Classroom Design and Educational Philosophy

The provision of a safe and comfortable classroom environment is one of the most important factors toward enhancing teachers’ effectiveness with regards to achieving the desired learning goals and objectives. Such a classroom environment contributes to achievement of learning goals/objectives through enhancing student learning. However, for teachers to create such an environment, they need to understand the differences in classroom environments based on the age group of the students. Classroom environments should be designed based on the principle of age appropriateness and a developmentally appropriate curriculum. The design of the classroom also has significant impacts on the educational philosophy utilized by teachers. This paper compares and contrasts a preschool classroom and a classroom for children aged five years or more in relation to age appropriateness. This is followed by a discussion of my personal educational philosophy and how I will implement it.
Part 1
A Preschool Classroom
A preschool classroom is a learning environment for children aged between 3-5 years, which is a stage where children are developing more socially as they learn real friendships and understand the causes of feelings. This environment incorporates a block area, an arts area, a science area, a play area, and a library (McCabe, 2015). Children decide which area to play in in this classroom environment at the beginning of each day. Since the classroom is divided into different segments, teachers examine the children’s creative impulses during the day and identify creative opportunities for the children’s strengths and weaknesses. The normal schooling hours for a preschool classroom is 7 hours and incorporates different learning activities.
One of the most important dimensions of appropriateness in a preschool environment is age appropriateness. Preschool classroom environments utilize the principle age appropriateness to determine learning activities, learning materials, classroom routines, play equipment/material, and furniture. While the physical space of a preschool classroom is similar to that of the toddler classroom, the learning environment differs in terms of learning activities and materials and play equipment. Teachers use this principle to determine what kind of activities, materials and routines are essential to meet the learning and developmental needs of the children. Therefore, this principle provides guidelines on developmentally appropriate practice in the classroom.
The materials in a preschool environment are divided into two major categories i.e. learning materials and play equipment/materials. The learning materials that are likely to be found in a preschool classroom include age-appropriate books, pictures of men and women in different careers, clothes, and items that represent various real-world things. On the other hand, some playing materials in this environment include dolls, puppets, and blocks. Additionally, some materials are used for both learning and playing such as dice, calendars, maps, and toys. These materials are used for different purposes including to teach social skills and scientific knowledge.
One of the activities that are likely to be found in a preschool classroom is block play, which provides gives children an opportunity for imaginative and creative play (Knopf & Welsh, 2010). Secondly, the environment incorporates music activities in which children actively participate in dancing, singing, and playing instruments. Third, children are engaged in formal learning, particularly reading and writing. Fourth, a preschool classroom is likely to be characterized with messy activities as children play with different learning materials and others like water. Finally, drawing activities are also common in a preschool classroom environment.
The first routine in a preschool classroom is play as children choose different areas to play in at the beginning of each day. The second routine is bathroom and clean up time in which children are taught on cleanliness. Third, children in a preschool classroom participate in story time, which helps them to improve on their reading and writing skills. The fourth activity in a preschool routine is snack time to help boost their energy levels. The other activity in this learning environment’s routine is nap time, which is essential for these children to rest.
An example of a suitable theme for this age group is language development, which focuses on improving their reading and writing skills. Some of the developmentally appropriate lessons for this age group include recognizing letters, learning the alphabet, and communicating using symbols or drawing. To meet the needs of advanced and special needs children, these lessons will be taught using different learning materials and activities.
A Five-Year-Old (Kindergarten Classroom)
A kindergarten classroom is a learning environment for children aged 5 years or more and is slightly different from a preschool classroom. This classroom environment is less about playing and focuses on formal learning. In this regard, the classroom environment is designed in a manner that ensures children sit still as they listen to the teacher and complete their learning activities and assignments. During this process, teachers in a kindergarten classroom use different teaching techniques for children to learn what they need to know. While the main focus of this classroom is formal learning, it also includes playing activities.
Similar to the preschool classroom, a classroom for children aged 5 and more uses the principle of age appropriateness. The use of this principle in the kindergarten classroom is to help determine developmentally appropriate learning content. Kindergarten teachers use age appropriateness principle to determine what lessons to teach children. Additionally, the principle helps to guide actions that are taken by teachers to help students embrace the concept of a formal classroom. This is primarily because this learning environment is the first formal classroom environment in a child’s life.
One of the learning materials that is found in this classroom is a chalkboard, smart board or whiteboard, which is used for teaching. Secondly, the classroom consists of instructional materials i.e. textbooks that are used for individualized and group instruction. Third, the classroom comprises stationery materials like colors, envelopes, papers, notebooks, memo pads, and sticky notes. Writing utensils such as small and large markers, colored pencils and crayons are also found in a classroom of children aged 5 years and more. Finally, blocks and construction materials are used in a kindergarten classroom similar to a preschool classroom.
The first learning activity in a kindergarten classroom is individualized and group instruction where students are taught on different concepts across various subject areas. Secondly, group work is a common learning activity in this environment, particularly during construction. Third, children in these classrooms are engaged in coloring activities depending on the specific concept being taught. Similar to a preschool classroom, a kindergarten environment also incorporates playing games. Moreover, students in these classrooms also engage in read-out-loud activities to enhance their language comprehension and reading skills.
One of the routines in this classroom is the provision of a daily schedule by the teacher, which is usually posted in the classroom’s walls. Secondly, classroom jobs i.e. individualized, differentiated, and whole group instruction is carried out. The third activity in a kindergarten classroom routine in snack time since children carry their lunchboxes. Outdoor play using the various equipment is a common feature of a kindergarten class to help stimulate them and enhance their development. The other element in the kindergarten classroom routine is small group discussions in which students help each other to complete learning assignments.
A developmentally-appropriate lesson for kindergarten children is number memory, which helps in sharpening their memory and mastery of basic mathematics concepts. Some of the lesson for achieving this theme include number sense, identifying numbers, writing numbers, counting numbers, and comparing numbers. Specific accommodations that will be made in this classroom to help both advanced and delayed learners include requiring children to work in small groups in completing learning tasks and use of visuals to help stimulate their thinking.
Part 2
My personal objective for the classroom is to challenge students to realize their maximum potential in their different areas of strengths and weaknesses. I would like to see students engage in different learning activities/tasks and at different levels as they grow to become better people. I will focus on providing individualized, differentiated, and whole group instruction to my students depending on their personal strengths and weaknesses. I will also give students room for creativity and expression as they experiment with the different learning concepts they have learned in the classroom.
The best practices that relate to my educational philosophy include testing learning through experimentation, finding answers from questions, enhanced interaction with students, and promoting students’ creativity. As shown in the philosophy, I will implement these best practices through a student-centered approach in which teaching and learning is tailored to meet the needs of the individual student. Moreover, using small group and whole group instruction will help in implementing these best practices through providing opportunities for students to learn from each other.
My personal educational philosophy is supported by progressivism, which is a student-centered educational philosophy that has been found to have positive impacts on a student’s development and growth (Ganly, 2012). In light of current and past research in early childhood theory, my educational philosophy and best practices is supported by Cognitive Theory of development, which postulates that children develop across various stages as they obtain and understand new information (Armstrong et al., 2014). My educational philosophy seeks to promote students’ growth and development across various stages through providing them with different learning activities, particularly experimentation. During this process, I will create a learning environment that fosters a balance between assimilation and accommodation. This will help improve students’ cognitive skills as they progress from one stage of development to another.
As an educator, I will demonstrate professionalism and social responsibility in the learning environment through focusing on promoting students’ growth and development. I will demonstrate professionalism by providing children with numerous learning opportunities where they explore different learning concepts. These opportunities will include experimentation, which enables students to establish the link between the learned concepts and real-world scenarios. On the other hand, I will also demonstrate social responsibility by monitoring students as they learn and experiment. This will entail ensuring that the learning environment is safe and secure for all students regardless of the individual strengths and weaknesses.
In conclusion, the design of a classroom environment requires consideration of different factors including age appropriateness. Age appropriateness influences classroom design, learning materials, activities and routines, and the learning content. The consideration of the children’s age helps in ensuring that the classroom is created in a developmentally appropriate manner. As part of determining the classroom design, the teacher should consider his/her educational philosophy, which influences teaching strategies and techniques employed in the classroom.
References
Armstrong et al. (2014). Early Childhood Development Theories. In Evidence-Based Interventions for Children with challenging behavior (chap. 2, pp.21-30). Retrieved from https://www.springer.com/cda/content/document/cda_downloaddocument/9781461478065-c1.pdf
Ganly, S. (2012). Educational Philosophies in the Classroom. Retrieved from Indiana Department of Education website: http://www.doe.in.gov/sites/default/files/cte/ncteb-edphil.pdf
Knopf, H.T. & Welsh, K.L. (2010, February). Preschool Materials Guide. Retrieved April 13, 2018, from https://www.sc-ccrr.org/media/736/preschool-materials.pdf
McCabe, S. (2015, February 26). What Does a Good Preschool Classroom Look Like? Retrieved April 13, 2018, from http://edublog.scholastic.com/post/what-does-good-preschool-classroom-look#