Where are we sitting?

Reflections about the changes that have been taking place in the classroom. This will be a few posts as lots has happened!

Term three as been all about continuity for the class room. In term 2 (mostly) we changed the room physical and also changed our learning styles. New ideas were developed, new ways of thinking and learning posed. Therefore term 3 meant continuing with this and not making any more radical changes.

Also I have been off work so have been unable to implement anything else.

So how has it been going?

FEEDBACK: Where are we sitting?
One part of changing my room to a more MLE has always been about the children’s involvement and feedback. The last thing I wanted to do was implement something that they didn’t like. So a lot of the time I would propose the idea to them, get feedback and then run with whatever the outcome was. The only rule I had for them was they had to give it at least 2 weeks before they gave me their feedback.

Feedback has been great. The children have been very honest! Personally it can be very hard hearing negative feedback on ideas that I thought were amazing! But it did give me insight into how they thought and saw things. Which to be honest is what this journey is all about.

What really surprised me with this class was how many of them didn’t like sitting low to the ground. This surprised me as I had read and seen so many MLE with cushions and beanbags. There is this encouragement of moving away from children having their ‘own’ desk and research showed children enjoyed working down low or up high. In particular the girls (mainly my yr 6’s)  didn’t enjoy it at all.

They preferred instead to bring chairs over. So my next step is to find maybe stools to cater for this as although I appreciated their feedback, the chairs are annoying!  One thing we did do as a class is use the area around the IWB as our ‘collaboration’ area. We created two sections using the tables in the room and put more chairs then were needed. That way when we needed to all come together I didn’t have students grabbing all the chairs around the room.



Tables at the front where we collaborate.

This has worked quite well. Students have the opportunity to either sit on the chairs, or the floor with cushions. This is definitely one thing I would like in the new school. But instead of one main area, I would like two. This is because there are times when I want to collaborate with the class but don’t like the constraints my IWB area has. I have a tendency to move to the back of the class where I feel I have more space and movement. Maybe that is something I need to think about?

Is it because when I am at the front I feel like I am doing the ‘teacher talk’ type of teaching rather than having a more student centred feeling?

I am not a ‘front of the classroom’ teacher. You will find me on the floor, at the back or sitting beside a child at the tables. So for me that freedom to move around the room is important. Therefore it is important that my students have the opportunity to do this as well. They have enjoyed not having 'assigned' seat and the fact they can move around the room freely.

Freedom to work where ever they like

Some haven’t enjoyed the change. I have had a few students who found it hard to move away from having their own desk and tote tray. These students, I have noticed are the ones who find it hard to develop friendships. It has taken them a while to adapt to the changes but I do think it has been a positive move for them. I am seeing more independence in them and they have slowly seen the benefits in their own learning. I also found that some students don’t understand what type of learner they are and through a lot of discussion and modelling, they have developed a better understanding of this.

 We had talked as a class about bringing in a low table in but once again they were not keen for that. My girls wanted to cluster together. They have decided to incorporate 3 tables and tend to sit around this. To outsiders this may sound awful and the image of girls all talking and chatting rather than doing work. But it is the complete opposite. They actually encourage each other and work extremely hard. They are also very independent in the fact that they know what place in the room is the best place for them to work in. So they will move away straight away into smaller group areas or to the quiet areas depending on the lesson.

We don’t line up anymore! I worked out by the time I left the staffroom after every break ( we have 3 as we have two 30min lunch breaks) waited for them to be in line etc. I had wasted nearly 5mins. Imagine that in a week- 25 minutes of learning. So instead they just go back into class and carry on with what they need to be doing. It is great! Children actually make it into class faster than they used to lining up. I think it gives them a sense of responsibility and the knowledge I trust them enough. To be honest in the real world how often are they going to line up? They need to learn to be self-directed learners and understand how to get on with a task with having to be always told.