My colleague next door and I rearranged my desks tonight. I'm gong to try out a horseshoe arrangement for a while. The room is a little bit tight to have everyone in a U-shape, but I've made a few concessions and now the entire middle of the room empty. My assistant principal reckons this will help with classroom management as well. Everyone can focus on the centre of the U, and there's space that I can stand there and move around. We'll see if it works. Before the students get in on Monday (tomorrow is an in-service day) I need to make all new seating plans for the new arrangement.
NewScientist reported recently on a different classroom arrangement that helps kids burn more calories: no chairs at all. I don't think this would work for me since it sounds like a behavior management nightmare. I have enough problems keeping students focused without having to think about them moving around the whole lesson. Of course this would use more energy and perhaps keep them more fit; it would drive me insane trying to contain the energy and talk. I guess maths is not the place for a chairless classroom. At least not for me and not right now.
No comments:
Post a Comment