Current Educational Setting
In my current educational setting, I work with a relatively older group of children between the ages of 6-8. Since they have gone through other early stages of education, working with them is relatively easier compared to the lower ages who are generally at their earlier stages of learning and getting familiarized with the education environment. The total number of children that I work with is twenty with the majority of them being boys. In that regard, the number of boys in the group is twelve while the number of girls is eight. The educational setting is relatively small and manageable given the support from the center and my personal experience in dealing with children of lower age within the same center and other centers previously done.
Design for the Classroom Environment
Figure 1 below shows the overall design for the classroom environment. As illustrated before, the key consideration of designing a classroom for young children should be able to foster the process of active-learning among the students. The learning environment design can motivate the physical aspect of learning whereby the students must be able to learn through physical interaction with each other and with the tools of learning provided for them within the learning environment (Bell, Van Horne, & Cheng, 2017). In a similar version, the environment should also encourage creativity whereby they will be able to apply the things they learn from the environment to the learning process. Therefore, the environment design will be able to set and meet the expectations of the learners, be a motivational factor for the learners, and should be easy for me to maintain as a teacher.
Figure 1: Learning Environment Design
Source: http://classroom.4teachers.org/
Optimal Classroom Environment
The design of the classroom environment is supported by research and presents an optimum environment that fosters learning and the process of teacher-learner interaction. Notably, the design space is inviting for the learner and the arrangement must be able to match up with the teacher’s philosophical approach towards learning for the children. Also, the students have ready access to the learning materials which will be kept in the storage unit (Barrett et al., 2015). Although the storage unit has been set aside from the learning area, it is a walking distance for the students and the teachers enabling ready and efficient access to a given tool required for learning. Lastly, the design ensures that distraction is kept at the minimum for the students.
One of the critical considerations made while designing the physical space for the learning environment is the need to attain safety and functionality. As essential components of the learning environment, the design ensures that the physical space within the classroom is efficiently managed with objects that are sharp or may cause harm are kept in storage unless with the supervision of the teacher during the process of learning (Ifenthaler, 2017). For this reason, the learning environment has been secluded from the storage section and that access is limited to the teacher or with the permission and supervision of the teacher. In addition, the learning environment has plenty of free space to ensure that the teacher can oversee the process of learning, whereby the learners get to use the objects (Bell et al., 2017). In a similar version, the need for functionality must be attained in the learning environment, and this entails the process whereby the available space and the room, in general, can be efficiently used for its right learning purposes and its practical purpose. For this reason, there are not decorations or expensive artifacts within the learning environment, and that may end up getting destroyed by the learners.
Optical Physical Development
Optimum physical development is an integral part of the learning process and for the teacher interaction with the students. For this reason, the environment I have created strives to meet the physical aspects and the environmental requirements that support the learning process. Notably, there is adequate space whereby the students can interact with their colleagues and utilize various learning objects without any limitation arising from the available space, which will also be crucial for the creation of the aspect of creativity among the learners (Barrett et al., 2015). Also, the presence of shelves ensures that the physical space is well arranged to facilitate the process of learning whereby the learners can return the objects that are not in use to the shelves or the storage unit to free up space to facilitate other learning activities. The storage units and the shelves, therefore, enable student tables and the round table to only hold the learning objects that are in use at a particular time. The teacher desk is also strategically placed in front of the classroom and the learning area to oversee the learning process among the students and create room for maximum interaction in the process of learning. Lastly, the TV and the projector enables the students to have a maximum view while watching and do not have to strain to be able to have a view of the projector and the TV.
In summary, the $500o grant will go a long way in ensuring that the optimum environment is created for learning among the students. Notably, part of the grant will be dedicated to purchasing and installing different equipment, including the tables, desk, sink, and the projector. An estimated $3000 may be consumed in fulfilling this aspect of the learning environment. The rest of the money will be dedicated to indoor decorations and ensuring that everything is arranged according to the interior design. Safety and other functionalities will also be put in place.
References
Bell, P., Van Horne, K., & Cheng, B. H. (2017). Special issue: Designing learning environments for equitable disciplinary identification. Journal of the Learning Sciences, 26(3), 367-375. https://doi.org/10.1080/10508406.2017.1336021
Barrett, P., Davies, F., Zhang, Y., & Barrett, L. (2015). The impact of classroom design on pupils’ learning: Final results of a holistic, multi-level analysis. Building and Environment, 89, 118-133. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.buildenv.2015.02.013
Ifenthaler, D. (2017). Designing effective digital learning environments: Toward learning analytics design. Technology, Knowledge and Learning, 22(3), 401-404. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10758-017-9333-0