Term 2 and a new Learning Environment

In the last week of the holidays I made additional changes to my classroom to make it more inviting for the learners and more appropriate for a 1:1 iPad environment.  We now have a couple of couches that learners can use for reading, or working with their iPads.  I've moved away from a U shape with the desks and created additional space by removing one of these.  This enabled me to add some mats to add colour to the floor and create cosy spaces for playing with manipulative equipment.

When I compare the before and after photos I can see a difference but the real test will be what the learners think, and more importantly how the new space works from a teaching and learning point of view, which I intend to blog about in future weeks.   As with testing anything new, I'm prepared to make changes or modifications if needed, to ensure that the environment is both welcoming and effective as a teaching and learning space.

How the learning space looked before the holidays:

How the space looks now:

The response to the new look from the learners as they arrived today was great - they all noticed immediately that things have changed and were keen to explore and try out the new couches and mats!  I look forward to seeing if the results as they move around the space are as positive.