The Classroom Physical Environment - Essay Example

The Classroom Physical Environment The classroom has 5 small tables and each table has 5 chairs, also the classroom has 2 windows, 2 doors one for the entrance and the other for outside playing. The walls effectively elicit the education environment of the classroom. The walls have pictures which indicate the learning goals for students in a very clear manner. The wall also have the alphabet which has both small and capital letters making it easy for students to learn not only the alphabet but also differences in small and capital letters and letters 1-10 hence improving students math and language skills (Tarr, 2004). The walls also have pictures of money and makes students learn abut money and different units of money thereby helping in improving the counting skills of learners. The walls also have the I SPY letters aimed at educating children be familiar with word and letter recognition. The I SPY letters are also aimed at making children put their vocabulary in activity and learn language skills by explaining a scene that has many activities. They are also vital for children to learn literature. The walls are further conducive for learning as they have pictures of the watch and times that children can go to the bathroom. There is also a hanging that shows the days of the week hence enhancing children’s ability to know the days of the week. The physical environment is also made conducive for learning since it is made up of learning materials such as crayons for art and drawing, colors for painting, puzzles to teach children on problem solving skills, shells, insect toys for teaching children about different insects, cars toys, computer toy, paper plates, scissors, books, different color papers, shells, insects toys, blocks, dolls, and magazines which are important tools for teaching children art, drawing, language, problem-solving and math skills or counting. According to Tarr, (2004), the walls are arranged well to complement the educational environment. The wall makes learning visible to learners hence promoting learning. The design of the wall is also filled with aesthetics making the learning environment enjoyable. The indoor environment is conducive. The reading area and atmosphere in the classroom has adequate visuals which are organized in a way that promotes safety. The indoor environment looks quiet that makes the reading area appropriate for the students to sit and read different books. Moreover, the environment is adequately organized to maintain the focus of the students by placing the shelves carefully and separating the learning and reading areas. The reading materials in the indoor environment are also seen as adequate since there is a range of reading materials to include fictional and non-fictional books that would capture and enhance the interests and imaginations of students. Indoor and outdoor environment. An inviting spacious outdoor school environment is welcoming to the kids at their development stage. The school environment is portioned into two open areas to offer the kids maximum play. One is the playground while the other is a garden with three big jars filled with soil for kids to enjoy planting. Every day the students also visit the three motor laboratories. These labs have a unique design that allows all students especially those with special needs to play. The improvement that need to be done is using pictures to indicate the type of clothing to wear, reading material should be enhanced by a clock to assist the students learn about the essence of time management. What should be added to have adequate lighting, rugs, private areas need to be included to promote solitude for the children. Additionally, their should be individual spaces for children to hang their clothing, Atmosphere of the Classroom Environment The atmosphere of the classroom is further enhanced by meetings the teacher has with students which are important in making the learners have a sense of community. The meetings are vital in making the learners experience a sense of community since it brings them in a grouping which discuses issue that affect them how they are supposed to behave and hence learn norms that are to be upheld in the classroom environment. The prevailing atmosphere of mutual respect, trust, positive competition and openness is created progressively between the students with the guidance of the teacher. Students are encouraged to take responsibility and pride in their work. The environment is conducive for making learners know what they need to know in order to advance to the next stage in their education and hence making them to strive for competence in the class. Since unacceptable behavior in the classroom is politely corrected by teacher using time out technique, and she deprives the child who misbehaves from playing outside. This makes the children remember easily a sense of what is right and what is wrong. Repeated misbehavior results in the teacher having a private session with the kid or kids to try to understand why they did it regardless the correction and advice on how to act properly is given. This makes the learners to learn how to respect each other. Additionally, the classroom environment is used to promote friendship since the learners are taught how unity is strength. They are given opportunities to engage in group activities as a away of developing friendship. Additionally, students are given task which requires more than one person to do and hence promote collaboration among them. The tasks are given in the order of complexities beginning with simpler tasks to complex ones. This also has the possibility of making the learners to learn how to solve problems and learn the different strategies of problem solving such as collaboration. The improvement needed in the physical environment is that the quality of the physical space should be improved since the pictures show a crowded physical environment which may hamper learning. The physical environment needs to be improved by eliminating materials that may distract children from learning. For instance the teacher needs to eliminate materials that are not labeled from the physical environment. Classroom Management The teacher displays children’s work to make them proud of their self. The display makes the children be encouraged since the fact that their achievements are shown to them makes them strive to achieve more. The teacher uses questions 3 color cards red-green-yellow to tell the parents at the end of the day the children situations and progress. This is a very good evaluation method that makes it possible for parents to track the performance of the children and be part of activities that can improve the performance of children. I think the teacher’s behavior control and management mechanisms are exemplary as in most days all students behave well. Through indicating the expected punishment for bad behavior, the teacher communicates in advance to children that bad behavior will make them miss on a opportunity to engage in learning activities they like. The supportive relationship created and sustained by the teacher among her students goes a long way in enhancing the creation of the students’ responsible personality and have pride in their work. It is crucial that each child in their own capacity is able to develop a sense of trust and acquire high levels of optimism in their life at this stage. Rewards are offered for great participation and exemplary behavior. She encourages students to find their wit with the use of catchy phrases. The teacher regularly informs on the appropriate social mannerisms and how to practice them. She coaches them on the application of words like; “Please”, “Thank you” among other cautious words. The use of a Star board is a reinforcement technique of rewarding her students where one with the most stars as a result of his or her behavior with others gets rewarded. The teacher is quick to let the student acknowledge when they meet her expectations by mostly clapping or rewarding them. The Classroom routines and procedures employed are as follows. The teacher establishes a constant schedule by following a structured approach for each day. The teacher greets the students as they come in, asks them to place their writing materials on their sitting positions and out of their backpacks then sets them at liberty to explore within the Math center. On full arrival of the students the teacher then escorts them to the cafeteria so as they can have their breakfast. After which they return to class, sit on the square rug for 10-15 minutes constructing the calendar setting to the day’s specifications. Taking of the class attendance should be a well-organized and executed process. The teacher entrusts a student to take the class attendance. The helper student in the class takes the number of each gender separately and writes them on the board then draws out the total number of students in attendance with the assistance of her or his fellow students. The teacher follows it up by calling aloud their names from a list to which the students respond “Present Teacher” or “Here I am”. After this is complete the teacher conducts a song which is a way of guiding transition from one activity to another. The teacher particularly insists in body movements through dance and audible participation throughout the song. After the completion of the session the teacher announces that it is Center time and explains the additions made in any center. The teacher then asks the student to choose the center they want to go and disperses them to attend to it. The teacher also guides them on the much time they have so as to let them know how to manage their timing within the centers of interest. After the Center session the students then sit for their lesson for timed interactive sessions for various subjects. The last activities of the day are the outdoor activities where the students enjoy play either independently or as a group. The behavior management strengths are as follows; they measures to manage behavior are communicated to children in advance making them know behavior that is unacceptable. The behavior management techniques are also attached to activities that children like and hence making it possible they will avoid bad behavior since it will make them not to play outdoors. The areas that need improvement in behavior management is that the teacher needs to have pictures on the walls that show examples of bad behavior and their consequences. The pictorial presentation of punishments should be well designed with aesthetics  (McIntyre, n.d). Overall Classroom Environment Assessment The overall classroom environment can be termed as well positive and constructed to promote learning. The first strength of the environment is that it has visual aspects which are important in making a student to learn faster (National Association for the Education of Young Children, 1991). There is a more organized display of materials and visual in the classroom tat promote learning. The visuals hanged on the wall provide a good way through which the learners can be taught issues about money, menu, the alphabet, and other important issues. The visual and lighting in the classroom has the strength of promoting, the social, physical and emotional development of learners. Areas of environment that need improvements The indoor and the outdoor environments need some improvements. There should be a balance between the space in the outdoor environment and the indoor environment (McIntyre n.d). The indoor environment should be improved by having sound absorbing gadgets to reduce the amount of noise that will be experienced by the learners. This may include strategically placed carpets, and the use of acoustically building materials in the class. Additionally, the internal environment needs to be improved by adding soft materials such as cushions and rugs. If this were my class, the areas of the environment that need improvement relate to the space available. From the photos the environment is not as spacious as it should be and hence the students are seen crowded. Effort should be made to make the environment have more space (McIntyre, n.d). The space should be improved so that students can comfortable work individual or in groups without crowding. The bookshelves are not labeled and categorized. The drawers are also not arranged well since some of them are too high and may be inaccessible to the learners. Effort should be put in place to make the lockers more accessible by lowering them down so that the students can get things from the lockers. Looking at pictures on the wall it is evident that some of them are crowded. The teacher should make sure the visuals on the wall have ample space between them so that it becomes easy to pinpoint them for the learners when using the pictures. The reading area is perfect but the labeling of the shelves needs to done in order to assist the young minds distinguish different genre hence grow their critical thinking and judgment skills. on the wall to teach. The provision of materials should be limited since it could be overwhelming and confusing to the young minds. References McIntyre, T. (n.d).Environmental Engineering: Arranging Your Classroom Environment For Optimal Functioning. Retrieved from http://behavioradvisor.com/ClassroomDesign.html National Association for the Education of Young Children, (1991). Physical Environment. Washington, DC: National Association for the Education of Young Children. Retrieved from http://www.ncrel.org/sdrs/areas/issues/students/earlycld/ea1lk4-5.htm Tarr, P.(2004). Consider the walls. Beyond the journal. Young children on the web. Retrieved fromwww.naeyc.org/resources/journal. Read More