Junior high students must create a supportive academic environment in which the student will achieve high academic achievement and develop their competencies. This strategy can be developed through a set of classroom rules and culture, but most notably for this paper, through classroom design. How furniture and zones are arranged in the learning space determines a child’s ability to interact with their environment (ELF, 2017). By effectively connecting design elements and learning about the world through the classroom, a child increases their chances of high academic achievement.
For the current assignment, zoning was chosen in which academic disciplines have their own independent zones but are linked in a logical order. More specifically, the Figure below presents a classroom design in which the center of the classroom is the Science area. This is a very good arrangement for abstract studies since the area has a whiteboard on either side. Next to it is the Math area, near which there is a case with the necessary materials: geometric shapes, rulers, and cards. The right side of the study room — when viewed from above — is dedicated to the linguistic study of drama, writing, and reading, with reading adjacent to the technology area, which is an intelligent solution for integrating the disciplines. The play areas are located on the left side of Science, not only separating play from learning but also creating an environment where the teacher can easily use blocks or plush animals when explaining science concepts. Finally, a separate room is an isolated art area where children can draw or do other creative activities. The area is linoleum-covered in case kids get the floor dirty, and the inclusion of an animal corner will allow a child to tune in to creativity through a distraction from serious study.
It is not hard to see that the classroom design is incredibly similar to the concepts of open spaces, in which any place in the room is freely viewable from other angles. This was chosen for a reason: the absence of physical boundary walls allows the child to create associations of connectedness and, at the same time, differentiation of academic disciplines in the world. On the one hand, by looking at the commonality of zones, the student comes to the conclusion that the whole world is a balanced set of areas of knowledge. On the other hand, the zones create in the youngster’s mind the understanding that he or she may deeply engage in any single discipline in the future. This openness creates a solid connection to the real world and helps structure the student’s vision. It should be emphasized that zoning is also intended to increase children’s social integration. When the teacher gives students free time, each student can engage in their own activities, and students can share valuable experiences and knowledge with each other. For example, if student A does not know how to use the sink, student B can help them with that. In turn, this also gives the kids a certain amount of leeway and independent academic study. If a child does not want to do reading now, they can leave that activity and implement skills in the math area instead. Finally, with this approach, a child’s understanding of the deep connectedness of the world is engendered and developed, which promotes critical thinking. In other words, by looking at the academic zones as if from above, the child roughly understands where the answers to their questions might lie. That is, the student acquires critical exploratory searching skills from childhood.
Reference
ELF. (2017). Why is classroom layout important? Early Learning Furniture. Web.