Rationale
Classroom design serves the purpose of not only being aesthetically pleasing but also providing students with support through additional materials and engaging them in different activities by having various zones. Classroom Architect allows outlining the significant features of a classroom that can be used by teachers as a guide when approaching the task of creating a welcoming environment for students, which will be used in this case as well. This paper aims to present a design developed for children six to seven years old, explain the rationale for each choice, and provide a letter to families explaining the new features.
Main Choices
The primary purpose of designing this classroom was to create a welcoming environment for children. Also, it is vital to keep in mind the implications of age and best learning practices to leverage the available space and ensure that the environment encourages students to learn effectively. According to Barrett (2015), much attention is dedicated to the qualifications of school teachers and their competencies while “what is less known is what impact the room where children are taught has on their achievement or performance” (para. 1). Appendix B presents the depiction of the proposed design created using classroom architect (“Outline your classroom floor plan,” n.d.). It was developed in accordance with professional and ethical standards and aims to incorporate proper strategies for encouraging student learning.
This classroom aims to accomplish several goals, with the main emphasis on having a comfortable and welcoming environment where students feel engaged and interested in participating in various activities. According to Kohn (1994), it is impossible to motivate students, although many apply rewards and punishments in an attempt of accomplishing the task. Instead, the author suggests that developing an appropriate classroom culture will be beneficial for improving a student’s interest in learning.
This is substantiated by Porter (2013), who argues that educators have to be aware of how they act and more importantly react to student’s behaviour, especially disruptive one. It is vital to avoid labelling someone as right or wrong and instead listen and guide. This evidence suggests that while adequately arranging a classroom is necessary, the culture that is fostered by a teacher within the space should not be overlooked.
Based on the examined evidence, the question of how to create a proper classroom environment for children aged 6 to 7 years old arises. A valid approach is to observe students and pre-plan the space prior to the beginning of classes based on their needs and preferences (“Environments that promote learning,” n.d.). However, some best practices and guidelines exist that can aid teachers and will be used in this paper.
Reading and Discussions
Firstly, the goal of the internal space was to create an environment that encourages interpersonal communication. This aspect is especially crucial for reading since Kohn (2010) recommends creating a community of readers to support the desire of children to read. For this purpose, a particular area dedicated to discussions about the material that was read is included in the classroom space. On the floor plan, this is a purple round rug with a round table and chairs. Bookshelves are also located in this zone to provide easy access to materials for both the teacher and students.
It should be noted that areas designed for educational purposes are separate from zones where children can relax, for instance, the breakout space and the playground area on the opposite side of the room. This choice was made purposefully, to provide a clear structure to the room and help the learning process by having different activities in areas specified for them. In addition, by having this distinction, students should feel more comfortable socialising and interacting with their classmates within the break space while others continue to study.
Having one round table for all students instead of individual tables for each student in this area was a rational choice as well. This structure is ideal for communication and cooperation between students (“Roundtable learning strategy,” n.d.; Parsons, 2016). This space should resemble a discussion club where students feel comfortable talking about reading with each other.
Mathematics and Other Subjects
Although at the age of 6 to seven children only begin to comprehend the basis of mathematical concepts, it nevertheless is crucial to make certain that they find these lessons interesting to foster an appropriate attitude. Messier (2015) argues that by encouraging students to be a part of a do it yourself or DIY projects when studying technical subjects, teachers can promote matter learning outcomes. Hence, the area for learning these subjects has to incorporate materials for arts and crafts. The focus should be on exploration, and thus, in this area, children will have access to a variety of materials that they can use to build and create DIYs while learning mathematics. On the design plan, this area is located at the top left corner and incorporates tables, shelves, and a teacher’s desk.
Outside Zone
Another aspect that was considered when designing this classroom is the need to utilise both indoor and outdoor space available to have several options for different activities. Bratton, Crossey, Crosby, and McKeown (n.d.) state that outdoor areas provide great learning opportunities and activities for young children and this evidence was used when establishing the need for having additional out of classroom space included in the process of designing this classroom.
The authors recommend having a garden with both grass and hard services that will inspire students learn new skills by exploring. The presence of natural materials, for instance, leaves or stones, is a vital part that helps contain the authenticity of this space. This area can be used for science discussions or game activities. The main objective is to encourage playing and movements that will help children leveraged the sensory experiences in their learning process.
Another suggestion integrated into this classroom design is the need to combine the indoor and outdoor spaces and design them with a sense of unity in mind. Bratton et al. (n.d.) state that children have to have simultaneous access to both spaces. This is reflected in the floor plan since the garden is located right outside the classroom. Within this floor plan, the green at the right indicates the garden to which children have direct access. Of course, this is a representation of an ideal case scenario where the school is constructed in a way that allows young children to have classrooms adjacent to an outside play zone. An alternative to this would be a larger break space with minimum furniture where children can play and explore. The bottom right corner of the plan incorporates additional storage and sink.
Walls and Decorations
It is a common practice to use posters and other supplementary material that will help students learn as part of the design. Barrett (2015) recommends approaching the walls decorations with cautiousness and have a balance between posters that should stimulate learning and works created by the students. Moreover, 20% to 50% of the space should be left black since the author’s research suggests that this approach is the most effective.
One suggestion is to incorporate activities that target exploration of student’s cultures and use different information, for instance, posters created by students about the customs and values of their culture as part of the decoration. Pacini-Ketchabaw (2012) suggests that “when an educator looks at the clock on the wall and declares that it is time to tidy up or to go outside, she declares professional awareness of what is appropriate in early childhood” (p. 155). While there are different approaches to arranging a time and working with the clock, it is necessary to have one within the classroom, which is not reflected in the scheme due to lack of such element in the planning software.
Arguably, the colours used when painting the walls of a classroom space matter as well. Individualisation has to be incorporated in the classroom design to ensure a boost in student’s productivity (Barrett, 2015). This is supported by flexibility, which will enable making changes to the purpose of the space based on the requirements of a learning plan. Breakout space was incorporated into the indoor area of the classroom to offer students a place where they can rest and relax.
Evidence provided by Barrett (2015) suggests that having such a zone in a class in more effective when compared to using corridors or areas outside the learning space. Within this floor plan, this zone is located at the top right corner and is outlined in yellow. It is located near the exit to the garden and has two sofas to provide children with an opportunity to rest.
Collaboration with Families and Diversity
Appendix A contains a letter written for the children’s families that explains the purpose and main features of the new design. Student’s learning outcomes depend significantly on the engagement of family and this classroom recognizes the need to encourage relatives to become engaged in the learning process (“Quality area 6,” n.d.). The goal is to develop a partnership between the families and a teacher to ensure that both parties understand each other’s values and goals.
Cultural competence is another part of the education process that has to be reflected in the design. In order to find out more about the children and their cultural background it is necessary to apply the metaphor of mystery, which encourages one to locate more information, find cues, and look for missing insights (“Cultural competence,” n.d.). In order to do so, both partnerships with parents and specific elements of design reflecting appreciating for diversity should be incorporated.
The proposed design is welcoming for both children and adults because families are encouraged to provide their insight. Additionally, it honours diversity because it encourages families and children to share information about their background. The approach used in this paper incorporates observation of students and presenting them with the ability to decorate the classroom while educating their classmate about their cultural background (“The 7 E’s of classroom design,” 2016).
The letter to parents engages families in the process of planning and executing the design and offers them to talk about their ideas about the planning that reflect their values and views. In addition, it follows ethical and professional standards because it supports diversity and collaboration and aims to create a healthy balance between learning and development and playful activities and is developed in accordance with the National Quality Standards (“Building strong partnerships with families,” 2012). Finally, the proposed design aligns with a personal approach to guiding behaviour.
From my perspective, students have to have enough space and materials to do different activates during the day; for instance, read, do DIYs, or play with their classmates. The environment of the classroom has to be efficient in this sense, to incorporate all the necessary materials while being comfortable.
In a way, this is consistent with the student-centred approach described by Gonzalez (2018) who argues that classrooms should be comfortable, with flexible setting options and emphasis on collaboration between students and that asking students is the key to efficient planning. This approach challenges the traditional classroom planning but allows teachers to pay more attention to the activities that interest students and promote learning. In the case of six and seven-year-olds, it is between to ask both students and their parents to ensure that the classroom incorporates enough space for activities valued by the families.
Conclusion
Overall, this paper aimed to outline classroom design features that will help improve the learning of schoolchildren aged 6 to 7 years old. The main focus is on having a clear structure of different areas – breakout space, studying space, discussion place, playground. Another important feature is having an outdoor space since children of this age learn by engaging with the environment. The reading and discussion area are separated from the space dedicated to mathematics because the first one aims to mimic a book club, while the second focuses on DIY activities.
References
Barrett, P. (2015). Classroom design can boost primary pupils’ progress by 16%. Web.
Bratton, C., Crossey, U., Crosby, D., & McKeown, W. (n.d.). Learning outdoors in the early years. Web.
Building strong partnerships with families. (2012). Web.
Cultural competence – Seeing life beyond our own existence. (n.d.). Web.
Environments that promote learning. (n.d.). Web.
Gonzalez, J. (2018). 12 ways to upgrade your classroom design. Web.
Kohn, A. (1994). The risks of rewards. Web.
Kohn, A. (2010). How to create non reads. Web.
Messier, N. (2015). The how’s and why’s of going ‘full STEAM ahead’ in your classroom. Web.
Michelle, A. (n.d.). Academic learning among 6-7 year olds. Web.
Outline your classroom floor plan. (n.d.). Web.
Pacini-Ketchabaw, V. (2012). Acting with the clock: Clocking practices in early childhood. Contemporary Issues in Early Childhood, 13(2), 154–160. Web.
Parsons, C. S. (2016). “Space and consequences”: The influence of the roundtable classroom design on student dialogue. Journal of Learning Spaces, 5(2), 15-25.
Porter, L. (2013). Behaviour – What to do when the gloves come off. Web.
Quality area 6: Collaborative partnerships with families and communities. (n.d.). Web.
Roundtable learning strategy. (n.d.). Web.
The 7 E’s of classroom design. (2016). Web.
Appendix A
Letter to Families
Dear Student Families,
I am writing to you to notify of the changes that will occur to the classroom’s design in the future. The objective is to transform the space following the state of art teaching practices that help engage students and aid the learning process. Above all, I would like to add that we appreciate any suggestions that you may have in regards to this classroom design. Do not hesitate to contact us and provide your suggestions or perhaps informs us about any particular detail about your child that can help enhance this design and make it more welcoming.
The main aim of this design was to leverage the existing knowledge in guiding and motivating students aged 6 to 7 years old. According to Michelle (n.d.), the primary goal of education for children ages six to seven is to prepare them for significant academic changes that will occur in their future. This incorporates enhancing the understanding of mathematic concepts, advancing in reading, developing motor skills, and establishing foundations for critical thinking. For this purpose, a separate area for reading and discussing the material was created, which has a round table surrounded by bookshelves.
While learning activities are crucial, and this design incorporates different areas that target various activities, the need for having space where children can play and take a break is recognised. Hence, an integral part of the design is the garden to which children will be able to have direct access and a break zone with sofas. Parents and family members are welcomed to visit the classroom and spend time in these areas with their children.
Sincerely yours,
Teacher
Appendix B
