Community Factors Description of Classroom

The classroom that I am teaching in for my practicum is located in the northern most hall of the building.  To enter the room you come in from the northwest corner.  On the door is the name of my cooperating teacher and a sign saying which book she is reading.  A sign like this can be found on most doors in the school.  The south wall of the room looks out into the court yard.  The court yard has trees and a little walking path and a charter school that shares the building leaves their bikes there.  I see both positives and negatives to how the courtyard affects my teaching.  On the one hand it gives the room a calm pleasant feel which gives the classroom a connection to the outdoors.  But, at the same time it can be a distraction to me and the students by taking away from our activities inside the classroom.  But when all is said and done I would much rather have the large windows then a solid wall.  The other three walls are full of boards, cabinets, and posters.  The north wall has several posters that relate to math such as a Mayan Calendar and a board that describes the student’s jobs.  The west wall has whiteboard and a bulletin board containing grades and vocabulary words.  The whiteboard is full of information such as goals, dates, and important information.  As a teacher I really like this area that the students face.  It brings all their attention up front and to relevant information.  This is the area where students look to find the teacher and classroom information.  The east wall which could be considered the back of the classroom contains several cupboards with math manipulatives and a sink.  The perimeter of the classroom contains small posters that give general math vocabulary and how it can be understood.  Overall the walls really influence the way I teach in the classroom.  They are full of valuable information and I can point to relative tools such as a number line, vocabulary, or the daily learning target.  The desks are arranged in what could be called a typical math classroom.  The desks are place in groups of four scattered throughout the classroom.  The arrangement is good for walking around and be able to access all the students.  There are 32 desks in the room but the class I am teaching only has 16 students.  This affects my teaching because it makes the class seem more intimate.  It gives it an interesting feel and facilitates discussion.  There are empty desks yet all the students “choose” to sit together.  The teacher’s desk is in the southwest corner of the room.  This really doesn’t affect my teaching since very rarely do I sit there since my cooperating teacher is in the room.  If I was to sit in the desk it would give a great view of the class and make me feel very important.  I imagine sitting in the desk would give me just a little bit of confidence in being in the class.  Overall the feel of the classroom is a math class but with a lot of color.  The color gives the room a vibrant feeling.  This vibrant feeling makes me feel good to be teaching in the room.  I hesitate in saying but compared to other math classes I have seen it makes them look boring and drab.