Term 3 - the geography of the classroom

In response to student feedback, we have offered our students the opportunity to sit with their friends, regardless of which class they have been allocated on the timetable.  We are continuing to do listening tasks together, as N10/N12 facilitates this.  We combined our first session: table groups participated in a reflective task on students' prior knowledge of French food, but the problem continues of students becoming chatty - due to the large number in the room (even though we could stretch out from N10 into part of N12) and the reduced ability of the teacher to maintain classroom control in a less structured environment.  It would be interesting to see if students would be more focussed in an environment that was explicitly set up for the purpose of team teaching and collaborative learning.  The classrooms seem so cold and 'transient' - there's nothing there that welcomes them in, and nothing they can leave behind.  They are there 3 times/week for French.

Team Teaching at Livingstone PS

Reflection on Visit to Livingstone PS - saw their setup for team teaching Preps and Grade 1.  The connecting classrooms opened up to form a long space, allowing for table groups to be set up over a large area and teachers to genuinely move through the area and teach all students.  I think we may have missed an opportunity in designing our flexible learning centre in not making provision for such a set up.  The classrooms are connected by doors only, and the open area in the middle is also a corridor for accessing classrooms, so not a useful exclusive space in same way as the Livingstone space.  So, we have ongoing frustration with the space that we have.  Although N10 and N12 do have a large opening between them, it's still like a big doorway rather than allowing for a fluid space.  Also, in a single period, reorganising the tables and chairs to utilise both rooms takes a lot of time - so, not practical.  Perhaps this will work better with the 4 period day.