Environment Observation

1.   School : C. H. Decker Elementary School

Telephone: 702-799-5920

2. Teacher: Mrs. Yarabenetz and Miss Young.

Age/grade level: 3-5 years old, Pre-K.

3. Number children: 22

4. Centers: There are 14 centers in total. The Blocks Center (4 children), The Dramatic

Play Center (4 children), The Nature Science Center (4children), The Play Doh Center (2

children), The Art Center (4 children), The Sand Center (2 children),The Library Center (2

children), The Cozy Center (1 child), The Writing Center (2 children), The Puzzle Center (2

children),The Fine Motor Center (4 children), The Train Center (2 children), The Math And

Numbers Center (4 children), The Music Center (2 children).

5. Floor plan: Attached at the end.

6. Arrangement of physical space:

1.   Durable and easy clean indoor surfaces.

2.   Enough indoor space.

3.   Path ways clearly lead children to activities.

4.   The room allowed children privacy.

5.   At least 2 types of play surface for gross motor play.

6.   Dead space.
7.   Quiet and noisy play areas are separated from one another.

8.   All the play areas are visible from every location in the classroom.

9.   Block area is big enough.

10.  A big space for big group activities (whole class).

11.  At least 5 interest centers.

Learning materials, equipment and furniture:

1.   Child-sized furniture.

2.   Enough furniture for routine care, play, and learning.

3.   Special furniture for disabilities.

4.   Soft furniture.

5.   Enough play materials in the classroom.

6.   The equipment is appropriate for the age and the ability of the children.

7.   The teacher can adequately supervise all children visually most of the time.

8.   All play areas requiring special provisions are conveniently equipped.

9.   Enough low open shelves.

10.  Some pieces of furniture designed for specific activity.

11.  Lockers for children store their personal things.

12.  Displays of books

 Storage of materials and equipment:

1.   Children’s art work displayed.

2.   Pictures displayed at children’s eye level.

3.   Play material organized for children to use.

Other elements of physical environment:

27. Room temperature.

28. Natural lights.

29. Adequate lights.

30. Clean environment.

7. Arrangement of physical space

1. Durable and easy clean indoor surfaces. (Most indoor surfaces are durable and easy to

clean and maintain).

2. Enough indoor space. (The classroom has enough indoor space for children to move

around and play. Suitable space for activities in free play).

3. Pathways clearly lead children to activities. (Pathways are wide enough, and clearly lead

children to different centers)

4. The room allowed children privacy. (Children are allowed to play alone or with peers,

without interfering with other children’s access to play areas or interest centers, like dramatic

play designed for more children)

5. At least 2 types of play surface for gross motor play. (Not present)
 6. Dead space. (Not present).

7. Quiet and noisy play areas are separated from one another. (Quiet and noisy play areas

are separated. For example, the music center is far away from the library center and the writing

center. It is separated not just by furniture, but by physical space.)

8. All the plays area are visible from every location in the class room. (All the centers are

visible from different locations in the classroom, so the teacher can observe children better. and

it also helps children to make decisions when they pick centers)

9. The Block area is big enough. (The Block area is big enough, and it allows children to

build big structures).

10. A big space for big group activities (for the whole class)

(The Block area is also used as a big group meeting place. It is too small for the whole class

because all the students are seated next to each other, without enough space between them.)

11. At least 5 interest centers. (There are more than 5 interest centers, like the dramatic play

center, the blocks center, the art center, the fine motor center, the puzzle center and so on,

children were happy when they are playing.)

12. Child-sized furniture (more than 80 % (like chairs and tables) of the furniture are child-

sized, this will encourage children to be more interested in their surroundings since they can take

initiative with their own learning and exploring.)

13. Enough furniture for routine care, play, and learning. (There is enough furniture

available for the children, and enough shelves for toys, books, and other materials.)

14. Special furniture for disabilities. (Not present)

 15. Soft furniture. (There is not much soft furniture, just two child-sized couches.)

16. Enough play materials in classroom. (There are plenty of play materials, so children

can get a chance to experience different toys and learn different things.)

17. The equipment is appropriate for the age and the ability of the children. (Everything in

the classroom is appropriate for the age of the children, include all the furniture, toys, learning

materials and books)

18. Teacher can adequately supervise all children visually most of the time. (The teacher is

able to see the whole classroom from each part of the classroom).

19. All play areas requiring special provisions are conveniently equipped. (Art and sand

centers have easily cleaned surfaces (tiles), and also near the sink, children can wash their hands

before or after play very easily. The block center has a rug to reduce noise.)

20. Enough low open shelves. (There are enough low open shelves for enough toys to keep

the children reasonably well-engaged).

21. Some pieces of furniture designed for specific activity. (Not present)

22. Lockers for children to store their personal things. (There are lockers for children to

store their personal things like their backpack and clothes)

23. Displays of books. (Books are available for children to read in the library, and also the

dramatic play center has some big sized books for children to learn)

24. Children’s art work displayed (the teacher displayed two kinds of artwork from all the

students, “self –portrait” and “all about me” pieces).

 25. Pictures displayed at children’s eye level. (More than 80% posters and student’s art

work are displayed at the children’s eye level.)

26. Play material is organized for children to use. (The play materials are well organized

for children in designed area, and also, with the name stickers on the boxes or shelves, the

children can easily find what materials they want to play with.)

27. Room temperature. (The classroom temperature was 75 degrees. It was very

comfortable, not too cold or too hot, and students can focus on their learning)

28. Natural lights. (Not present)

29. Adequate lights. (Enough lights provided by electric lights)

30. Clean environment. (The classroom was very clean, with no trash on the floor, and all

the furniture looked very clean as well)

8.   Diversity: The teacher represented the issue of diversity in a variety of ways. For

example, there were all kinds of books in the classroom, she hung student’s art work on

the wall, posters, and student’s project “all about me”, and also there were different

materials for different ability levels. By doing this, children get to know each other

better, and they also learn more things from share different culture and stories with the

class.

9.1: (a) Classroom in action: After breakfast, all the students come back to classroom.

They sit in the block area very quietly, waiting for all the children finish washing their

hands. When all the children are ready, the teacher started to pair them in groups of

two. The teacher called two students’ name, and these two students stand up and clap their

hands. The first child said she wants to go to “the dramatic play center”, and the teacher said”
 How about your friend? Does she want to go to this center as well?” Then the child asked

her partner, and she said ok. When both of them agree to go to one center, they walk to the

center together, and start playing with baby dolls. The teacher paired the rest of class in the

same way. All of the students get the opportunities to pick which center they want to go to,

unless the center is full, and then teacher started to walk around the classroom, some students

needed extra help, they raised their hand and teacher came over encouraged them and worked

with them.

(b): Evaluation The space is well-organized. All the centers are clearly defined by shelving

with open pathway. The children can move freely from one activity to another without going

through other centers. Also each center has a name on it, and a little sign showing how many

children each center can contain. This helps children to manage on their own, and they do not

depend on the teacher for guidance. For example: The fine motor center can only contain 4

children. There were 4 children in the fine motor center playing already, another boy wanted

to play in the fine motor center too. Teacher asks the child to count how many children are

there. The teacher count with him: 1, 2, 3, 4. Then the little boy realized that this center is full.

He said he will come back later when it is available. Also, the noisy centers are separate from

the quite centers. For example, the library is far away from the music center. When the

children play in music center and make noise, the children in library can still focus on their

reading. Also all the play areas are visible from every location of the classroom. So children

have an easier time making choices and decisions when they can see what is going on

throughout most of the room.

2: (a) Rating: I would rate this learning environment 3.5 stars

(b) Strengths: (1). the classroom is well-organized and very clean.

 (2). the noisy centers and quiet centers are separate.

(3). Most of the art works are hung by the children’s eye level.

(4). There is enough play material for the children to play with and explore.

(5). More than 80% of the furniture is child sized.

Weaknesses: (1).There is no natural lights available in the classroom.

(2). There is not enough softness for furniture.

(3). There are too many students in the same classroom.

(4). There is no special furniture for disabilities.

(c): Improvements: (1). Make the classroom smaller, because it is really hard for

one teacher to take care of eleven students.

(2). they should at least change the door to get some nature light into the classroom.

(3). they need to get more soft material for the children to relax on (several pillows, some

soft animal toys, or a small mattress).

Floor plan