It's been a little while since I've been able to relate this journey-to-becoming-a-teacher blog to my adventures as a Mommy. But yay - I've got one! So this week we are talking about learning spaces. And it's funny because just literally last week I had an epiphany when I went to pick up my little one up from daycare. She actually attends the childcare center on my college campus - yet another connection between weekly topic and real life - since I will be evaluating UA's learning spaces shortly... Anyways - when I got there, there were about 12 kids in the classroom. My daughter was running amok with 7 others among the "centers" (i.e. play kitchen, dolls, legos, crafts, etc) under the playful supervision of 2 assistant teachers. They were learning and exploring on their own. And having a great time doing it.
The other 4 kids were up in Ms. M's "tree house" You see, the classroom has this very cool loft - it looks like a sort of tree house, complete with a wooden tree - there's a hidden staircase to climb up behind the tree. At the top is a little table, 4 tiny chairs and 1 slightly bigger one on a platform that overlooks the entire classroom. The wall that protects the children from falling over the edge is tall enough so that if they are sitting at "Ms. M's table" - Ms. M. being the head teacher - they can't see over it and be distracted by whatever havoc their classmates are wreaking. Ms. M, however, from her higher chair and taller stature can keep a watchful eye on the organized chaos beneath her. At the table, isolated enough so they can focus (not an easy task for excited 2 and 3 year olds!), Ms. M. works on skills with them and notes their progress - as in fine motor skills. She makes discreet notes (Every day in my daughter's cubby there's a daily "report card" that tells me how much she ate, what she did, if there were any problems, and gives me ideas on school/home connections to the day's theme... in addition I get an email every day she's there that tells me about the daily book, activities, etc. and there is always a little photo collage. My daughter loves to see the pictures later and point out her friends by name.)For example, one day several months ago, I went in and the kids were threading pieces of pipe cleaners through the holes drilled in the lids of closed plastic jars. A seemingly simple task - but you could definitely see how the younger students struggled. My little girl - not yet 2 and the youngest member of the class by several months - was getting frustrated. It was hard to just sit and watch, but the group was small enough that Ms. M. could gently guide each child in their learning. She helped my daughter until the skill was mastered. Then with a hug and a "great job!" Ms. M. sent her down the tree with her other 3 classmates. 4 new kids clamored up the stairs while Ms. M. popped her head over the railing and chatted with the assistant teachers while giving "the look" to a little boy who was trying to forcibly relieve another student of his toy car. The would-be grand theft auto was averted and the boy looked elsewhere for a toy. At the time I didn't think about the very deliberate setup Ms. M. had going... I was more focused on my daughter and the joy of watching her learn. But last week (with a few more weeks of teacher education under my belt) I was suddenly very conscious of this learning space.
Ms. M's loft serves both the teacher(s) and students. At 21 months to 3 years old, these children are at pretty much the earliest levels of social interaction and learning. Watching them interact as a whole group of 12 really does bring to mind herding cats... very active cats... with the attention spans of gerbils... and finger paint....
The tree house not only provides Ms. M. with the ability to interact on a slightly smaller scale with her tiny learners - away from 2/3 of the class and all of the other "centers" full of plastic distractions and, yes, finger paint. It gives her a bird's eye view of her room and her paint-covered gerbil-cats. For more focused work she is able to create a focused space - a special space in which the children seem to know they are learning something, rather than just playing (which is still learning, but you know the difference!) as they do on the main floor. The tree house allows for quiet collaboration and genuine moments of learning. I think that's what the designers of spaces like these, below, had in mind:
This concept is not just for tiny learners, but bigger ones too, I'm seeing. When I was in school, both elementary/secondary and even undergrad (at 2 different small Liberal Arts colleges) the norm was the neat rows of desks facing forward.
Occasionally - in art or science classes, mostly - we would sit at larger tables, but much instruction still took place at the front of the room. It never bothered me... I didn't really know any other possibilities. I do remember it being a pain in the butt to "get into groups" while we noisily dragged heavy desks with loud screeches across the linoleum. Seeing a space like the one it that video, where children were free to maneuver furniture to suit their needs and comfort in a bright, open space seemed heavenly, as far as classrooms go! While high schoolers may not need so much low-lying benches and the like... to have easily maneuverable furniture and semi-private spaces in which to collaborate seems like a very helpful set up to this almost-teacher.
Since I commute half an hour to campus - and often am working varying hours at my day job before evening classes - sometimes I have a little time to kill between the bank and class. So I usually end up in the library. I like it there - there is a variety of learning spaces...on one end, there is a very necessary caffiene-supplier (aka Starbucks) with cafe type seating. Groups can usually be seen here conversing socially and working on projects. Elsewhere, then there are a ton of computers for public use, as well as numerous configurations of chairs, couches, booths, tables, quiet nooks, private classrooms laden with varying degrees of technology... Until this past class where Dr. Savery told us how he'd been a part of the design and remodel of the learning spaces on that part of campus, I had no idea that so many different options were in that one space! Heck, whenever I work on group projects with my 2 friends for another class, we meet in a secluded corner of the library basement where the chairs are comfy, slightly rocking chairs. I just don't work very often in the apparently vast range of learning spaces on the other floors. Although now I am curious! I will definitely pay more attention and explore a little next week.
Just because we've "always" done something one way - i.e. military-precision aligned desks sitting at attention in the classroom facing a teacher at a chalk board does not mean it's the right way. I do remember taking a distance-learning course as a high school junior with UA. It was a psychology class. At the time - 2002, I guess - it was pretty state of the art. My school did not have a distance learning lab (a room with a camera that connected me to a real life classroom full of college students and a professor that I - and the other few high schoolers in my class - could interact with as if we were in the same room) so I drove to a nearby larger high school that had one.
The world is changing. Education is changing. Technology is changing at an alarming rate (sometimes). Heck, even kids are changing! If we only use what we know.... and don't try new things - learn something new ourselves as educators - how do we expect today's students to learn effectively in their roles? Online learning is a HUGE thing these days. There's no denying it. It has become a valid - and in many ways preferable (cost effective, resource rich, mobile, unrestrained by time, etc) way to learn.
Like it or not, we will have to embrace technology - like the Google Apps for Education. I witnessed that being used for collaborations and teacher-student communication at many levels while doing some field observation at an inner city Akron high school this semester. It was weird for me... but the kids used the technology fluidly - easily taking pre-tests, submitting essays, creating pamphlets and slide shows for group presentations... I was amazed. It really did enhance the educational experience (as long as the laptops were being used for school stuff - I saw a few kids playing games or checking social media, I'm not gonna lie. Still, the GAFE....that's the kind of stuff I want to be comfortable using. I mean, tree houses are great. My pre, pre-schooler has very little use for "a set of communication and collaboration tools that includes gMail, Drive, Classroom, and much more." She's not even 2. She doesn't need to email her teacher. Plus, her fingers are often sticky... so no one wants her touching their tablet or laptop. Still, her teacher does email me. I get those daily "Reflection" picture collages that I love so much. I hate that I can't be home with my baby - she's very young to be in "school". But seeing photos of her having fun, and learning, and making friends... reading about what she's doing and suggestions to talk about at home... it makes me feel like an active participant in her education. That's what technology and effective learning spaces in general make us... parents, teachers, and students alike... active participants.
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