Teaching and Training freshmen and sophomores are creating model classrooms with their new teacher Laura Penrod.

“The purpose of this project is for us young Teaching and Training students to create a safe classroom environment via a model,” freshman Lily Kate Christine Roland said. “We are supposed to have a key that shows how different aspects of a classroom can lead to a healthier, safer, and more common classroom environment.”

With each class taking time to decorate and put together the project, the shoebox classroom gives students an idea of the effort teachers put into their jobs.

“We are trying to make a very accepting classroom, which is awesome.” sophomore Nowa Hummon said. “We’re seeing how neurodiversity could help students, and how to make a classroom feel more breathable, rather than everything being so smushed together.”

Penrod started the year by sending students out to explore the school’s courses and having them perform observations in classes on campus.

“We started the year by talking about the classroom environment,” Penrod said. “Then students went and did classroom observations on campus. The idea is that now using that information and research, they’re going to start building a classroom environment that they would want to create if they were in a classroom setting.”

One of Penrod’s goals was for students to begin to understand how much work it took for teachers to create a comfortable and safe learning environment.

“I’m hoping they can see how much time it takes to think about these things as a teacher,” Penrod said. “Because a lot of times we walk into spaces and the teacher has already done it, and we don’t realize how much time it takes to think about how we want our space to look and feel. When they try to make their environments welcoming and inclusive and have student activities, it takes time to build. I hope they show appreciation but also understand that if they are pursuing this career, these are things that we need to think about.”

As the future aspiring teachers complete their projects, a general vibe of colorful decorations and unique ideas lights up the personality of the different classrooms.

“When we build things, or when we have more of an investment into something, versus seeing it, we typically will feel better than just drawing it,” Penrod said. “Our identity as educators plays into how we set up our spaces. Hypothetically, if I am an advocate for Hispanic culture, then maybe that will show up in my classroom, whereas maybe if I’m not an advocate for that, then it doesn’t show up. Understanding the whole perspective of how to create a classroom is important, especially how it’ll affect the students.”