Sunday 31 January 2016

Creating a STUDENT CENTERED classroom

The student

RECONSTRUCTION

of a previously 

TEACHER CONSTRUCTED

DECONSTRUCTION


So here is the room BEFORE construction...

Here is the room AFTER i had constructed it the way I wanted it...


And here is the room AFTER deconstruction...


I decided after having 'constructed' theONE6 as to what I thought was THE PERFECT classroom design layout, to 'deconstruct' it and pass it all over to the learners in my room. 

I got to thinking... what is something I could do on the FIRST day back to demonstrate clearly that this was THEIR room as well as mine, that THEIR voice matters, and that I want them to have opinions about things and to be confident to share them.

So DAY 1 will involve some discussion about the ultimate classroom design. 


Okay... so Day 1 is over and we didn't really get to 'discuss' great classroom design... but what was interesting was that when the kids first came in no one really commented about there being no desks, chairs, tables set out. It was rather hilarious... they all just grabbed cushions, bean bags and chairs and sat on those in a group. Not one of them asked about the furniture. On reflection...I should have waited for one of them to ask...and we could have worked like this until then!


After morning tea I decided to set them the challenge of designing our space. To work in groups, pairs, or individually to come up with a classroom design which 'makes sense' to how a classroom works!

Here is a short video of the process...




Anyway, the end result is a room which will be workable and most importantly is one THEY have had a say in. 



It was an interesting experiment to carry out. It did not have the impact I thought it would...by that I mean a lot of the kids would have been just as satisfied if I had done it already. Why? I would LOVE some feedback about that. So all you lot in theONE6... reply and comment about whether you think it is important to have a say in the room design OR whether it doesn't really bother you!