Museum as Classroom, Classroom as Museum
Design your ideal classroom
a. Discuss students’ experience of seeing Chemi Rosado-Seijo’s Salón-Sala-Salón. What were their reactions and responses? Ask students to think of one new thing they learned about their peers, their teacher, or themselves.
b. Discuss the characteristics of classrooms and museums with your students. What are the special features of a classroom? A museum? What makes these places function? How are they safe? Interesting? Provocative? What features of classrooms and museums would students like to change? Why would they change these features?
c. Ask students to work in small groups to design their ideal classroom. Have them consider how their classroom is arranged and how the arrangement affects the ways in which they use the space. Have each group create a list or plan of what they would need in their ideal classroom. Have them take notes about what the items would be used for. Students could also construct a model of their ideal classroom using cardboard, paper, or recycled materials.
d. Ask student groups to present and discuss their proposals and models with the class. What changes did they make to their learning environment? Which special features did students include in their ideal classrooms?