Over the years I have often been asked to informally visit rooms in schools to give my opinion of what I think. I am always reminded of the Bob Dylan quote, 'Don't ask me about nothing or I might tell you the truth'. We all see the 'truth' through our own set of beliefs and once this is understood then an outsider's view of the school can add some valuable ideas to think about and even possibly, if felt important enough, to action.

Once, when I was visiting a class with my seven year old daughter (it was school holidays) after taking a close look at the work on the walls she asked the teachers what age the students were. When told they also were seven she replied, 'Well they don't do very good work'!!! I was kind of thinking that but thought better about saying anything.

The truth is we all need 'critical friend's who are prepared to be honest with us otherwise how do we face up to areas to work on? Normally when I visit classrooms I only notice those rooms that stand out for some reason - the ones that appeal to me. Only when I am asked to give an informed comment do I really focus on what individual classes reflect to me.

The Classroom as the Third Teacher

Classroom environments, even when the students are absent, give clear messages about what is felt important to the school or teachers; after the teacher and the content matter the room environment can be legitimately called the 'third teacher'!

Develop your own set of attributes.

I would suggest that each school define their own list of attributes. My list is a composite built up from creative classrooms I have observed so I am only sharing the skills of creative teachers. There will be such teachers in your school, or a school near you; visit then for yourself! Such teachers seem to have an inbuilt sense of aesthetics and design - but we can learn from them by articulating and making explicit what they do.

Assess your class/school using the criteria below. Which ones do you agree with?

Mark your own class out of 10 (10 being fantastic). Remember it is only my point of view and a rather ideal one at that! Many schools have 'walk and talk' staff meetings once a term to observe consistency throughout the school, to note individual creativity and style of each teacher and to celebrate and share good ideas.

1. The overall 'Wow Factor!'

First impressions count. Even a quick look around lets you know this is a fun place to be. The walls and blackboards/ whiteboards indicate a rich learning environment. Quality work is everywhere .The 'Wow!' factor flows from all the points that follow.

Comment: Most school are' patchy' and the ideal would be to have consistent quality environments through out the school. As well it is important for each room to be different and reflect the individual creativity of both the teacher and the students.

2. Can you 'see' evidence of the student's voices and identities - their personal ideas, questions and 'point of view'?

I look for evidence of student's personal world as expressed through poetic writing and art. With class studies can you see their questions and their 'prior idea' answering their questions/? When you read student research on charts etc can you recognize children's voice and not 'copied' material?

Comment: Too often students are set tasks rather than being asked to express their own ideas. The beginning of literacy could be the 'focused' oral stories of the students and their immediate families. This poetic approach should continue through a student's school life, all too often reading of literature replaces this powerful form of identity and motivation. The rooms of teachers, who value student experiences, also exhibit poetic writing about environmental experiences and environmental art.
This is an area many teachers could take greater advantage of? It is not as common as it used to be.

3. Does the classroom both Inform and Celebrate the curriculum in action?

As you look around can you see explicit evidence of a range of curriculum areas? Can you see evidence of maths studies, the current and past class studies, language and art etc? How the art is presented is a good clue to quality. Has the teacher made an effort to add captions, headings, questions, possibly criteria etc so a visitor can see why and how things have been done. Can you observe use of higher order thinking 'scaffolds' such graphic organizers, thinking hats etc.

Comment: Too often work is displayed with little thought to displaying it to best effect (design aspects) and even if it does celebrate student creativity it does not inform as to how it has been done or why. With regards to thinking scaffolds it is how they are used (seen by quality results) rather than that are observable.

4. Does the current study topic have pride of place in the room?

Does the current study provide motivation for a range of integrated activities? Does it have clear heading written possibly as a provocation or question? Are there 'key questions' displayed to focus student research? Is there any indication of the recognition of student's prior ideas? Is there work in progress and examples of quality researched questions? Has ICT been integrated into the study? Is there a list of criteria for students to assess their research? Are the examples of creative art and language and maths related to current or past studies?

Comment: In creative classrooms the current study provides motivation for range of integrated activities as well as research in the area. To be successful teachers need to do fewer studies per year and to do what they do in real depth As far as ICT it is important to see how it has been integrated into class activities.

5. Looking closely at student work on walls or in books.

Is it evident from the work on display (and in bookwork) that the students have been taught design skills to ensure their work is well presented? Does the student book (in all books) work show qualitative improvement from the beginning of the year? How has ICT been used? Are there criteria on the walls, or pasted into books, outlining presentation expectations or criteria?

Comment: All too often students are given little guidance about how to present their idea and this is a vital means of introducing visual design. All students need some simple guidelines (or 'scaffolds') to present work in their books and on charts. Some schools have negotiated agreed presentation standards for each level. As students gain experience they can learn to be more creative and innovative. It is a useful idea to paste expectations, guidelines or criteria on the front or back covers so students can refer to them enabling them to self assess their own work. Criteria should cover quality of ideas as well as design.
If the above ideas were to be implemented then student book work could replace portfolios as they would show to both students and parents improvement. If computers are used extensively the work can be displayed in clear folders.
This all sounds rather 'old fashioned' but schools that have implemented such ideas can show impressive quality improvement and students personal pride.

6. Classroom management and organization.

Consider if you were a student (or a relieving teacher) what evidence can you see on blackboards, whiteboards, or on the wall, to ensure students know what, when and how they are do class group or individual tasks?

Is the class daily programme to be seen? Students need to be give safe and predictable learning environment so they can get on with their learning tasks. Is there evidence that the day starts with a reflective period (to discuss the days expectations) and end with a 'wrap up' period to reflect on the days programme?

Are the group tasks for reading/language and maths block clear? Is there a similar group organization for the current study (the afternoon programme)?

Is there any idea for fast finishers to work on?

Comment: It might seem to be working against ideas of creativity and spontaneity to require such detailed organizational patterns but experience show that too many students waste too much time trying to figure out what is expected of them. As well, once such learning patterns are in place (possibly by mid tern two,) then teachers can focus their energy on quality teaching and feedback.