It has taken me ten years to finally feel confident in my classroom set up. Good classroom management begins with setting the environment for learning. A poorly arranged class can lead to disruptions and wasted time, while a well-arranged classroom can facilitate both teaching and learning. The goal of classroom management is to improve student's time-on-task, so setting up your classroom is an important, early step in managing student behavior.
Instructions
1. Decide upon a seating arrangement for the beginning of the year. Arranging desks in rows helps reduce distractions and helps the teacher learn student names. Make sure rows are not facing any sources of distraction, such as the windows or the doorway. This arrangement works well for passing back graded papers.
2. Don't be afraid to change the seating arrangement after a few weeks, based on teaching style. For a lot of group work, place desks in clusters of three or four. For whole-class discussions and games, arranging desks to face a central area such as the center of the room might be better. Feel free to change the room arrangement throughout the year to keep things fresh and to match different learning activities. Students can even help move desks for a one-day only activity.
3. Keep walkways clear and avoid clutter around highly trafficked areas like the pencil sharpener or a bookcase. This will tremendously reduce disruptions, such as students talking to nearby classmates as they wait in line for the pencil sharpener.
4. Place frequently used student supplies like textbooks, research materials and writing supplies in an easily accessible location. Using labeled boxes or tubs to hold supplies makes for easy clean-up at the end of class. Keep teacher-only supplies in a cabinet or in the teacher's desk, out of students' reach.
5. Decorate one or two bulletin boards. At the beginning of the year, plan on at least one instructional display, as well as one board devoted to classroom procedures, rules and schedules. Later, add displays of student work.
6. Locate the teacher's desk, filing cabinet and personal supplies in a functional location. If the desk is used throughout the day, then it should be near the instructional area, but if it is mainly used for planning and administrative uses, place it out of the way in the back of the room.
Tags: beginning year, classroom management, pencil sharpener, seating arrangement, teacher desk