School News

The Final Frontier

“We [need to] think deliberately about who the children are in our school community and what it is that they need in order to feel trust and build community,” says Primary School Director Jason Novak. “We can proactively do that in our spaces.”


Glimpsing into Primary School classrooms at the beginning of the school year, you will see cozy reading nooks with soft rugs, pillows, and books arranged to entice young readers. You will also see learning materials carefully organized and labeled in baskets and colorful containers. Written messages welcome students to the classroom and encourage them in their work. Displays of intriguing objects on shelves and windowsills invite students’ questions and empty bulletin boards stand ready to display their work and their hopes and dreams. Every room also has a dedicated morning meeting space where, expectations, the daily schedule, and attendance may be posted. Teachers have thoughtfully designed rooms that children will want to learn in and that include visual cues to help establish routines and independent task management, as well as offer opportunities for student voice and choice. (View a slideshow.)
 
“There are a lot of layers to room design and the way a room functions but also the impact a room can have. How do the walls speak? Are there symbols and representations that the child is gong to be able to connect with?” Jason explains. This year, Jason assisted teachers in classroom design, drawing on ideas from the book, The Third Teacher, and from Reggio-inspired approaches to designating space and using light and texture in order to create an environment that supports deep learning.
 
Designing rooms with intention allows experiential learning to happen naturally. Colleen DeChancie, 1st grade teacher, brings students into the process by giving them the task of opening their classroom library. For the first few weeks of school, the library remains closed, building the students’ curiosity and anticipation. Each child then adopts a basket and is responsible for the labelling, care, and organization of that basket. “Since progressive education is active and experiential, it is fitting for 1st graders to play a vital role in establishing, organizing, and maintaining the books that will support their learning and help them to grow as readers,” asserts Colleen.
 
By the end of the year, the collection grows with displays of students’ favorite books and even books the students write themselves. “The classroom library is a central part of my classroom, and their active involvement helps them to become more connected to and invested in this important classroom space,” says Colleen.
 
Ashlie Webb’s 3rd grade class investigated the meaning of symbols and signs in order to create their own symbols for the hopes and dreams wall. Students took several steps to identify a goal for the year and then create a visual representation that will remain there all year as a reminder. When a student’s voice is visually represented in the classroom, “students constantly see that their teacher really values what they do,” says Jason.
 
Children must not only be able to navigate their classrooms but also feel inspired to explore. This year’s summer reading book for teachers, Visible Learners, gave examples of turning problems into projects and documenting the learning for display. Documenting the steps, questions, and thought processes all the way through to the completed project, helps students understand how they learn on their own and with others.
 
By nurturing independence through classroom structures, including room design and routines, teachers can concentrate more on the lessons at hand. And, as the students move through grade levels and through divisions, there are visible, recognizable structures that guide them.
 
Offering stability, safety and connection to a larger community, the students become invested in their own education. A carefully designed classroom shows that “we value exploration, we value children’s voices in the design of lessons, and we also value academic skill and rigor,” Jason concludes.
Lowell School is a private PK-8th grade school located in NW Washington, DC. Our mission is to create an inclusive community of lifelong learners in which each individual is valued and respected.