Filed Under Chinese, French, German, Latin, Spanish, World Languages
The department has continued to discuss what the ideal language classroom would look like. Last Tuesday, we met to brainstorm a few more concrete ideas and then I attempted to bring everyone’s ideas, needs, and requests together into an actual drawing using OmniGraffle. It’s nothing professional and not to scale, but the experience was actually kind of fun. What does language learning heaven look like for teachers at Lab? Click on the image to see a larger version and tell me what you think!
Download the entire World Language Department Outlook here.
Points to guide your viewing are listed below:
Performance Corners, carpeted in a different color in the corners of each of the outer 4 Performance/Kitchen classrooms are the same level as the floor and demarcate a place to read, tell stories, rehearse plays, and play games (“C”). Spotlights overhead create a stage-like atmosphere.
Speakers installed on the wall with a 3-input amplifier make it easy to hear students when parents come to see plays and presentations.
Lockable and mobile storage cabinets are available in each of the classrooms (“S”) for the teachers in that share the room. Mobile storage in the classrooms by itself would not be enough, however. There would need to be additional space for teachers to store curricular materials.
Adequate storage space for teacher materials exist between each set of faculty offices (“S” on salmon color). These storage closets include sturdy shelving and a place to hang costumes, coats, and other materials used in class.
Adequate storage space for rolling carts, A/V materials, office supplies, peripherals for check out, the document camera, the laminating machine, and other resources shared across the department (“A/V”).
Isolated studio for recording DiLL clips and interviewing other students on video without background noise. Audio and video editing stations (“Studio”).
Office space for Lab Coordinator with an indoor window view of the WLL. Table just outside for one-on-one consultations with teachers (“Tech”).
Overhead projectors and speakers in every classroom and two in the World Language Lab for more sophisticated presentations (“P”). Wireless technology would allow the presenter can be anywhere in the room controlling projected visuals.
Two bathrooms (“B”) and one drinking fountain (“D”).
Kitchen for faculty to store their lunches, prepare food and to support small community events (“Kitchen”). If this kitchen were shared with another department, it might also house a photocopier.
Office spaces large enough to accommodate two to three faculty (“2-3”). Each office would have its own black and white printer. One color printer would live in the Kitchen and the other in the WLL.
Teachers would save money and enjoy the office spaces even more if the ceiling had access to natural light.
Large conference rooms with capacity for 8 people (“8”). Conference rooms would be a shared resource across the Schools and might include a flat screen monitor for collaboratively discussing information on one individual’s screen, or for viewing satellite TV (The Graduate School of Business has excellent examples of these types of spaces on the lower level).
Mini conference rooms large enough for 4 people (“4”). Ideal for the numerous parent-teacher conferences that occur throughout the year or for Independent Studies.
Study “booths” would be ideal for working on laptop, working in groups, individual study, and socializing (“5”).
Gathering places with soft seating ideal for informal socializing and discussion-based learning with smaller classes (“6”).
Round tables for students to talk with teachers, take Independent Study courses, or socialize (“3”).
Natural light overhead. Floor underneath these tables (on either side of the WLL) should be carpeted to keep conversation at a moderate level. These spaces create ample opportunities for teachers to interact with students.
Lockable glass display cases or bookcases with glass doors near the round tables (“3”) for displaying objects, artwork, student projects, and language books. Hallways also give ample space for bulletin boards to display work.
Desktop computers in World Language Lab and in Tech Focus classrooms (Maroon dots).
Small kitchenettes in the four outer Performance/Kitchen classrooms with half-size fridge, ample cabinet storage, and counter space for preparing food (“K”). Medium-high counters could be designed with bar stools.
One desk per classroom, relatively easy to move, for teachers to set out props and supplies for the incoming class (“T” on yellow).
Twenty individual desks with breaking wheels, or that are relatively easy to move on floor surface (blue rectangles). Each desk would be accompanied a durable, stackable chair (not shown).
Closet in World Language Lab (“WLL”) for server (“X”).
Indoor windows (floor to ceiling when possible) allow visitors to peak into classrooms or World
Language Lab without disturbing class or obstructing flow of traffic in the outer hallways. Windows are also bring in natural light coming from outer hallways (“W”).
World Language Lab (“WLL”) doubles as a conference room and meeting room for the entire department. 3-Desk configuration in the middle is relatively mobile and can be pushed to the front of the room against the wall and under the projector screens. Additional seating can be brought in for a maximum occupancy of 60.
Most of the larger rooms have two entrances both for safety and ease of entrance/exit. Neither entrance will disturb performances in progress in the Performance Corners.
Spaces are multipurpose. If the Schools should decide to reconfigure or rent out any of the classrooms, conference rooms, or the Lab, they would be readily usable for other purposes (i.e. conferences, small group work, faculty, staff, and committee meetings, or small gatherings requiring a kitchen).
Where there isn’t a window (marked with a bold line and a “W”), there are tall white magnetic boards, cork strips, bare wall, or bulletin boards permanently installed and suitable for hanging visual laminated images, tag board presentations, and large posters.
Tech-focused rooms feature flat screen TVs for viewing movies in smaller groups and accessing satellite TV (“TV”).
If the WLD Hub was positioned adjacent to Early Education classrooms, it would address the need of Lower School teachers to be closer to Lower School homerooms. Middle and High School students would not mind walking to another building for their language class. Depending on the layout, perhaps this area could be situated in a place equally accessible by students en each of the three Schools. This is particularly critical with Lower School classes, since the short 25-minute sessions are regularly shortened by long transit times between homerooms and classrooms.
The department has not discussed the flooring. For ease of cleaning, I might think about some kind of laminate or tile flooring for everywhere except the performance corners (“C”) and the round table gathering area (“3”).
Sturdy and portable whiteboards with breaking wheels, about 3 feet wide are ideal for bring written instruction to wherever students are working or are seated, instead of having to move students to where they can see a permanently installed whiteboard. These portable surfaces can also be used by students to show what they know.
