3.1 Classroom Management and Collaborative Learning
Candidates model and facilitate effective classroom management and collaborative learning strategies to maximize teacher and student use of digital tools and resources. (PSC 3.1/ISTE 3a)
Artifact
My Learning Space Rating System (LSRS) and FLEXSpace artifact was created to assess a learning space using the LSRS to better understand what to look for and design for in an active learning space. Active learning spaces are becoming more important as education grows and seeks to design for and around student activity to enrich the learning process. I conducted the LSRS assessment and chose a learning space to assess. The FLEXSpace website curates learning spaces throughout the nation and was introduced to us by our KSU professor.
Standard 3.1, Classroom Management & Collaborative Learning – asks candidates to model and facilitate effective classroom management and collaborative learning strategies to maximize teacher and student use of digital tools and resources. My knowledge of the LSRS and the research I have conducted on best practices for active learning spaces has prepared me to model and facilitate cutting edge strategies as it applies to classroom management. Traditional strategies like authenticity and cultural relevant pedagogy certainly help educators become better prepared for classroom management, but with the ever-changing field and incorporation of technology rich settings practices like active learning spaces are equally important. When you incorporate technology into educational settings, frameworks like the LSRS are great to keep in mind because simply adding technology to a room doesn’t necessarily equate to a better learning environment. In fact, my experience leads me to believe that it can distract from learning if teachers don’t prepare and design the environment to be successful. The experience I have gained as a master’s candidate has prepared me to design environments where I can facilitate collaborative learning by keeping in mind the pedagogy, as well as all the affordances that are needed to have successful classroom management.
By creating this artifact, I was able to assess my learning environment and determine what I was doing well in my classroom, and what sort of improvements could be applied to my classroom to create more affordances for my students. I was introduced to the LSRS, which according to EDUCASE (n.d.) “provides a set of measurable criteria to assess how well the design of classrooms supports and enables multiple modalities of learning and teaching, especially that of active learning.” No other framework exists to specifically measure and assess learning spaces. This information will help me be better prepared to plan and execute a more engaging learning space. One thing that I have not been able to do due to time constraints is review and assess more spaces on FLEXSpace. I intend on studying the website to gain more ideas and see design solutions that others are creating. This information will be beneficial to me in the future.
Part of this class was to assess learning spaces other than our own. I chose a few classrooms in the school and shared my work with those whose rooms I rated. Active Learning Space as a subject matter is a relatively new domain. I have had some interesting conversations with people involved in various districts and other schools in my district. Our district just opened a Career and Technology school, and I had a chance to assess its design using a lot of the knowledge I gained from my studies. The information and resources I gained by creating this artifact can affect my classroom and any initiative which concerned itself with learning spaces. Observing students in these active learning spaces can provide a great form of measurement as to the success of frameworks like the LSRS and my coursework.
References
EDUCAUSE. (n.d.). Learning space rating system. EDUCAUSE.edu. Retrieved from https://www.educause.edu/eli/initiatives/learning-space-rating-system
Ellis, R. A., & Goodyear, P. (2016). Models of learning space: integrating research on space, place and learning in higher education. Review of Education, 4(2), 149–191.
https://doi.org/10.1002/rev3.3056
Lombardi, D., & Shipley, T. F. (2021). The Curious Construct of Active Learning. Psychological Science in the Public Interest, 22(1), 8–43. Retrieved from
https://doi.org/10.1177/1529100620973974
Standard 3.1, Classroom Management & Collaborative Learning – asks candidates to model and facilitate effective classroom management and collaborative learning strategies to maximize teacher and student use of digital tools and resources. My knowledge of the LSRS and the research I have conducted on best practices for active learning spaces has prepared me to model and facilitate cutting edge strategies as it applies to classroom management. Traditional strategies like authenticity and cultural relevant pedagogy certainly help educators become better prepared for classroom management, but with the ever-changing field and incorporation of technology rich settings practices like active learning spaces are equally important. When you incorporate technology into educational settings, frameworks like the LSRS are great to keep in mind because simply adding technology to a room doesn’t necessarily equate to a better learning environment. In fact, my experience leads me to believe that it can distract from learning if teachers don’t prepare and design the environment to be successful. The experience I have gained as a master’s candidate has prepared me to design environments where I can facilitate collaborative learning by keeping in mind the pedagogy, as well as all the affordances that are needed to have successful classroom management.
By creating this artifact, I was able to assess my learning environment and determine what I was doing well in my classroom, and what sort of improvements could be applied to my classroom to create more affordances for my students. I was introduced to the LSRS, which according to EDUCASE (n.d.) “provides a set of measurable criteria to assess how well the design of classrooms supports and enables multiple modalities of learning and teaching, especially that of active learning.” No other framework exists to specifically measure and assess learning spaces. This information will help me be better prepared to plan and execute a more engaging learning space. One thing that I have not been able to do due to time constraints is review and assess more spaces on FLEXSpace. I intend on studying the website to gain more ideas and see design solutions that others are creating. This information will be beneficial to me in the future.
Part of this class was to assess learning spaces other than our own. I chose a few classrooms in the school and shared my work with those whose rooms I rated. Active Learning Space as a subject matter is a relatively new domain. I have had some interesting conversations with people involved in various districts and other schools in my district. Our district just opened a Career and Technology school, and I had a chance to assess its design using a lot of the knowledge I gained from my studies. The information and resources I gained by creating this artifact can affect my classroom and any initiative which concerned itself with learning spaces. Observing students in these active learning spaces can provide a great form of measurement as to the success of frameworks like the LSRS and my coursework.
References
EDUCAUSE. (n.d.). Learning space rating system. EDUCAUSE.edu. Retrieved from https://www.educause.edu/eli/initiatives/learning-space-rating-system
Ellis, R. A., & Goodyear, P. (2016). Models of learning space: integrating research on space, place and learning in higher education. Review of Education, 4(2), 149–191.
https://doi.org/10.1002/rev3.3056
Lombardi, D., & Shipley, T. F. (2021). The Curious Construct of Active Learning. Psychological Science in the Public Interest, 22(1), 8–43. Retrieved from
https://doi.org/10.1177/1529100620973974