The classroom as the third teacher
3/22/2019
I am passionate about designing a beautiful classroom and implementing an appropriate learning program; one that engages, challenges and inspires children. We know that the environment plays a central role in making each child’s learning meaningful. “Learning environments engage and foster a sense of ownership and respect when they are aesthetically pleasing, reflect the identity and culture of children and families, and encourage a connection to place. As such, the physical environment is never simply a backdrop to the curriculum; it is an integral part of the curriculum or leisure based program. An environment with rich and built-in learning opportunities also frees educators to interact with children” (ACECQA 2016). The environment conveys many messages to children and families, of which the most immediate is that this is a place where teachers have thought about the quality and the power of space. There needs to be purpose to every aspect of the environment, such as positioning of materials with attention to detail in each experience. Below are some of the approaches we use to encourage children to respect their learning environments. 1 – Modeling Behaviour. We model the behaviour we expect to see, as children pick up even the smallest cues. If you walk around and step over things rather than picking things up/resetting, the children will copy the behaviour. We are role models and it is important to teach children how to take care of things. For example, when we spill something, we clean it up right away and vocalise what we are doing, “Oh, I’ve spilt the milk. I’m going to wipe it down straight away. Milk doesn’t stay on the floor”. 2 – Providing an age appropriate environment and having age appropriate expectations. We ensure that the environment is suitable for the child’s development. Children have access to a variety of experiences to extend their learning and development. Child-specific experiences and activities are at their level to support their autonomy.
4 – Teaching Children the Specifics. Cleaning and packing up the environment can be an enjoyable experience if we make it! “How wonderful it is to make our environment beautiful and tidy again.” We use positive language when resetting learning environments and include the children in the process. Encourage the children to understand that a big part of making a mess involves cleaning it up after. We help the children learn this process by creating a shared responsibility for resetting or tidying up the space. We created an updated version of our Classroom Guidelines this week, due to registration of new pupils and our new TA joining us. One of these guidelines they wanted to now write was "we help our team". I felt very proud of this suggestion.
6 – Encouraging Good Manners. Respecting the environment begins with respecting others. We help children learn basic manners, such as “please” and “thank you” to use when communicating with adults and their peers. I also encourage reciprocal learning and asking each other for help before they seek out a teacher. If this ethos of respect is in place then they are more than happy to share ideas. 7 – Provide Visual Examples. In our classroom, we display visual examples of how each space should look. The children are able to refer to these images to help them reset the learning environment to its original state once they have finished using it. We also display encouraging statements in each learning space to help the adults prompt the children as to how they could use the space. 8 – Sustainable Living. A sustainable tomorrow begins with the actions of children today. The adults in our setting are aware of their responsibility to help children learn the significance of caring for and protecting the environment. We are providing children with opportunities to become environmentally responsible. We are currently teaching the phrase ‘Reduce, Reuse and Recycle’ within our centres. We are helping the children learn to recycle, only use what they need, reuse materials, turn the lights off and so on. When designing my learning environment, I reflect on the below points: • How does the physical space of the centre encourage children’s involvement? • How is learning built into the environment? • What learning opportunities are created by changing the space, for example by adding or taking away resources or equipment? • How do the different spaces within the environment foster a sense of belonging and community? My Spring clean during the break was definitely a cleansing exercise for the classroom and the mind. “A change is as good as a rest!” As my Nanna used to say. Reggio-inspired learning environments are thoughtfully designed and arranged in a way that engages and informs students beyond the direction a teacher provides. The goal is to create an atmosphere that fosters creative exploration, demonstrates respect for children’s work, while encouraging encounters, communication, and relationships. We’re just beginning to make these improvements to our classroom. Here’s a glimpse of what EKC’s new Reggio-inspired environment looks like so far at PNA… · Open and inviting common spaces and centers are carefully integrated with one another.
· Use of natural furnishings encourage real-life interactions—plants, mirrors, natural light give more of a comforting homely feel. · Presentation of classroom materials and resources in a way that draws attention and curiosity without feeling institutional. Provocations and questions set up to entice children into learning. · Display of project work, both completed and in-progress, is interspersed throughout the classrooms, to spark new creative ideas and engage students. · Design and layout of workspaces facilitate small and large group activities or independent work. At PNA we consistently remind ourselves of the positive influence we want to provide on a child’s life and their learning and development. It is important that we embed a respect and love for the environment in children from an early age. Just like respecting each other, we need to teach children to respect the environment so that we can instill kindness, consideration and gratitude.
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Melissa SmithMs. Smith has a degree in Early Childhood Education and has taught kindergarten for many years. Alaska has been home to Ms. Smith for 28 years, and she can't imagine living anywhere else! She has four children, a dog and two cats. She loves reading, camping, gardening, and genealogy! Archives
April 2021
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