Functions of Elementary Classrooms Flashcards
- Shelter and Security
- Social Contact
- Symbolic Identification
- Task Instrumentality
- Pleasure
- Growth
Six Basic Functions
This is the feeling that the classroom and school is safe, students are protected not just from the weather, but from bullying, harassment, intimidation, threatening behavior, physical violence, intruders, etc.
Psychological Security
Combined, both physical security and psychological security represent this aspect that schools must achieve for students to do their very best
Precondition
Teachers can configure their classrooms in ways to better meet the physical and psychological security by incorporating architectural elements often used in residential constructions
Architectural Elements
Signifies protection, and a sense of privacy; in a classroom context this means creating spaces where students can “hide”, if only for a few minutes
Refuge
Has to do with the quality of the physical space, that encourages a passerby to stop and look inside
Enticement
Has to do with creating a spacious, open place, with plenty of natural light, architects can also achieve this by raising the ceiling
Teachers can achieve this by leaving the center part of the room open, and uncluttered
In this way, nothing interferes with the feeling space, and freedom - within the limited confines of the walls and square footage of the classroom’s “footprint”
Expansion
Has to do with the very slight, subtle feeling pf “danger” that comes when you look down from a relatively high place to a lower place below
Teacher can instill this sense of danger on smaller scale lofts found in many homes
Such an arrangement provides an additional benefit in that a place of refuge emerges
Peril
Teachers should arrange their students’ desks in a way that reflects the degree of social interaction they are seeking
How much or how little the students will interact and talk with each other will depend (somewhat) on their proximity to their classmates
Plan accordingly; don’t contradict yourself!
Social Contact
Refers to the information provided by a setting about the people who spend time there
What do you want your classroom to “say” about your students, and their interests, backgrounds, accomplishments, and preferences?
What do you want your classroom to say about you, your goals, values, and beliefs about education?
Symbolic Interaction
Refers to the many ways the environment helps us carry out the tasks we need to accomplish
How often will students use the computers? Are they accessible but out of the way of students who will not use them?
Can students easily get to other places throughout the room; how easily can they get their supplies?
Task Instrumentality
Make sure frequently used items are accessible
Plan pathways throughout the room to avoid congestion
Provide space for children to lineup at the door
Provide space for students’ personal belongings
Leave some “open space” on whiteboards so students have room to work out problems, write sentences, etc.
Some general recommendations
Has to do with creating a classroom that will appeal to students, and loo to them like an inviting space in which to study, work, and interact with their classmates
Think about the future here! To what extent will the students find your classroom attractive and pleasing?
How do you want your classroom to “seem” to the students; what do you want it to fee and look like to them?
Pleasure
What colors will you use? What textures do you think you might incorporate?
Besides a place of refuge, what other “soft spaces” will you include? How will you furnish those places?
Research suggests that teachers blend both warm and cool colors; and incorporate smooth and rough textures so that no single quality overpowers the other
Some things to consider
Refers to the degree to which the environment promotes students’ cognitive development and academic achievement
Research suggests that it should be a setting that invites students to explore, observe, investigate, test, and discover
When stocking your classroom with supplies, think carefully about including a balance of both “open” (i.e., sand, clay, play-dough, water, pencils, crayons, etc.) AND “closed” materials (crosswords, equations, games, letter jumbles, etc.)
Growth
