I had the opportunity to observe the set up of classrooms on the 3rd grade level. It was very interesting to see how all of the room arrangements were very different among the four classes. One room was arranged in a traditional room set-up (Room A), two of them had the students seats arranged collaboratively (Room B and C) and the last room didn’t seem to have any order to the arrangement of the classroom (Room D). My initial reaction was that the classroom setups were probably geared to the teaching style of the teacher.

Room A was a huge open space that had desks arranged in rows. It was set in an array of 6 rows of 5 desks. The teacher’s desk is located at the front center of the room. On the walls there are maps and posters that clearly identify this is a science and social studies classroom. The teacher seemed to position herself at the front of the classroom during instruction time. It was more of a directed instruction. The students did not get out of their seats but the way the desks are arranged it seemed to be a tight squeeze to move around between the desks.

Room B and Room C were set up similarly. The two classroom teachers team teach so therefore I noticed that the two rooms mirrored one another. My assumption is that though the students switch classes the teachers wanted to have continuity between the two classrooms for the students. The desks were arranged in 7 quads of 4 desks. I gathered this was done this way so that the students could engage in collaborative work more freely. In Room B the teacher’s desk is off to the side near the closet area. In Room C the teacher’s desk is located behind the visualizer. Both classroom teachers appeared to walk the floors of the classroom as they gave instruction to the students. Room B had students working in groups at all measures of the classroom. Some students were even stretched out relaxed on the floor as they collaboratively worked in groups.

Room D seating arrangements did not seem to have any order. Some groups had 4 desks some had 5 one group had 6 and there were a row of desks toward the back. There was not a teacher desk visible. As I walked around the room I found the teacher’s desk in the back of the room hidden behind a divider. Ironically, this is where I found the teacher J as the students were working independently.

All of the rooms had at least five computers. However, none of the classes had students utilizing them while I was scanning the room.

As I reflect on my analysis of the room arrangements of the classrooms I think that how your room is set up can clearly help supervising staff know what method of instructional teaching you use in your classrooms. I think that as teachers we all have different teaching styles and in lieu of that students’ have a variety of learning styles. In my opinion, it is important to add that same diversity to the classroom so that you do not force your teaching style on students that may learn differently.
I learned that as a future principal it will be vital to inform my staffs of the importance of arranging their room so that it meets the needs of all students because how a room is arranged could impact a student learning.