Design Question 6

What will I do to establish and maintain classroom rules and procedures?

Page 199

Module 16 Effective Classroom Organization

• The way teachers organize their classrooms communicates to the students how they will manage instruction and facilitate student learning.

• Page 199

Key Aspects of Room OrganizationHow a teacher:Organizes physical spacePromotes effective traffic flowStructures various components of the room, especially students’ access to centers, materials, technology and equipment page 199

Recommendations for Classroom Practice

• Ensuring student access to learning centers, technology, and equipment

• Decorating the room to reinforce learning• Preparing and organizing materials• Arranging students’ desks, chairs, and teacher

work area page 201

Ensuring student access to learning centers, technology and equipment

• Considerations:• Number of centers needed• Primary patterns of movement

page 201

Ensuring student access to learning centers, technology and equipment

• Also consider placement of centers relative to materials, books, other resources; placement of computers, printers, and equipment that require special placement for safety reasons. Page

201

Ensuring student access to learning centers, technology

and equipment• Finally consider placing bookshelves to be easily

accessed but do not create traffic jams or limited teacher view of students. Page 201

Decorating room to reinforce learning

Things to consider:• What do you want students to see when they enter the

room?• Available space on walls for bulletin boards, calendars,

displays to post learning goals (I can statements), assignments, announcements, anchor charts, and student work

• Poems, vocabulary, rules, schedule, word walls page 203

Preparing and organizing materials

The more teachers pay attention to ensuring that required materials are prepared and organized, the greater the chances that classrooms will effectively promote learning for all students. Pages 204-205

Arranging student’s desks, chairs and teacher’s work area

• Consider: safety, whole group areas, small group areas, storage areas, student visibility of teacher, seating arrangement that encourages best student production page 206-207

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Scale for module 16: Effective Classroom

OrganizationInnovating Applying Developing Beginning Not using

Adapts and creates new strategies for unique student needs and situations.

Organizes the physical layout of the classroom to facilitate movement and focus on learning and monitors the impact of the environment on student learning

Organizes the physical layout of the classroom to facilitate movement and focus on learning

Uses strategy incorrectly or with parts missing

Strategy was called for but not exhibited.

Teacher Evidence• The physical layout of the classroom has clear

traffic patterns

• The physical layout of the classroom provides easy access to material and centers

• The classroom is decorated in a way that enhances student learning

• Bulletin boards relate to current content

• Students’ work is displayed

Student Evidence• Students move easily about the classroom

• Students make use of materials and learning centers

• Students attend to examples of their work that are displayed

• Students attend to information on the bulletin boards

• Students can easily focus on instruction