What an Excellent Classroom Looks Like

September 07, 2008

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What an Excellent Classroom Looks Like

by Robert Needlman, M.D., F.A.A.P.
reviewed by Robert Needlman, M.D., F.A.A.P.

When you visit an elementary school classroom, what should you look for?

If your image of a well-functioning school revolves around neat rows of desks and children raising their hands to answer questions, you may be in for a surprise. To learn most effectively, children need to be actively involved in the process, not simply following a teacher's directions. Although a certain amount of discipline is important--everyone needs to be able to hear the teacher, for example, and children should allow each other to speak without interruption--a creative classroom can be a noisy place, with every child engaged in learning, sometimes in different ways.

Physical environment
In general, a classroom should have a cheerful and welcoming feel, and seem like the kind of place in which you'd like to spend a good part of your day. Specifically, here are some signs that a particular classroom is conducive to learning:

To allow children to work together, desks are placed in small groups or there are tables.

The space is light, reasonably clean , but not necessarily spotless. If the focus is too much on order and tidiness, creativity may suffer.

Lots of children's work, both visual arts and writing, is displayed around the room.

There's evidence that numbers are part of the everyday discussion: numbers on the walls, calendars, graphs with numbers on them, timelines, prices on items in a mock store, equipment for weighing and measuring, and so on.

Materials are available for different types of learning, such as tactile (touch) learning (clay, beads, papier-mâché and math manipulatives such as counting blocks), auditory learning (tape recorders, CD players, musical instruments, etc.), and kinetic (movement) learning (some classrooms have a stage or an open space for movement; kinetic learning also happens in a gymnasium or outdoors).

Learning stations have been set up to encourage children to dig into a particular topic. For example, one class might have a collection of bones from different animals set out on a table so that children can study them, both by looking and by touching, and then write about their observations. Another classroom might have puzzles or brainteasers for children to pick up when they have time. A quiet space for reading lets you know that this vital activity is valued.

Learning plan
Look for the posted daily schedule or ask the teacher about the class's day-to-day routine. Is it all traditional class work (teacher talking; children sitting and listening, or working quietly and independently), or are there times set aside for reading aloud (one of the most powerful ways early-elementary teachers support language and literacy development), class discussions, independent work, small-group work, and play? When you talk with the teacher, does it sound as though the plan is rigidly set for the year, or can she spend a little more or less time on a particular subject as the need arises? There should be some planning, of course, but the program should be flexible.

Interpersonal interactions
Take some time to carefully observe the behavior and attitude of both the teachers and the students--it will tell you a lot about the nature of a school, and if your child might be happy there. Look for:

Teachers who not only stand at the front of the room, but also move among the children.

Children who are comfortable asking for help, but also able to work independently on a project.

Children cooperating with each other, respecting each other in conversations (listening without interrupting, being supportive, and not putting each other down).

Teachers who can gain the class's attention without yelling or resorting to threats.

A teacher's aide in a first- or second-grade class, someone who can work one-on-one with children when they need it, allowing the teacher to concentrate on the large group.

Teachers who can handle children who are not functioning well within the group, either because they're being disruptive or are disengaged. A truly gifted teacher will be sensitive to every one of the children in the class.

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RELATED INFORMATION

			Extracurricular Activities
			What Is Education?
			School Issues
			Choosing a School

Created June 14, 2001
Reviewed August 15, 2004

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