Classroom Safari - Support Group Activity

The purpose of this activity is to examine how a teacher's arrange of classroom furniture influence student behavior.

Objectives:

1. Diagram the furniture arrangements in four classrooms
   
2. Discuss the effect of furniture arrangement on student behavior
   
3. Discuss the instructional strategies that work best with each room arrangement

Note: Facilitator pre-selects rooms with different furniture arrangements. Provide paper to diagram furniture arrangements.

Procedure: Take your support group on a tour of 4 classrooms at your site. In each room ask the participants to:

1. Describe the possible effect of each classroom’s furniture arrangement on student behavior.
2. Identify the instructional strategies that are most effective for that room arrangement.
3. Chart feedback, the teams should be prepared to give reasons for their responses.
4. Move to the next room and repeat the process.

Debriefing:
Ask each participant to think about how the furniture is arranged in your classroom and its possible influence on students.

1. What is one thing about your room arrangement that has a positive influence on student behavior?
2. What is one thing you would like to change about the furniture arrange in your room and how will that influence student behavior?

Source: Dr. Doug Miller