Activity 3

Module 3: Activity 3 1

Module 3: Activity 3

Tammy Payne

Central State University

EDU 3341 Survey Exceptional Students: Mild/Moderate 4ON

Dr. Shawn DiNarda Watters

September 4, 2022

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Module 3: Activity 3 2

Our textbook tells us that our classroom should be an “environment pleasant and

conducive to learning can facilitate the teaching–learning process” (Vaughn & Bos, 2020). The

textbook and the video for this week both describe different types of classroom arrangements, all

with their own distinct advantages and disadvantages.

I have worked in our local school system for the past seventeen years, and have seen a

variety of classroom layouts. While working in a kindergarten classroom, I felt that it was

overcrowded and there was too much posted on the walls; everything was very busy. The

kindergarten classrooms all have two teacher desks, usually on opposite sides of the room. There

is open space in the front center of the room for circle time, and instead of desks there are

rectangular tables. There are centers spaced out throughout the room, with the dress-up center

placed in the middle of the room. I found that to be distracting to the students while they were at

their tables working. The students seemed to want to do anything else (that they saw) instead of

what they were supposed to do where they were at.

At the high school where I am currently beginning my eighth year, I have seen all of the

floorplans described in our textbook and the video for this week, except for the runway, the

paired groups, and the roundtable. The one time that I witnessed a debate in a classroom, instead

of moving the desks from their small group arrangement, the students simply stood on either side

of the classroom. The one time I saw the roundtable was at a professional development session

for staff; I have never seen this utilized with students. One particular teacher I worked with

utilized the horseshoe arrangement. It did look a bit different than noted in the video, as there

were enough desks to form two horseshoes, one in front of the other. Advantages that I saw were

that all students paid attention to the teacher at the front of the room, and it made for taking their

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Module 3: Activity 3 3

guided notes easier. The disadvantage that I saw was that the students rarely interacted with

students that were not immediately to their right/left.

Most of the high school classrooms I have seen are arranged in the small groups

arrangement, of four, five, or six desks in each pod. I see this as advantageous because it

facilitates a small bit of comradery between the students. If okay with the teacher, the student

can discuss their work easier than if they were situated in any other floorplan. This classroom

arrangement makes it easier for stations in the classroom, where the teacher will put one station

at each table grouping and have the students move about the room. The disadvantage to this type

of arrangement is that the classroom can become very loud. Another disadvantage is that the

students can help each other with the assignment, even if they are not supposed to.

The following page shows a map that depicts the current classroom that I work in (and if

all goes well, my future classroom as lead teacher). It is a very small classroom, used for a

reading intervention classroom. The main teacher’s desk is close to the door, while the

instructional assistant’s desk is at the back of the room. The teacher’s desk has a student chair

next to it, and the assistant’s desk has a student desk attached. They both call individuals on a

regular basis for testing and assistance. The student desks are arranged in a modified horseshoe

manner, which is conducive to the curriculum that we teach (lots of board work). We do not

need pods for small group instruction, as our classes are already small. When it comes time for

discussion, the students can easily converse with each other. Our shelves and cabinets are

arranged so that the students can obtain whatever they might need to have a successful day. The

adults in the room are easily accessible for assistance.

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References

Vaughn, S., & Bos, C. S. (2020). Strategies for teaching students with learning and behavior problems. Pearson.

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