Picturing Myself as a Natural Teacher
Picturing Myself as a Natural Teacher
A Reflective Exercise
Are we training our teachers to be Natural Teachers? Are teachers imagining themselves teaching Outdoors as much as they are Indoors. Are schools embracing Outdoor Spaces as places to learn?
I teach teachers. The “Picturing Myself as a Teacher,” is the first assignment in my Foundations of Early Childhood class at North Shore 
Community College. In the original assignment, students were asked to imagine that they have been teachers for three years. Then they were asked to draw themselves teaching young children using pencils and crayons, and a sheet of 12X18 drawing paper. The assumption was to draw an indoor classroom. They are to think about the following questions as they draw and write:
- Where is the school?
- What are the ages and kinds of children?
- What grade are you teaching?
- How is your indoor classroom set up?
- Where are you and what are you doing in the picture?
- What is your role in the classroom?
- What are you teaching? How are you teaching it?
For many of my young students, this was the first time ever thinking about designing an ideal classroom. It is a critical time to expand out thinking and teaching practices to include the concept of Outdoor Classrooms. Imagine the possibilities for your own outdoor classrooms. This is the first step on our reflective journey to becoming Natural Teachers.
Now think about your Outdoor Classroom.
- How is your Outdoor Classroom set up?
- What is your role as a Natural Teacher? Does it feel different?
- How would you teach your lesson indoors/outdoors and how would you expand the lesson outdoors/indoors?
I am eager to tap into your own process of “Becoming a Natural Teacher” and invite you to think about the following questions: Was it difficult to imagine your own outdoor classroom? Was if fun? Inspiring? Did you have any prior knowledge or experience with outdoor classrooms to draw upon? How did you decide what to include?
Now it is your turn. Share your reflections and pictures in the comment section below.
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25 Comments
I was lucky enough to be able to draw on the ideas I got at a workshop I attended on creating an outdoor classroom which gave me some good ideas of the kind of features I would like to include, among them an entry feature like a gated trellis, a music area with chimes and a fence with tubing to create different pitches + sticks to strike them with, a climbing/crawling area with tree stumps and logs, a nature art area, a building area with blocks as well as fabric, straws, connectors, pvc pipes, tiles…things for creative construction. Also a sand area, a messy/muddy area with water, room for swings…there are so many ideas but putting them into realistic practice will take some doing! It was fun drawing and trying to map all this out.
I have been thinking about how I want my outdoor area to be set up, and the things I want to include. I have a narrow side yard, and a square backyard with a garden for my daycare children. I decided to set them up so they can be used independently, depending on the weather conditions. They each will include the basic areas for art, music, reading, active play, science and math, and building with loose parts. The choices will vary in each area. Some things are already in place, and I am excited to begin adding to them.
This past fall we started setting up our outdoor classroom. It is very challenging. Some of our biggest obstacles include a predetermined fenced in area, and lack of adequate storage. If I had a chance to design a dream classroom outdoors, I would put it in the woods and clear away very little trees and brush. I would not purchase any manufactured climbing equipment but I would include a large table, trees stumps for chairs, a water source and a large storage shed. I would never be in a hurry to leave this dream space.
Welcome Anne!
I love your dream outdoor space! Lot’s to be inspired from!!
This sounds like an ideal classroom. I love the idea of having the tree stumps as chairs. Very creative!
When I first started this assignment I was very overwhelmed with the aspect of drawing. Once I started I just couldnt stop all of the idea’s that were flowing. I started to see what my outdoor class room was going to look like, and I got excited about it. I think that this was a fun assignment to do, if you don’t get bogged down with the drawing.
I really liked this first assignment. It made me really think about what kind of classroom I would like to have, Along with what grade I would like to teach. I liked how I was able to create the activities and theme of my classroom. I also have never thought about an outdoor classroom so it was interesting to create my own.
I found this assignment at first, to be challenging for me, for I had never really pictured what “my classroom” would like before. I always knew what I wanted to teach, what age group I was most interested in, but never took the time to think about what I wanted my classroom to look like. But as I sat down and took the time to really picture it and design it, it became much more interesting, to just see how my mind traveled from idea to idea of how I wanted everything to look. It was a great exercise 🙂
AnaMaria…fabulous job! I love it when the mind is in creative mode.
This assignment was very interesting. I have always wanted to be a teacher but never took the step to plan it all out. I liked how each and every person got to invision their own path to teaching. Everyone is different and so each way of teaching will be and it is fun to show who you want to become. I love the ideas of outside classrooms because it shows learning beyond a regular setting. The environment is one of the most important things in life we should teach young children about how to care for it correctly, since they will be the future.
Rebecca….wonderful job! The environment is the third teachers. Great reflections.
I really enjoyed this assignment because it makes you think about what you want your indoor and outdoor classroom to look like. I thought the outdoor classroom was a bit tricky since you had to think about it more than your indoor classroom. But overall I really enjoyed this assignment.
Great job Mark! Glad you took the time to think about your outdoor classroom too.
I really loved this assignment since it was 100% up to us on how to design it. It really lets you get creative and think about what you would want your future classroom to look like. It made me realize things I never did before like the placement of items in the classroom. This project definitely made me feel like I was a teacher and I absolutely loved it!
Karly…nice job! You are on your way to becoming a great teacher!
I had a fun time with this project. It was really cool to think about having my very own classroom and being able to decorate and arrange things how I liked. This gave me great ideas that I would like to use when that day does come that I have my own kindergarten classroom!
Yay! Great job Nicole!
I really enjoyed this assignment! It was fun to envision my own classroom and how I wanted to set it up without thinking about the possibilities of it actually happening NOW. Although I am not the best artist, it was nice to be able to design and illustrate the room I hope to have one day.
Fabulous!
I had fun with the assignment to design an outdoor classroom. I had designed my own indoor classroom. To have an area to go outdoors to explore and expand teaching and learning is a fun prospect. Especially for me since I will be getting an outdoor area to create in the new building.
Love to learn you are getting your own outdoor area for an outdoor classroom! 🙂
I enjoyed this assignment very much! As much as I have thought about teaching, I never really thought about where I wanted to teach and how I would imagine my ideal school/classroom. This was really fun and gave you the chance to do everything you would do in your school/classroom if you could. I had a lot of fun drawing, even though I’m not very good! I wish I could just say a magic word and have my school come to life! Who knows, maybe one day it will 🙂
Great job Kristen!
I loved doing this assignment. Seeing what i picture my classroom and seeing what other people in the class drew as well. I loved being hands on and using color to show your work. It was fun actual see what could one day be my indoor classroom and outdoor classroom. The outdoor classroom was a little harder to draw and to think about what to do, but overall i enjoyed ever part of this assignment!
Fabulous Amanda! Wonderful to see you here!