The presentation with Brittany Johnson was very interesting and insightful. I think it is incredibly beneficial to hear from a teacher who is in her early years of teaching and grasping the way of teaching at the moment. Brittany’s presentation showed many different aspects of how important the classroom is to teaching and management.
Brittany shared some super insightful tips about how she has created her classroom layout. She talked about the importance of trying out different desk arrangements, and ask students and EA’s their input on the layout or arrangements. This gives students the chance to express their preferences as well as giving the teacher the chance to see who works well with who or what layout works. I also found it very interesting that every year, Brittany starts her year with a bare classroom and works with students to build and create the comfort and fun together, this gives the students the opportunity to see the progression and feel like the classroom is “theirs”. On top of all that, Brittany talked about how important it is for there to be a space for mindfulness. This corner or area could be considered as the “calming corner”, in this corner there may be items which can work to help regulate students emotions. She really emphasized the importance of letting your students have a say in the way the classroom looks and feels as it is the area that they will be spending 5 days a week.
Routines and schedules are also incredibly important to the classroom. Brittany talked about how students often thrive within the structure of daily routine. Brittany explained how having a set daily routine has given her students the confidence and comfort of knowing what comes next, they know that their day starts with a “soft start” and then know where they will transitioning to next. She talked about how there is ease within the students as there is no panic about feeling lost on what to do. Brittany also talked about the importance of having a visual schedule so students are able to see the layout of the day and see when it has been completed. I really liked how Brittany explained her layout of the day and the importance of keeping it structured and routined for her students as well as herself.
Overall, Brittany had so many useful and wonderful ways of running her classroom and organizing her students. I personally think that as a kid, I would have done quite well in Brittany’s class due to her routines and focus on student input. I will definitely be using some of Brittany’s classroom skills within my future classroom as I fell she is set up for success in both her career as well as her students learning.