Contextual Factors: Description of the Classroom

My classroom is located out in one of six portables on campus. Because the 6th grade health class only meets every other day, the classroom is shared with another teacher. Health teachers are one of the only school faculty that do not have their own classroom. As a result, the health teachers move to a new classroom every period. In my classroom I am provided a single shelve to hold my students workbooks, papers and supplies. I am also provided with the use of only one whiteboard and the smartboard. The beginning of class, roughly the first 3 minutes, is usually accompanied with the instructor logging in to the host computer. This creates a challenge for the teacher who must try to begin the class effectively while waiting for the technology to boot up. I will need to take this into account when I design my lessons and make sure that the first few minutes of every lesson do not depend on the availability of technology.

Over the past couple of weeks the mornings have been increasingly darker. There are only two windows in my class which keep the classroom very dark without having the classroom lights turned on. Because my classroom is a first period block I will need to be aware of keeping the environment bright, so as to provide a more academically motivational classroom for my students. The dark complexion of the classroom will also provide a great atmosphere for viewing video. My current curriculum incorporates short video clips that provide realistic visual representations of situations that they may be involved in, and effective examples for dealing with those situations. I really enjoy being out in the portables. I feel like it gives me a better environment which might otherwise be interrupted more frequently with students and faculty coming in to talk to my students or myself. I also fell like being in control of the lighting gives me the opportunity to create appropriate atmospheres for each of my lessons.

My classroom seating structure consists of four seats per row with a total of eight rows. Because I am technically a guest of the teacher whose classroom I am borrowing for the period, I have little control in how the seating is arranged. However, since a major part of my unit deals with group work and building positive communication skills, I will make sure to allow my students the chance turn their desks towards one another and create small groups of 3 to 4 students. This will be done with the understanding that before the end of class the room must be straightened back into its original form. As nice as it would be to be in charge of the seating arrangement in my classroom, the rearrangement of the desks into groups will help to provide a short stretch and break time for my students. With such short periods, 58 minutes total, any time that I can find available to give my students a quick break and get their blood flowing in a semi-aerobic activity is an added bonus. I will just have to make sure that I do not provide too much time and that the days lesson is cut short as a result.

Overall, I am thoroughly excited about my classroom. There may not be any space to place student’s drawings or health related posters on my wall, but I intend to incorporate plenty of health visuals using the classroom smartboard and classroom handouts. I believe that the teacher sets up the classroom environment more so than the classroom itself and I fully intend to set my classroom up so that it promotes conversation, reflection and healthy learning.