Journal # 1- Domain # 1

Teaching and the Environment

How is the classroom physically organized?
When I first walked into the classroom, I felt like Goliath. I was hitting my head on everything and I hit my shins on everything I walked past. The room was very vibrant and colorful. The walls were filled with information and pictures. There were five tables set up in circles with five chairs around each one. Each table had a different color can in the middle, (green, blue, red, yellow and purple) that was filled with various utensils and accessories. On the northern wall where the students face, there is a giant dry-erase board with a pull down projection screen. Above the dry erase board is an alphabet line that shows capital and lower case letters. At the end of the dry-erase board there is a cardboard stoplight with the students’ names attached with clothespins. When the students misbehave or do not follow instructions they go from green to yellow. If the students get down to red they have to stay inside for recess. If the students get dropped down to yellow but cooperate for the rest of the class or follow instructions, they can get moved back up to green.

The eastern wall has a number line on it alone with numerous shelves and drawers with supplies in them. The cabinets are line with pictures, mostly of the solar system and the planets. The southern wall has a divider that separated two classrooms. Sometimes they do various projects and they open the slider and let the students work together with the other classes. On the floor of the south wall there are plastic tubs with books in them for the students to read. The tubs are filled with books that correspond with the subject they are learning. It just so happens that this month’s subject was the fifty states. The western wall looked out onto the playground and had a shelf with folders and the students spelling notebooks on it. In the corner of the west and north wall are two computers and a document camera. Hanging from the ceilings is the student’s art work of the different types of clouds. There is a chart on the eastern wall as well that has the students names and their jobs for the week. They have line leaders, paper passers, teacher’s helpers, and even a student of the week. That student gets to sit next to the teacher’s desk for a week. During that week they get to bring things to that they like and explain why they chose that item. They get to fill out a profile and after each week the profile is put up on the wall next to the other students until each child has gone. The room is set up very well and seems to be a great environment for the children.


Do children seem to know where things are?
While observing the classroom, it seemed to me that all the students knew where everything was. All the cabinets were labeled with what supplies we were inside, and most of the supplies that they needed were sitting in the cans in the middle of their table. I noticed that if one table was missing something or if another child was using it then the students would ask another table if they could borrow theirs. If they need paper or something that is not supplied at the table they get it out of their backpack or go to the cabinets to take one. They know exactly where everything is and help each other out at needed.

How do learners and teacher’s use the classroom space?
Most of the classroom work is done facing the dry-erase board. The teacher uses the document camera as often as possible because it enables her to interact with the students and even project worksheets on the dry erase board so the students can write in the answers. When the students are doing independent and finish, they are allowed to go to the reading spot and do independent reading. There is not a lot of free space but the space is used up very well.

Is the room more child-oriented or teacher-oriented?
In my opinion the room is geared more towards the students. Everything is bright, colorful and labeled. All the supplies are at the student’s level where they can reach them. The classroom has an alphabet line, a number line, and a poster with vowel sounds on them. Most of the artwork in the classroom is the students and their names are displayed on the wall. All the furniture is small and perfect sized for the children. Based on my observations, I would say that the classroom is more oriented to the students.

What resources are in the room? How do children and adults use them?
The students have a lot of things available to them. They have access to any supply that they need; scissors, paper, writing utensils, books, and all the regular essentials. There are two computers if they need them to look certain things up or use them for educational purposes. The reading corner is a great resource because the students can keep expanding their knowledge and keep their reading skills sharp. There are advanced books that the teacher gives to the students that are no longer challenged by the other books. The adults can use everything that the students can but the things that are readily accessible are more based for the students needs.

What techniques are used to get students’ attention, to transition them from one activity or place, to another?
What I really liked about the classroom is that when the teacher needs to get the classes attention she will say, “Spaghetti” and the children have to reply with, “Meatballs”, so she knows they are all paying attention and that all eyes are on her. She uses this often when she needs to address the class as a whole or when they are moving on. She also uses it to tell them when they are starting a different activity or leaving the classroom to go somewhere else. It is a really effective strategy that the students really respond to. If a student does not respond or continues to talk, they have to move their pin down a color from wherever it is.

What examples of technology are available?
They have desktop computers available in the classrooms and if the teachers have planned assignments, they can rent out the laptop cart. They use the laptops to visit educational sites and expand their math or look up historical figures to answer questions about. They have a document camera in the classroom that is ten times better than an overhead projector. The clarity is better and it can be projected on the dry erase board so that the students can go up to the board to fill in a blown up copy of the worksheet. It is extremely effective and a great way to show anything to class; counting beads, coins, worksheets, buttons, anything.

A lot of things that I noticed in the classroom were touched upon in the book. The environment is a great place for the students to learn and expand their knowledge. Everything is accessible to them and labeled so they know where everything is. The classroom displays a lot of their work and drawings to make the room feel like it is theirs. They know the rules, what is expected of them and how to conduct themselves. The stoplight system is a great way to keep the students on task but to also show them that if they misbehave they will be punished. I also like the fact that the child can redeem themselves if they do something good. The room is spaced out so that everything isn’t cluttered and gives the students space to work. The students do not seem overwhelmed or enclosed and when they finish their work they can always read so they do not disrupt the other students. I really like the way the classroom is set up and the rules that are set.