And on we go . . .
"There are far better things ahead than any we leave behind."
- C.S. Lewis
- C.S. Lewis
Begin with the end in mind. It's not only how we are taught to plan our lessons each day, but also an idea that I have found to be beneficial in all aspects of my life. Set the goal, then plan the steps it is going to take to get there. With that being said, the image to the left is my final reflection, a six word memoir, of the process and educational opportunities we have been immersed in through the incubation phase. This has been, and will undoubtedly continue to be, a whirlwind of change, hope, restoration, and chance.
One of the biggest challenges with this phase was knowing that it was the last stretch of the actual designing. At the end of this phase, it would be purchasing time and then all bets were off. There was no changing your mind on whether you wanted chairs with wheels, or ones that stayed put. No more time to determine whether or not your tables were going to have a normal laminate surface or white board tops. There was no more chance for the thoughts of "well, I can decide between blue and green chairs later." This was it! All of our design, planning, and preparation were about to be implemented and there was no turning back.
How Should Our Room Look and Feel?
Part of this phase was making sure that my students and I were on the same page in terms of what the overall mood of our classroom should be. Students were given the task of creating either a virtual or physical board that displayed their thoughts on what the room should contain and how it should feel. In addition to my mood board, several students collaborated on a virtual board (LOVE Pinterest!) and even a couple that made hard copy boards.
One of the mood boards an
eighth grade student made! |
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Below are the links to some of our pinterest boards that both me, and my students created! 7th Grade Collaboration Board 8th Grade Collaboration Board My Board |
Our First Draft Designs with Laura and Danielle
It was so exciting when we got to meet with Laura and Danielle to see the first plans they had drafted. At this point, both myself and my students had worked on several designs. Yet, the ones from our two incredible consultants made everything exceptionally real visually and in terms of our timeline. The first draft was great, but my primary concern was how crowded the room seemed to be. After many notes and a productive conversation with Laura, I couldn't wait to see what draft two was going to look like!
The image on the left is the design Laura and Danielle compoased. The right shows our notes and some concerns I had on the first draft.
The Continual Feedback Loop from My Kids . . .
I couldn't wait to get this first "official" design back to my kids! We put the display on the board and the magic continued from there. The students were thrilled about many things they recognized, and per usual bombarded me with their questions and concerns. As a class we went over what the layout entailed and some of the changes I already anticipated after my first meeting with Laura. Then it was their turn again. I had printed copies of the layout with a plus, delta, question, idea table on the back to express and record their thoughts for me to take back to Laura and Danielle.
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Through looking at my students' reactions to the first design, I found that again we were on very similar pages. The students liked things such as . . . The soft seating area The window ledge "official" seating area The idea of new and different types of seats The idea of having a choice of where to sit New colors - not just beige and brown They would change . . . How crowded the room appeared Where we were storing materials The small amount of soft seating to a larger amount The |
Take 2 with Laura and Danielle
After our first conversation and all of the feedback they received, Laura and Danielle came back with the design to the right. I was thrilled. We had additional soft seating, the room looked more open and spacious, and I was ecstatic just thinking about teaching in this classroom.
We went through another mini conversation to voice any last concerns, or possible changes we could see due to things such as budget constraint. Overall, this was going to be quite close to our finalized design. I wai |
Saturday Morning Design Fun . . .
The rare late start Saturday morning is something I consistently look forward to. Yet on the day I was going to get to finalize color and design with the incredible Classroom 4 the Future team, I could not sleep. I was up, ready to go, and counting down the minutes until my meeting time.
Upon arriving at RESA, I followed Rachel's helpful signs to the location of the team; Brenda, Rachel, Danielle, and Laura. We went over a couple final changes due to budget and then began selecting colors.
The blue and green pallets are what we went with! We were also excited that two of my walls will be painted in the same family of blues, and we will be getting a white board map of the United States on the back wall near the rug and one soft seating section.
Upon arriving at RESA, I followed Rachel's helpful signs to the location of the team; Brenda, Rachel, Danielle, and Laura. We went over a couple final changes due to budget and then began selecting colors.
The blue and green pallets are what we went with! We were also excited that two of my walls will be painted in the same family of blues, and we will be getting a white board map of the United States on the back wall near the rug and one soft seating section.