Our first night back together after the holidays was full of energy and ideas around implementing the new designs this April, and the first thing on the agenda was to share final designs with each other. When the teachers walked in, they were greeted by their final concept board - the visual design and furnishings that have been ordered and are expected to be in their rooms when they return from spring break in April. Teachers seemed even more excited to see others' boards even more than their own.
The concept boards above give you a peek at each teacher's design, including which furnishings they will receive and their initial layout. However, the concept boards do not reflect the accurate color and finish selections, so each design is followed by a snapshot of the finish selection teachers finalized in November.
The concept boards above give you a peek at each teacher's design, including which furnishings they will receive and their initial layout. However, the concept boards do not reflect the accurate color and finish selections, so each design is followed by a snapshot of the finish selection teachers finalized in November.
Along with their concept boards, teachers shared the progress being made on their classrooms, especially the painting Santa's elves completed in many of the rooms over the holiday break. I was fortunate enough to be the recipient of some of the excitement over break when Amanda and Laurie shared photos of the recent painting that was completed over break.
After taking some time to share and become reacquainted, teachers hopped in a time machine and traveled ahead to April 10 to look at the ways their new designs will support student engagement and 21st Century skills development in brain-friendly ways. It was a time to look at all of the possibilities - the opportunities - their new classrooms will afford. They shared many similar thoughts, such as: quick and easier transitions, choice, comfort, improved collaboration, and support of Kagan structures. But after exhausting their ideas, they had an extra challenge: come up with three more. This challenge helped push their thinking, even toward the abstract, pushing to deeper levels of thinking, such as: students' needs/wants being met, eliminating teacher barriers, and making the classroom more joyful (which was one of the group's first-day wishes). Below are the elementary, high, and middle school observations about the opportunities they can look forward to.
After listening to others' ideas, we shifted gears to a little improv game. During this game, each grade level team had to plan a party: the world's best classroom open house. This game was played in two rounds during the first round, each time a teammate had an idea, others had to respond with Yes, but... and provide a reason the idea wouldn't work. During the second round, teammates had to respond with Yes, and... while building the others' ideas. At the end, teams shared the last idea that was suggested, and they had us roaring with laughter. Besides being hilarious, the reflections and varying experiences pushed everybody's thinking. While it felt easy - almost instinctual - for some to find reasons why something won't work (it's not safe; it might hurt someone's feelings...), others found it liberating to be able to build on the ideas. And when they were able to build on ideas, they were able to make a plan, a grand plan, and do something. This set the stage for setting aside factors we can't control, and embracing those we can, and launched our team into a Bob the Builder video and our motto for the rest of the night: YES, WE CAN!
While teachers were still in Yes, we can! mode (and still visiting the future), they pulled out their metaphorical microscopes to analyze every tiny detail of the new space and how it will impact every tiny routine, activity, and element of everyday workings in this new space. While it is a daunting task, teachers tackle the work methodically, using an Opportunity Map to guide their task analysis. |
The map is structured so they have to think through each step of the school day, then analyze the actions, questions, positive points, pain points, and opportunities students will ex, and which needs to be planned for, before students can move on to the next step. This is some intricate, headache-inducing work, but the teachers approached it as a helpful necessity. It pushed a whole new level of thinking about seemingly small things, like: Where will students' supplies now be housed? How will students choose a seat? How will I take attendance? The thinking was so detailed that a few teachers commented on how helpful it would be for a new teacher to complete the activity with a mentor teacher. It forced the consideration of completely new opportunities for things taken for granted and that aren't directly impacted by the design, like how students should enter the room and where and how to collect materials.
Taking a break from this heavy work, teachers resumed collaborating with their grade level teams and were presented another challenge. This time, each team was given a scenario each teacher will have to plan for before students enter and use the new classroom, and that teachers have expressed needing to know how to address. Each team received a different scenario: dealing with first day novelty, student seating and choice, and establishing student ownership (respect and responsibility). They were asked to come up with at least 10 practical ideas in ten minutes. And the ideas were amazing, leading to further deep thinking and ah-has! It was rewarding to hear teachers positively respond to an idea they heard, then exclaim, "Awesome idea!", feverishly writing it down. Below are the ideas brainstormed by the elementary, high, and middle school teams. And this is just the beginning!
Taking a few minutes to brainstorm before parting ways for a few months showed just how many great solutions and ideas we already have. The Classroom4theTeachers are quite the knowledge powerhouse, and together we will plan for successful implementation in April. In addition, we are using our collective brainpower to share resources and ultimately create a resource to share with others who may be interested in redesigning teaching and learning in their classrooms. It will be fun to watch the ideas grow, and we will do that by continuing to say Yes, and...