1.5 Classroom Organization

1.5 Classroom Organization: The classroom is organized appropriately such that students can work in groups easily and get to lab materials as needed, and the teacher can move to each student or student group.

This indicator assesses how well the setup of the classroom promoted the intended goals of the lesson and enhanced the classroom environment. Both the organization of student seating as well as the availability of necessary materials should be considered. This indicator can be evidenced by examining the accessibility of materials needed for the lesson activities, such as computer technology, calculators, books, laboratory and safety equipment, worksheets, etc. This indicator also considers accessibility—students’ ability to hear and see whatever was written on the board or presented on a projection screen, etc. The rater should also consider the ease with which the teacher was able to access each student and how well the students’ physical locations allowed them to participate fully in lesson (whether it was in a small classroom or large lecture hall). The indicator can be used to assess whether the teacher devoted an appropriate amount of preparation time to setting up materials, and how well the physical setup facilitated student collaboration when appropriate. We recognize that the setup of the classroom may not always be under the teacher's control; however, raters should rate the classroom setup without concern for this degree of control, as student access to these classroom materials and structures can have a significant impact on student learning.

General Rubric

1. This item should be rated with a 1 if there were one or more major classroom setup or organizational issues that significantly disrupted the ability of students to focus on and learn the content of the lesson. This may be something that was not under the teacher's control but still should be recorded with this instrument.
   
    
2. This item should be rated with a 2 if there were several minor classroom setup or organization issues that caused a few small disruptions to the lesson, and some students’ ability to fully participate was affected negatively.
   
    
3. This item should be rated a 3 if there were no classroom setup or organizational issues that disrupted or distracted the majority (50–75%) of students from participating in the activities of the lesson—the classroom was appropriately arranged for the lesson.
   
    
4. This item should be rated a 4 if the classroom was well-organized and the teacher’s actions relating to the setup of the classroom enhanced most (75–90%) students’ interaction with materials or each other as required for the activity. There may be a small missed opportunity where a few students were affected in their ability to participate for a short period of time.
   
    
5. This item should be rated a 5 if the organization of the classroom was excellent and the setup for the lesson clearly and positively enhanced each student’s learning and created opportunity for engagement and full participation. There was specific evidence that the teacher made moves to ensure this, and there were no instances of students’ being affected negatively by the setup of the classroom. 

Specific Examples of Supporting Evidence

1. The teacher did not appear to have organized the classroom at all—as the students entered the classroom, they moved their desks away from the front, and half of the class even had their backs to the board where the teacher was showing the students how to solve a math problem. The teacher was unable to circulate due to the haphazard placement of desks and a collection of boxes and shelves that blocked portions of the classroom so that he had difficulty monitoring student work.
   
    
2. Although the teacher asked the students to work in groups of three, the desks were not positioned to facilitate such collaboration—the students in a group in the back of the classroom were seated around a large table, and the demonstration bench that was in the front of the classroom prevented some groups of students from moving their desks into groups of three, so many chose to work in pairs. The students at the large table had to talk loudly to be heard and had difficulty communicating with each other during the day’s group activity as a result.
   
    
3. There were several small, movable tables that could seat pairs of students who were spread out across the classroom. These tables could be regrouped to allow for groups of four, although some students (about 25% at any one time) would have to turn around in their chairs to see the computer projection screen and lab demonstration desk. Overall, the students were able to collaborate with their group and access materials successfully.
   
    
4. The classroom setup worked well for this lesson—the students were seated in groups of four spread out around the room, and all could view the center of the room and watch the teacher to show her visual aids. However, one of the visual aids was very small, which made it difficult for a few students (about 15%) to follow what she was doing for a small portion of the lesson. The teacher was able to circulate during the group work portion of the lesson successfully.
   
    
5. The students were seated with their assigned groups, which were tables that were spread across the room. The room was very large and open, and the teachers could move around and talk with each member of the groups frequently. The lesson required that different groups conduct different activities across the classroom at the same time. Each group could access computers as needed and had excellent workspace for active collaboration. When a lab activity was conducted, all students had access to a well-stocked supply table including appropriate safety equipment.