Clarion School: What does a progressive classroom look like?

Clarion School: What does a progressive classroom look like?

Progressive educators are often asked, how is a progressive classroom different from a non-progressive classroom? And the answer lies partially in how it looks! This may seem surprising, a classroom is a classroom right? All elementary classrooms have books, artwork hanging up, work on the walls, and students. But that’s not the case.

Progressive classrooms, not only look different, they feel different and it starts off with a lot of empty walls. Most progressive classrooms don’t have the usual pre-made colorful banners, borders, charts or letterings that you see in a typical classroom. Children’s works are always the center of attraction and are thoughtfully displayed to show what the class has been learning at school. Yes, there are books, but there are also books that the children have written themselves, either as a class or individually.

Artwork hanging on the walls? Most definitely, but it’s much more free-form. The students aren’t asked to replicate certain objects. They are given the freedom of creating for themselves. Painting starts with just primary colors and a blank piece of paper. Children learn to mix the colors themselves and when they discover that blue and red make purple all on their own, the pure joy on their faces shows you just how proud they are of themselves.

Class work hanging up on the walls? Everywhere and not just on the walls, in the hallways, outside at the workbench, and in the block area! Students showcase their work in all types of ways. There may be a parking lot of cars made out of large boxes in the hallway waiting for a pretend drive-in movie to start. Or perhaps there is a model of how water moves from the reservoir to the school made of plastic bottles. There may also be homemade play dough in a play center that the students made or a ginormous block city with a “save” sign on it.

Every work from every child is valuable because it shows their learning journey – the progression of the way they think and understand their work. Progressive teachers use these works to have conversations with their students about what they are working on as a form of authentic learning assessment. Without this work everywhere, a progressive teacher isn’t able to have proper conversations with their students about what they are working on and therefore cannot fully understand what the students are processing.

But the biggest difference in a progressive classroom is the students! Progressive learning lets the children explore, play, discover, and learn. Every day, students set goals for themselves and they find ways to achieve these goals either by doing it themselves or with help from a friend or teacher. They build on what they know and they are ready to make mistakes, solve problems, try again, help each other, and be proud of what they can do.

Students learn how to learn. Progressive classrooms cultivate a love for learning because students are encouraged to take charge of their own learning. They learn how to ask questions, connect ideas, share their thinking in different ways, and celebrate their learning as well as their classmates learning.

Language is also different in a progressive classroom. In the hallway, you will hear teachers say “walking feet” instead of “no running” or “gentle hands” instead of “no hitting or no pushing.” In this way, positive behavior is emphasized, highlighting the “should do” instead of the “shouldn’t do.” You will hear teachers and children call each other by the group term “friends” rather than “boys and girls” or “guys” to treat both genders equally and continue a gentle theme.

Most importantly, progressive education teaches students how to be social beings and this begins as soon as they walk into the classroom. Students are given time to greet their classmates and teachers in the morning, which is followed by a morning meeting. They learn through conversations and sharing ideas with each other. A progressive classroom teaches each student that they belong to community, are respected, and that they are part of bigger world.