This was the first time I had set up a class room for this year level, and to be honest I was a little nervous about it. I have set areas for displays for the students work, and have tried to limit as much teacher stuff around the room as I could. I wanted to create an environment that the students could share and feel a part of by having their own work displayed.
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| View from back corner, from teaching table. As you can see on the back wall there is lots of space for the students work |
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| View from teaching table toward the front of the class. The 2018 art work is goals the students have set for this year |
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| Students reflection from 2017 and goals for 2018 |
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| Inquiry Wall - Our inquiry this year is around sustainability |
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| Notices for the students, and Job chart. Each student has an assigned role in the class for the week |
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| Twitter Wall - Each student has a card, and writes "tweet" each week about how their week is going, and what they are learning about. As a teacher this is proving valuable as I can see what the students are enjoying and am quickly able to touch base with them. |
I am a firm believer that in order for students to have success in their education they need to feel safe, and valued. I have been working on creating a classroom that encourages this by doing lots of collaborative learning activities, and sharing. One way of mixing up the students and encouraging them to work with others was using popsicle sticks with their names on them. I pull out two popsicle sticks if they are working in pairs and those students work together. It has been interesting seeing barriers break down as students are peer with others they don't normally work with.
I encourage all the students of 10 Mohua to respect and value each other. I am impressed that by the end of week two I have seen a real culture of comradeship in the classroom, and students are really starting to look out for each other.
