Guided Observation #2 Physical Arrangement

Name: Samantha Taylor

Date: March 30, 2017
Course: EDUC 2300 Introduction to Education
School: Mt. Horeb Elementary School

Instructions for the Observer: First, draw a map of the classroom you are observing, including
seating arrangements, placement of furniture, computers, telephone, and other equipment. Give
a brief critique of the effectiveness and use of: technology, lighting, traffic patterns, instructional
displays, management, and motivational elements. Then design your own perfect classroom.

1. Draw classroom map:

2. Effectiveness of:

a) Technology:
Technology in this classroom allows the students and teacher to work on
activities together. Since the class works together having only the smartboard and
IPad to use is effective in this case. If it were an older grade, each student having
their own computer would be more effective. The computer center is only used
during center time so only three students are on them at any given time.

b) Traffic Patterns:
The student desks are in the middle of the classroom, while the teacher desk is in
the front corner. The smartboard and dry erase board are in the center of the front
wall of the class. The window is beside the teacher desk and the door is on the
back wall of the classroom, directly across from the window. It is easy for
students to move through their desks to get to different areas of the classroom.
Students can also communicate with each other better since they are closer
together. The teacher can also easily maneuver through the student desks to
 monitor student work and answer questions without having to continuously move
from one side of the class to the other. Since the tables are so close, the teacher
can easily push them together when needed but there is still room to move them
out of the way. This arrangement also allows the teacher to see all of the students
and discipline them when needed.

c) Instructional Displays:
The instructional displays in the classroom are very colorful. They are placed
throughout the classroom so the students can see them. One was the classroom
rules that all the students had signed. There was also a behavior chart. The class
routine was placed at the door.

d) Classroom Management:
The students were expected to listen while the teacher or another student was
talking. They were also expected not to play rough or throw things at one another.
When a visitor entered the classroom, the students were expected to continue
working and stay quiet. The consequences of unacceptable behavior having a
warning, moving a clip, and then a note sent to parents. If the behavior is severe,
the student is sent to the office. The teacher has let her students know that she is
the teacher and is control of the classroom.

e) Motivational Elements:
If a student is very well behaved or does something good, the get to move a clip
up on the behavior chart. The teacher would give an instruction and would
mention those by name that had done exactly what she asked if others were not.
This publicly rewarded the students who were listening. Some negative
reinforcement by the students was when one student got in trouble for throwing a
puzzle piece. The other students laughed at him and he thought this behavior was
okay. The teacher assured him it was not, however.

3. Draw your perfect classroom: