Evaluating Web Sites

ECD 105
Classroom Design Project
Created by D. McConaughy,
Early Childhood Development,
and the Chesapeake College Library staff
http://www.chesapeake.edu/library/

Learning Outcomes

Identify the basic elements of an age-appropriate learning environment for

school age children in before and after school care settings.

Select age-appropriate materials that encourage positive interactions among children.

Evaluation | Conclusion

Introduction

The lay out, decoration, and utilization of classrooms and other facilities have a huge impact on how a student learns and behaves. This semester-long project will help you to learn techniques for setting up your own school age child care environment. You will research and write about an 'ideal' environment for school age child care. You will take a virtual field trip via the Internet to critique online school age child care settings. You will then design your own 'ideal' school age child care classroom and present it to the ECD105 class

The Task

You will complete the following tasks:

1. InfoQuest

Investigate the design of school age child care classrooms and the shared use of other facilities by exploring the websites in the InfoQuest Resources section below. Write an essay on the 'ideal' environment for school age child care.

2. Critique facilities

Take virtual field trips to the school age child care facilities in the Resources section of Critique Classrooms, below. Write an essay critiquing 2 of the facilities.

3. Design a classroom

Design your own classroom for school age child care, choosing materials for it and creating a materials purchase order. Present your design to the ECD105 class.

1. InfoQuest

Resources

Use the websites below to gather information on classroom design for school age child care. Look for the basic elements of age-appropriate learning environments in classrooms as well as other shared spaces (playgrounds, computer labs, etc.). Learn about spaces and materials that encourage positive growth, development, and learning when children of various ages share the same environment. Keep in mind that PDF files are sometimes slow to load.

Tip sheets from National Institute on Out-of-School Time - use pages 6-10 about activities, curriculum and environment

School Age Notes, February 2001 - use pages 43-45, The Human side of Space and Environment

Setting up your day care home

Spaces

Bananas choosing childcare

Standards for quality School-Age child care, use the Table of Contents to find the sections on Indoor and Outdoor space, and the Activities and Time chapter

Consider these floor plan and safety issues.

Process

1. Use the resources above to learn about designing and equipping spaces for school age child care. As you take notes, be sure to identify the website each piece of information comes from, so that you will be prepared to document your sources.

2. Write an essay on the 'ideal' facility for school age child care. Focus on the classroom , but consider the shared use of non-classroom spaces as well.

Your essay should be 2 pages long, double spaced, with 1" margins.
Use Times New Roman or Arial 12 point font.
Using MLA format, include a Works Cited List of the websites from which you used information. The Works Cited List will be your third page.
Using MLA format, use parenthetical documentation to identify information from specific websites within the body of your essay.

2. Critique facilities

Resources

Take virtual field trips to these websites to examine school age child care environments. Keep in mind that photographs are sometimes slow to load.

Kiddie Academy - read about the School Age program and take the virtual tour

La Petite Academy Before and After School program

YMCA of Metropolitan Los Angeles, read the School Age Child Care article and link to photos from the various sites

Eagle's Wing, check out the school-age room, the shared spaces, and take the tour!

SUNY Brockport Child Development Center, School Age program

Children's Castle Early Learning Center School Age Program

Process

1. Choose 2 of the facilities from the list above.

2. Write a critique of those 2 facilities in an essay 2 pages long and double spaced, using Times New Roman or Arial 12 point font and 1" margins. Evaluate each of the facilities based on the knowledge you gained in your 'ideal' school age child care environment InfoQuest. Tell what is good about them and why. Tell what is not so good about them and why. Explain what might have been done differently to enhance the learning experience of the children. Discuss how each facility supports (or doesn't support) children of various ages.

3: Design a classroom

Resources

Use these websites and catalogs to find floor plans, furniture, and supplies - with prices, descriptions and pictures you can use in your presentation.

Childcraft Classroom Designer - Offers sample classrooms (check out the first, second and third grade rooms) and an option to choose a floor plan and furnish it with age appropriate materials - all online!

Tips for using ChildCraft

Community Playthings - Offers sample classrooms and activity areas as well as a room planner template for producing a design with paper and scissors.

Catalogs from additional vendors are on reserve at the library. You can use the print copies or link to the company's websites:

Furniture and equipment

Classroom Supplies

Process

Applying what you've learned in your 'ideal' school age child care facility Infoquest and your facility critiques, design and equip a classroom appropriate for school age child care. Use space and materials to encourage learning for children of various ages.

1. Design the space. Decide on a floor plan, identify the purpose of various areas in the classroom and position them for optimum use, safety and learning.

2. Choose the furniture and materials to equip your classroom:

Classroom furniture should include tables, chairs, cubbies, shelves, storage items, cots, art easels, water tables, etc. Consider the needs of school age children and adults.
Classroom materials may include manipulative table-top toys, puzzles, art supplies, science equipment, math materials, books, computer/computer software, percussion instruments, DVD, audiovisual materials, paper, crayons, etc.
Don't forget essential materials like bulletin boards, storage cabinets, file cabinets, first aid kits, etc.
Choose items you believe will enhance your program.

3. Make a purchase order. List each item you want for your classroom along with the name of the company that will supply the item and the price. Categorize your purchase order, grouping similar items together, like tables, cubbies, mats, art supplies, science equipment, etc.

4. Present your classroom design to the ECD105 class. You may do:

a PowerPoint presentation
a 3-D model of the classroom using materials of your choosing;
a picture presentation using photographs of an actual classroom on a chart showing the layout of the classroom as well as the same pictures on a chart rearranged to show a more effective set-up, according to your research.
Other appropriate presentations as approved by your instructor.

All presentations must be accompanied by a one page explanation of your design. It should be double spaced with 1" margins and Times New Roman or Arial 12 point font.

Evaluation

You will be evaluated on the following elements:

InfoQuest - Your understanding of the elements needed to create an 'ideal' environment for school age child care and your ability to explain this to a reader in an essay.
Facility critiques - Your ability to recognize the presence or absence of essential components of a good school age child care facility - which components are essential and why.
Designing a Classroom - Your ability to synthesize all that you have learned through the InfoQuest and critiques into a theoretically workable classroom and to present and explain it to your peers.

Conclusion

There are essential components of classroom design that you will need to incorporate into a future school age child care facility. Environment can have a profound effect on the way students learn as well as on their behavior. The principles that you have learned here should be ones that you continue to use in your teaching career.

If there is inaccurate information on this page,
please send correction or comments to: lrcdesk@chesapeake.edu