When creating a lesson plan, I consider what my students will experience. I think about timing, the flow of the lesson, how students will participate, visuals, technologies, music, chants, hands-on components, and more. However, I'm not so lucky when it comes to the layout and general floor plan of my current art room. I don't really have much control over it other than moving the furniture that I have and decorating the walls. The room is one of the smaller rooms in the building, making it hard for me to rearrange desks/furniture. The furniture I have is old, used and some is falling apart. Now, this is not to say that it is in an awful state or that I am ungrateful for the things that I have. Rather, that if it were my choice from the beginning, I would have done things a lot differently, now that I can look at my classroom environment through MAET lenses. I have created a concept of what a more ideal classroom would look like for my situation. I started with a list of things I knew I wanted before I even began designing. The list includes: a larger room, more space, a lot of counter space, many sinks, a gallery wall, natural lighting, various seating, movable furniture, semi-private area for choice time and lightly colored walls. All of these things have been included. Bird's-eye view of the classroom from above The classroom from another angle. The small empty room would be for a kiln room and the larger empty room would be for supply storage and office space. ** In my floor plan, I did include an office space and a storage space (seen above). Although these spaces are absolutely essential for an art room, I chose not to furnish them because the focus of this project was on the learning space. So, let's take a closer look at those spaces. Looking at the photo above, you can see I have a group learning space on the blue and yellow rug where students can sit for lectures, demonstrations and collaborations like pairs and shares. There is a whiteboard/projector and a computer nearby for convenience. Inspired by The Third Teacher+ and Edutopia (2013), I also have included a gallery wall which is that trifold poster board. Here, I can hang student work, exemplars and "facilitate visual listening" (2013). Furthermore, the rug serves as a spot where the class comes together as a group - almost like a team huddle. This is where I see their faces and hear their voices and opinions (keep in mind, as an art educator, I typically see them about once a week). This is like our pow-wow before conquering our art for the day. In their book, How People Learn: Brain, Mind, Experience and School, Bransford, Brown and Cocking (n.d.) argue the importance of learner-centered classrooms. This area is meant to nurture that concept. Another thing I'd like to point out from the photo above is that I have created a large, open-concept room, save for one area. That one area is called the Choice Time Area (see photo below). This is where early finishers come to explore different creative options with their free time. The Choice Time Area I wanted the Choice Time Area to be semi-private - like a little nook - so I put a bookshelf there that has no backing so I can still have eyes on students. I incorporated some bean bag chairs to make it a little cozier. The book shelf would hold artist and drawing books, building blocks, modeling clay, free draw paper, spirographs, symmetry blocks, and more. This is my small maker space. It is meant to encourage invention, creativity, self-discovery, problem solving and to empower learners. As Halverson and Sheridan argue in the Harvard Educational Review, "If we believe that making activities and maker identities are crucial for empowerment, then it is, in part, our job to set up situations whereby all learners have the opportunity to engage" (Pg. 500, 2014). Close up of the work space. The only way I'd be able to test this space out to see if it works and if my ideas follow through would be to run a class in it. Unfortunately, that isn't possible. Even if I tried to move furniture around in my current classroom to imitate what I have created, I simply do not have the same amount of space and resources in real life. I can, however, improvise and I could create a "gallery wall" off of the poster board I do have in my current room. I could also create a space to sit on the floor as our group "pow-wow". My point is that there are things that I can and cannot change. I cannot change the fact that my current classroom was built with an "old school" mentality and I may not be able to change the furniture I have. But I can begin to, as the George Lucas Educational Foundation would put it, "integrate tools and tactics for creative thinking" (2013) into my classroom with a little bit of hard work and thinking outside of the box. References
Bransford, J., Brown, A.L. & Cocking, R. R. (Eds.), How people learn: Brain, mind, experience and school. Washington, D.C.: National Academy Press. Retrieved from http://www.nap.edu/openbook.php?isbn=0309070368 Halverson, E.R. & Sheridan, K. (2014). The Maker Movement in Education. Harvard Educational Review, 84(4), 495-465. “Remake Your Class: Building a Collaborative Learning Environment (Video Playlist).” Edutopia, George Lucas Educational Foundation, 6 Aug. 2013, www.edutopia.org/video/remake-your-class-building-collaborative-learning-environment-video-playlist.
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