With a new school year just around the corner, I am working to create a restorative and collaborative classroom. One of the strongest ways to build community is to let students choose where they best learn. As a virtual teacher this past year, I learned that students will show up and learn in nearly any environment. From their grandma's kitchen table to a daycare, from the living room floor to the desk in their bedroom, students know where they need to be to get things done.
According to the NEA article “Understanding Universal Design in the Classroom,” the learning space is an important aspect of the whole educational experience: “One cannot have a community of learners without having a positive instructional climate. Instructors help to create this climate by everything that they do, from the way they respond to student questions to the arrangement of the classroom chairs.”
Now that students are back at school, it is time to get back into a much needed consistent routine. As I plan for this coming year both in instruction and classroom layout, I have made requests for flexible seating such as stools, rugs, a futon, lap desks, stadium seats, and pillows. Thanks for considering our project for a restorative and collaborative space in which to learn.
About my class
With a new school year just around the corner, I am working to create a restorative and collaborative classroom. One of the strongest ways to build community is to let students choose where they best learn. As a virtual teacher this past year, I learned that students will show up and learn in nearly any environment. From their grandma's kitchen table to a daycare, from the living room floor to the desk in their bedroom, students know where they need to be to get things done.
According to the NEA article “Understanding Universal Design in the Classroom,” the learning space is an important aspect of the whole educational experience: “One cannot have a community of learners without having a positive instructional climate. Instructors help to create this climate by everything that they do, from the way they respond to student questions to the arrangement of the classroom chairs.”
Now that students are back at school, it is time to get back into a much needed consistent routine. As I plan for this coming year both in instruction and classroom layout, I have made requests for flexible seating such as stools, rugs, a futon, lap desks, stadium seats, and pillows. Thanks for considering our project for a restorative and collaborative space in which to learn.
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