Candidate creates literate classroom communities by presenting varied structures and techniques for group interactions by employing effective classroom management strategies and by providing students with opportunities for feedback and reflection.
Classroom organization: My cooperating teacher's classroom is organized to promote whole group, small group, and individual learning opportunities. I plan on implementing a similar setup in my future classroom. The desks are clustered so that there are 6 groups of desks. (Note: This group arrangement comes in handy too when it comes to classroom management. The class uses a point reward system where groups can earn points for good behavior. Groups with the highest points are rewarded bi-weekly with a pizza party during lunch. It's a really effective way to encourage good behavior. And it teaches students the importance of teamwork and collaboration.) This set-up is obviously ideal for small-group work, but it works well for whole-group discussions as well. The kids can all see each other and they can always see the teacher. Individual work (if needing to be private, like for a test or quiz) can be achieved using separators between each desk.
Standard 4.2
Candidate creates literate classroom communities by presenting varied structures and techniques for group interactions by employing effective classroom management strategies and by providing students with opportunities for feedback and reflection.
Classroom organization: My cooperating teacher's classroom is organized to promote whole group, small group, and individual learning opportunities. I plan on implementing a similar setup in my future classroom. The desks are clustered so that there are 6 groups of desks. (Note: This group arrangement comes in handy too when it comes to classroom management. The class uses a point reward system where groups can earn points for good behavior. Groups with the highest points are rewarded bi-weekly with a pizza party during lunch. It's a really effective way to encourage good behavior. And it teaches students the importance of teamwork and collaboration.) This set-up is obviously ideal for small-group work, but it works well for whole-group discussions as well. The kids can all see each other and they can always see the teacher. Individual work (if needing to be private, like for a test or quiz) can be achieved using separators between each desk.
Link to the desk arrangement: