CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT ORGANIZING CLASSROOM AND SUPPLIES

2.1.       Organizing Classroom and Supplies

Arranging the physical setting for teaching is a logical starting point for classroom management because it is a task that all teachers face before school begins. The teacher should know how the physical features of the classroom will be organized. The teacher should consider what things that will be provided in the classroom, and arrange them to support the teaching and learning process.

Four Keys to Good Room Arrangement:

1)             Keep high-traffic areas free of congestion.

High traffic areas include group work areas, pencil sharpener, trash can, water fountain, certain bookshelves and storage areas, computer stations, student desks, and the teacher’s desk. We have to arrange them to make sure students can move easily from place to place.

2)             Be sure students can be seen easily by the teacher.

Success in monitoring the students will depend on our ability to see all students at all times. Stand in different parts of the room and check for blind spots.

3)             Keep frequently used teaching materials and student supplies readily accessible.

Keeping materials accessible not only minimizes time spent getting ready and cleaning up, it also helps to avoid distracting slowdowns and breaks in the lesson flow.

4)             Be certain students can easily see whole-class presentations and displays.

When do presentations and discussion, be sure that the seating arrangement will allow students to see the overhead projector screen or board without moving their chairs, turning their desks around, or craning their necks.

2.1.1.  Suggestion for Arranging Classroom

a.             Wall and ceiling space

Wall and bulletin boards have functions to display student’ work, materials, decorative items, assignments, schedule, clock and other items of interest. Ceiling space can also be used to hang students’ work and decoration.

Before that, teacher should has display for walls and boards such as class rules, a place for assignments, some decorative display to catch student’s interest, a calendar and posted emergency escape routes. Teacher can provide posters of useful strategies for content areas. All of the facilities that appropriate for students can be provided by the teacher, while it does not disturb the students. Remember, teacher should not spend much time decorating the room because there are many other important things to do to get ready for the beginning of school.

b.            Floor Space

Arrange furniture and equipment are very important thing that teacher should do. Teacher will easier to observe student from all areas in the room and make sure that students be able to see teacher. When a classroom is too small, determine what changes are feasible within the existing constrains.  Identify where you will stand or work when you give instructions to students.

2.1.2. Arrangement of Students Desks

The seating arrangement will vary according to the type of the classroom activity or will be permanent. Students desk are arranged in clusters rather than in rows; however, no students are seated with their backs to the major instructional area. If the teacher displays the material on the projector, the student will easily see it by turning slightly in their seats.

It is important to keep high-traffic areas clear, so do not put desks or other furniture in front of doors, water fountains, sinks, the pencil sharpener, or other traffic centers.  Leave enough room around students’ desks so that the teacher can move among the monitor and the students easily. The teacher may decide to change room arrangements during the year. Changes to routines can stimulate students’ interest, and new arrangement may increase opportunities for social learning.

a.             Small-Group Instruction Areas

This is the area where the teacher can meet with small group of the students for brainstorming, helping with a group project, or working with individuals. Teacher can arrange this area to make his/her easier to observe the students from any position and students can learn in their group comfortably. In this case, we can arrange it into the small circle, so student is seated facing each other.

When a table or extra chair are not available, students may be asked to carry their chair and place them in the position or in circle for group instruction. But it has a disadvantage where the arrangement during learning process can be disturbed other students, and also spent so much time. So that why teacher must tell the students or make arranged the table and chair before start the learning process.

b.            Computer Workstation

Computer is one of the important things to espouse learning process in this century. This instrument in learning process is very useful for students to find and develop their knowledge from another sources. So that why, most of modern school put the computer in their classroom.

To put a computer in the classroom, make sure we can arrange and manage the class carefully. Because computer is very susceptible in use. Place the computers away from dust, liquids, magnets and also find a place that make easy access to this tool. The last important thing is make a rule how students use this computer. Because if the number of computer is limited, students must work in group may consist of two until three students to use it alternately to avoid the detriment and also easy for teacher to manage the class.

c.             The Teacher’s Desk, Filing Cabinet, Projector, and Other Equipment

Teacher’s desk, crucial place that used by teacher to control their students. Set the teacher’s desk same as how you arrange the small-group area. Even you want to arrange it in front of the room or in the back, make sure that you can see your students’ activities from this side. Prepare some materials in teacher’s desk which students can used to help them in learning process, and also make a procedure how they used those materials, even they need to have your permission or not.

Other furniture items like filing cabinet and storage cabinets must be placed in the closet area where students have limited access for it, but teacher can easily to find. Because this filing and storage cabinets may contain of fragile or important items. The storage that you used frequently must be close by, and be sure you can maintain visual contact with your students.

Kept teacher’s computer on the teacher’s desk or in different desk beside the teacher’s desk, so teacher can easily have accessed, and also put the projector in a place where students can feel comfort to see it. So students can be focused on the slide.

d.            Bookcase

Bookcase should be placed in a place where teacher can easily have monitored students to utilize this when the bookcase contains of item that frequently used, such as dictionaries and core book in learning process. Put the unneeded items higher if you have tall bookcase and the important items in below, or put those unneeded things in other cabinet if you only have one bookcase.

e.             Center

“a center is an area where students may work on a special activity or study a topic” (Organizing Your Classroom and Supplies; page 11). We can put some equipment in the center area. That equipment can be adjusted with the grade of students who would like to use that room. The center setting for kindergarten, elementary, junior and senior high school are different. It is depending on their necessity of items that used in learning process. For example, in elementary classroom the center may include classroom library, listening centers, writing centers, computer workstation, art center, dramatic play areas and soon.

Carefully the location of each center, make sure that position is separated each other and teacher has easy access for it. Anticipate increased of noise by putting some agreements between teacher and students how they used those center areas.

f.              Pets, Plants, Aquariums, and Special Items

There things can be a special touch to a room and can give an extra experience to students in classroom. Make sure that they should be placed where they can not disturb the students. It might not be necessary when it is on the first week of the class, but they can make something different after some week. Before placing those things, just check the students whether there are students which have allergic to one of those thing. The main point is just make sure that these special items do not interfere the learning process.

g.             Storage and Space and Supplies

When the materials are already prepared in classroom, it is needed to provide some space for their storage. There will be some items or supplies used frequently, so make sure it can be easily accessible. For the other item can be place into deeper storage.

h.            Student Work

If the student does not have sufficient space on their desk for their works, folder and their file, it might be great if their works are place on certain pace inside classroom. To make it easy for them to access it, it can be ordered based on alphabet or based on their serial number. Everything is considerable as long as it can easily accessible by the students and also the teacher.

i.               Frequently Used Classroom Materials

There are two kinds of things based on the how frequent it is used, rarely and also mostly used. For making the teaching and learning process run well without any disturbance from the supplies existing inside the classroom, it is better to place the things which are used frequently in a handy place and for those which are rarely used, can be placed in a deeper place, so when the teacher of the students need to use it, it is easily accessible.

j.              Students Belonging

For daily activity inside and also outside the classroom, we may also provide some space for the students to put their bag, or may be their lunch box if needed. In our daily life, sometimes we forget to put our belongings such as pencils, ruler, pen and etc. inside our bag when we are going home. So it is needed also to remain some space for lost and found item whether it is for the students or for the teacher as well. To be honest, it can help student to find their belongings which are left after the class.