Room Arrangements

This past week I became more aware of different room arrangements in the school in which I teach. Unlike the common classroom arrangement which I experienced as a child where walls set classroom boundaries, my school is an open area school where we “build” our classrooms out of furniture. The following image of the entry way to our Area III illustrates how bookcases and blackboards serve to demarcate classroom boundaries. To the right and left of this entry way there are two Fifth Grade Special Needs classrooms and two Sixth Grade general education classrooms.



At my school we have a large Special Needs population. One Special Needs teacher chose to arrange desks in her room clustered in groups of five. The second teacher in this classroom placed her desk in the back of the room. The students’s desks were close to the front of the room. I found that this arrangment made it difficult for me to navigate around these clustered desks to get to the board. There was a round table where small group instruction was held. I would say that this classroom was arranged in a very traditinal way. In the Special Needs classroom, the computers were set along the far wall. They were easily accessible to the students; however, I found that because of the crowding of desks students did not have adequate room to work.



In a First Grade class, the teacher had set up her classroom with long tables in a traditional manner. As is illustrated in the image below, there is spaciousness in this classroom that makes student learning very comfortable. This classroom is easy to move around in for both students and teacher and allows students to work well collaboratively. In addition to the work areas, the teacher had an area where she did her group work.

Another classroom had an area set up for cooperative learning. I found this area very hard to navigate because of the proximity of furniture in the room. The seating arrangement was cramped making it difficult for students to concentrate on their own work. It would be difficult to supervise students at this reading center because of the lack of room. However, when I compared it to another classroom, I noted that the computers were easier to access and that the small group center was more conducive to student learning.

My own classroom is arranged in a U shape with an entrance for me to get to my work table. My desk located in the back of the room in the left hand corner.
I also have a long table in the back of the room which I use when working with small groups in reading and math. I find that this arrangement makes for a spaciousness that allows me to reach students easily and keeps students’ concentration on their own work at a maximum. I have used this classroom arrangement for the past two years. I am one of the few teachers in the building that is fortunate enough to have a window in my teaching space.

The way teachers arrange their classrooms should be a personal choice. However, teachers should know what works for other teachers and be flexible enough to change classroom arrangements if they do not seem to working in the way intended. Whatever choice a teacher makes, the classroom should have an inviting climate to encourage student learning. It is imperative to avoid crowding. There should be ample space between students’ desks, special work areas, and computer stations, providing for an easy movement from one area to another. Colleagues told me that within the different classroom arrangements, they provide special seating for students who need to be closer to the board for reasons of hearing or seeing, and for those students who need closer proximity to the teacher’s desk because of behavioral problems.
Last year our school received 2.1 million dollars from the State of Maryland for classroom renovations which included putting up walls to separate classes. Although it has been decided to go ahead with these renovations, to this date there has been no action taken. The putting of walls would change in a dramatic way our teaching styles. Principal and teachers are waiting eagerly for this change to come about and replace the open space.