My Future Classroom

    When designing my future classroom, I decided to stay away from the traditional "line" arrangement of desks in favor of a more circular arrangement. This is designed to create an atmosphere that is open to discussion and hearing the thoughts and opinions of other students. The students' focus is placed on themselves and their discussions rather than on a lecture from the teacher, therefore making it a "student-lead" class instead of a "teacher-lead" class. There is also a spinning chair in the center of the desk arrangement. During group discussions, students might at first have difficulty waiting their turn to speak while their classmates express themselves. The way I have designed the classroom is to allow one student to sit in the center chair and speak, with no other student being allowed to speak until they are "tagged in" by the current person in the chair. This would help to control the potential chaos that sometimes accompanies group discussions while also providing a platform for students to express themselves uninterrupted.
    It is worth noting that I did not include a designated area of the classroom for computers. This is because, in an ideal situation, all of the students would have their own iPad or Chromebook with which they can record notes and conduct research. This would allow the desks to be more spread out like I have designed and allow for more technologically-based learning experiences for the students. I also included a smart board on two different boards, which should allow every student to have a view of at least one smart board. This would allow the teacher to expose the students to supplemental material and videos using the computer on the desk.