What to Look
for in a Classroom
By Alfie
Kohn
An earlier
version of this chart was published in the September 1996 issue of Educational
Leadership, and reprinted as the title essay in the anthology What to Look for in a Classroom...And Other
Essays.
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|
GOOD
SIGNS
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POSSIBLE
REASONS TO WORRY
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FURNITURE
|
Chairs around tables to facilitate
interaction
Comfortable areas for learning,
including multiple "activity centers"
Open space for gathering
|
Chairs all facing forward or (even
worse) desks in rows
|
|
ON THE WALLS
|
Covered with students’ projects
Evidence of student collaboration
Signs, exhibits, or lists obviously
created by students rather than by the teacher
Information about, and personal
mementos of, the people who spend time together in this classroom
|
Nothing
Commercial posters
Students’ assignments displayed, but
they are (a) suspiciously flawless, (b) only from "the best"
students, or (c) virtually all alike
List of rules created by an adult
and/or list of punitive consequences for misbehavior
Sticker (or star) chart -- or other
evidence that students are rewarded or ranked
|
|
STUDENTS’ FACES
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Eager, engaged
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Blank, bored
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SOUNDS
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Frequent hum of activity and ideas
being exchanged
|
Frequent periods of silence
The teacher’s voice is the loudest or
most often heard
|
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LOCATION OF TEACHER
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Typically working with students so it
takes a few seconds to find her
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Typically front and center
|
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TEACHER’S VOICE
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Respectful, genuine, warm
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Controlling and imperious
Condescending and saccharine-sweet
|
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STUDENTS’ REACTION TO VISITOR
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Welcoming; eager to explain or
demonstrate what they’re doing or to use visitor as a resource
|
Either unresponsive or hoping to be
distracted from what they’re doing
|
|
CLASS DISCUSSION
|
Students often address one another
directly
Emphasis on thoughtful exploration of complicated
issues
Students ask questions at least as
often as the teacher does
|
All exchanges involve (or are directed
by) the teacher; students wait to be called on
Emphasis on facts and right answers
Students race to be first to answer
teacher’s "Who can tell me…?" queries
|
|
STUFF
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Room overflowing with good books, art
supplies, animals and plants, science apparatus; "sense of purposeful
clutter"
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Textbooks, worksheets, and other
packaged instructional materials predominate; sense of enforced orderliness
|
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TASKS
|
Different activities often take place
simultaneously
Activities frequently completed by
pairs or groups of students
|
All students usually doing the same
thing
When students aren’t listening to the
teacher, they’re working alone
|
|
AROUND THE SCHOOL
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Appealing atmosphere: a place where
people would want to spend time
Students’ projects fill the hallways
Library well-stocked and comfortable
Bathrooms in good condition
Faculty lounge warm and inviting
Office staff welcoming toward visitors
and students
Students helping in lunchroom,
library, and with other school functions
|
Stark, institutional feel
Awards, trophies, and prizes
displayed, suggesting an emphasis on triumph rather than community
|
Copyright © 1996, 1999 by Alfie
Kohn. This article may be downloaded, reproduced, and distributed without
permission as long as each copy includes this notice along with citation
information (i.e., name of the periodical in which it originally appeared, date
of publication, and author's name). Permission must be obtained in order to
reprint this article in a published work or in order to offer it for sale in
any form. Please write to the address indicated on the Contact Us page.
http://www.alfiekohn.org/teaching/wtlfiacchart.htm
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