The Third Teacher

If I asked you to describe the classroom that you went to school in, I imagine that it would have a very similar layout to my classroom. My desks are set up in five rows of six desks and it reinforces obedience and provides a modicum of student agency. There is a space in the front of the room for me to teach my students. I am "progressive" as a teacher, so I walk up and down the rows with a remote to advance my slides, as I put the same lecture from 2nd quarter on repeat. The set up of my classroom supports the prevalence of direct instruction.

I desire something better for my students. More ownership, exploration, and differentiation. I have come to believe that the environment of the classroom has a tangible effect on the learning. The traditional layout of the classroom is one of the most persistent components of the factory model of education. The traditional classroom model is tired, and desperate for inspiration. Greater education needs to emulate the settings that 21st century workers thrive in coffee shops, think tanks, and modern work places.

I have created a plan to update my learning space:

I want to drastically reduce the amount of teacher space in the classroom. Roughly 15-20% of the space is my desk and storage for old supplies. I have a built in desktop that runs the east side of my learning space. It houses desktop computers, a printer, and storage. Its significantly inefficient. The printer is convenient, so I would not like to lose that, but the rest of it could be converted to space for students to complete quiet work. My desktop is taking up space. I use my Chromebook for everything beyond projecting to the SMART board. .

My redesign I have a few goals:

Activate the inefficient space on the east wall.

Increase the amount of space dedicated to students.

Provide flexibility and differentiated space to support student needs.