Monday, February 23, 2009
Interior Design Post
I know that there are certain principles of interior design that are important - ideas of space, light and order. If I had to make up principles for learning in a classroom it would be - safety, engaging, and organized. Students must feel safe when they are in a classroom. Safe to speak in front of the rest of the class without being put down or laughed at, safe to not be physically harmed by others, and safe to ask for help from the teacher and not be mocked. Students also need to be engaged. When a student is engaged he is paying attention and can answer questions and learn from other people's questions and answers. This is key to understanding and learning. Students also need organization. When they walk in and the teacher is still getting an assignment up on the board, or re-arranging the desks, or to busy to welcome them and instruct them... chaos ensues. Being organized as a teacher is the first step to controlling your classroom and helping your students master your material.
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2 comments:
Organization is definitely not a strong point of mine. I like to run a class that is sort of a structured chaos. Students know what they are supposed to do, but I give them lots of freedom to make choices along the way. I think I am working toward more student involvement in the structure and the content of the course. By this I mean projects etc. The class is ceramics, and I would like my students to be responsible for creating the organization and projects so that they feel more ownership.
Earl, I like that you highlighted SAFETY as a very important component teaching in the classroom. I think the majority of students refer to safety in the physical sense only, instead of encompassing the safety aspects of feeling comfortable answering and asking questions like you had pointed out!
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