, but instead of single desks she uses rows to foster collaboration between students. For instance, the teacher has her desk to the right of the room with two steps of separation from the students. There are six rows in total containing three seats in each row. The space allows the teacher to walk freely throughout the classroom and give each student individualized attention. In addition, the general education teacher makes sure to label folders, books and testing material with student names. There are two additional assistant teachers in the classroom including myself. We provide assistance to the general education teacher on different days, but work collaboratively when

The classroom environment effects instruction and learning by having an open area for the students to learn while exploring/playing. The educator uses the open space to model the task that needs to be completed. There were two table, which each seats seven students, for instructional hands-on work. Here students complete worksheets, drawings, and tracing words, shapes, and letter. Students encourage and help each other when sitting at these tables. Students learn to communicate when working in two groups on the same task. There were no effective practices that built an anti-bias environment that supported diverse learners.

The classroom is its own ‘ecosystem.’ The features of this ‘ecosystem’ revolve around creating a positive atmosphere for learning (Karnovsky, 2015). However, this does not occur overnight, it takes time and energy from the teacher and the students to develop this atmosphere. One method to achieve this, is a student behavioral agreement. This consists of four core concepts; student’s rights and responsibilities, classroom

Undersized school chairs and desks. While students sit in classrooms learning and preparing for their adult years some struggle to pay attention in class due to their

The teacher always had all materials ready for each class and ensured that all small group and independent work corresponded with the main instruction. The big group, small group, and skill station activities are planned to maximize the students’ opportunities to respond and work with the new material in a variety of ways. Scheuermann and Hall (2016) highlight the ability of these opportunities to respond to promote active engagement with the content helping thwart inappropriate conduct and encourage on-task behavior. This correlation was evident in this classroom as the majority of students were consistently on task during the main lesson and station work.

First and foremost, As for the organization of the classroom, as presently as I walked into Mrs. Patino`s fifth grade class at 7:30 am, I took notice into her classroom resources, implying, what type of tools she upholds for her students to look up on the wall, computer resources, textbooks, and so forth. I detected reading skills notes on the walls (Compare& Contrast, Plot, Authors, Point of View), as well as thinking notes (Inferring, Determining, Importance), and motivational quotes (I may not be perfect, but I am still awesome). Nether the less, the students were grouped into two rows of desks about 15 students on one side of the room, and 15 students on the other side of the room. Each row had

The first step to eliminating distractions for Leila in the classroom would be to identify her three of her biggest issues causing disturbances. Leila’s desk is located near a high traffic area by the trash can and computer games. The movement of other student to switch out games and throw away trash is not ideal for an easily distracted student. Leila becomes frustrated and has to decompress by off-task talking and getting out of her seat to walking around. Due to these conditions, the classroom’s physical environment has the potential to greatly affect student learning (Fernandes and Jinyan, 2012).

The plan for implementation is to spend the last quarter before school ends to create visual materials during art class to create posters of the rules for hallway behavior. Each class will work on specific posters to be placed in the hallway, bathrooms, lunch area, gym, and all the classrooms. Rules will be spelled out in big colorful

Ms. Gladson’s future classroom will incorporate a healthy mix of fun and organized. While thinking over the five procedures one should implement in their classroom, it was important that they recognized the organized environment of the classroom, but also allowed for positive interaction among the students. From entering the room to leaving at the end of the day, there are important steps that even seventh graders need to remember in their classroom. Educators should allow one week of training; in which they will learn the procedures, but receive a grace period if not completed correctly. Then, at the start of week two, they can expect the students to complete it on their own. Each procedure teaches a set of expectation that the instructor should hope to see from each student.

If a student is absent, they are responsible for gathering the papers that we used the day that they were gone. There will be a container with folders in the back of the classroom, all extra papers will go in there and if a student is absent or does not have the assignment, they can grab it from there. Once the student has all the papers that they need, then they can complete it and turn

When working in childhood education, it is necessary to have appropriate expectations and to possess the strategies to implement your education goals. Rules, standards, guidelines, and expectations are essential at Interactive Neighborhood for Kids. INK provided a set of rules for students posted in every room. These rules and expectations don’t end with the students, they extend to the faculty and staff as well. The most important expectations stressed for volunteers are creating a safe environment and utilizing positive reinforcement. Embracing these standards and forming a classroom that is organized and which is characterized by mutual respect makes it easier for an educator to teach their students successfully and more efficiently.

I felt that Mrs. Rosser’s classroom was set up efficiently. Her desk is set up where she has a clear view of all of her students. Although when I was in her classroom for my observation she was never at her desk. She was up and moving around the classroom during my entire observation period. The student’s desks were all set up in the center of the classroom in clusters. The only problem with some of the children’s desks were that they don’t face the front white board so they would need to turn completely around in their chairs to see. Although it seemed that Mrs. Rosser typically had the students come to the front rug in front of the white board while she taught. That way the children didn’t have any issues with having to turn around in their chairs.

The final observation is a focus on my own personal inquiry. For this final inquiry, I decided to focus on the methods in which Mr. Clark uses to maintain order and focus within his classroom. Although through this observation I have learned the benefits of cooperative learning, this style of environment can lead to disorder and a lack of focus within the class. Although Clark supports discussion within his classroom, there becomes a point in which the discussion becomes more of a distraction for the students trying to learn. For this observation, I asked Clark his method’s of maintaining order and focus within the classroom. A key to maintaining order within the classroom is understanding who your students are. Clark knows the students who would lose focus or become distractions within the classroom if seated together, therefore he knows not to put those students

In addition to her knowledge of each student and developing lesson plans to meet every individual’s goals, the teacher adapts to her diverse classroom environment. For example, a few of her students have Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), so she tries to calm them down with reminder cues, such as a gentle touch on the shoulder. Although this example shows the standard 2.6, it also demonstrates how Mrs. McGoldrick adapts to different situations, such as distractions, which is standard 4.5. Another example is with her station rotations, where each group of children work on different activities, such as reading, coloring, and spelling. Each of these table groups collaborate with each other to finish a particular task, while the teacher and I assist each individual with their worksheet or interact with them. This scenario exemplifies standard 4.3, where the teacher developed long-term instructional plans, while maintaining high standards for individual and group behavior.