Video Review #1

What did you learn about the influence of classroom environment on student learning and achievement?

            This video has a lot of information that I found interesting and helpful.  The video talked about five major topics: organization of materials, desk arrangement, organization of classroom library, routines, and thought behind grouping.  The first section was very familiar to me.  It was about how organizing materials in a deliberate way allows students to access the materials they need when they need them.  This gives students a sense of responsibility and self-reliance.  Essentially it lets them do what they need to do to help themselves learn best.  One thing that was new for me in that section was on wall displays and how important they are.  The point of wall displays are not decoration; they are to help students access information they need whenever they need it.  Making the displays easy to read, engaging, and based on student input (using student responses and language) makes them approachable. 

            The section about library organization was also very interesting to me.  In Mr. Abenth’s room, I noticed a lot of organization of the classroom library.  I thought it was great, but didn’t really understand the extent of the thought behind it.  Making classroom libraries diverse in as many ways as possible is essential to growing readers.  Making the diverse selection easy to navigate is an even bigger task.  Seeing book covers is an important way to support students who are lower readers or who are visual learners; it allows them to become engaged with an image rather than relying on a title on a book spine.  Allowing students ample time to browse and choose something they will truly enjoy is essential to supporting reading development.

            I was very excited when the section about routines came up.  I am growing more and more interested in routines, especially how they are set up at the beginning of the year.  The first thing I wrote down in my notes was that the first moment of the day should be meaningful to them; their reading and writing right when they get in the room should be engaging and should have a social element with the print.  This is often done by morning messages where students must all respond by writing on the board/poster paper.  It is important for students to know that reading and writing is used to start a conversation.  The video talked a lot about how student success is often linked to the time students spend on reading and writing.  Subsequently, that time is dependent on how the teacher sets up routines throughout the day.  At one point the video mentioned that the first 2-3 weeks are spent intensively getting into these routines so students are comfortable and familiar with them.  The speaker mentioned transitions and getting help, but did not explain much more about them.  I would have liked to hear a bit more on these topics.

            The other two sections were on desk arrangement and grouping.  The speaker had a lot to say about what desk arrangement sets up with classroom environment, and how groups or pods facilitate communication.  This relates strongly to the section on grouping, and how much communication between students facilitates learning.  This was also somewhat familiar information to me.  Classroom environment was mentioned a few times.  I was very focused on the social aspect during this section of the movie, and was hoping it would be more explicit with the social benefits of using grouping often.  Grouping seems to be a strong way to facilitate collaborative and meaningful communication between students that is focused on the learning objective, as well as teaching students how to respect other answers and incorporate them with their own thinking.

Which ideas in this session are most relevant to your teaching?

            The two sections I found most important to me were the ones on routines and on grouping.  I think these are two areas I need improvement on (grouping as support for creating a collaborative and respectful classroom environment).  Routines are very important to student learning, and getting them smooth not only saves time and teacher effort, but gives students responsibility of their own learning.  Grouping is extremely important,  and being very deliberate with grouping can go a very long way in developing students.

What ideas or strategies do you plan to use?

            I plan to use many of the ideas from this video.  I would like to have a classroom library as described in the video: one with many many options that students can navigate easily.  I plan to aim for desk arrangements that facilitate communication, leading to a respectful and collaborative classroom environment.  I plan to work hard to develop routines that work not only for my students, but for me, so that students have a sense of responsibility and purpose throughout the day, even during small transitions.  I also plan to use a variety of grouping methods.  I think this will take a lot of time and practice, however I think grouping is very important and that students need it to succeed as much as possible. 

What support and/or resources will you need to implement these ideas?

            I think the thing I need most to help me reach these goals (other than books books books for my library!) is more direction on how to set up routines during the first few weeks of school, and how to decide what routines work best in the class and with my teaching style.  I will be able to get this help throughout the next six weeks, as well as during student teaching.  One of the questions I hope to ask the professionals in my building is closely related to this topic, so ideally I will add to my knowledge through interview and personal discussion.