The ideal classroom

The ideal classroom is connected with the environment. It's a place where teachers open children's minds to the magic and charm of the world around them. If a child catches a butterfly on the way to school, the classroom should have a place for that butterfly -a place where the child can see it, watch it, study it, and enjoy its beauty.
The ideal classroom is geared to the various ways children learn. Students learn through their eyes, ears, hands, mouths, and noses. The learn in groups and alone. They learn through the use of music, art, and nature, as well as from textbooks and other resources, and the room should accommodate a variety of learning styles, including visual, auditory, kinesthetic, and others.
The ideal classroom should be filled with samples of students made products and will be arranged with nooks, crannies, and corners left open for independent projects and supplies.
The ideal classroom will change with the developmental needs of the children. The teacher will not hold preconceived notions about every detail of classroom arrangement and decor, but will be open to the children's suggestions and ideas.
The classroom in which your child will gain greatest benefit is a place where she feels connected to the teacher, the other students, and learning. It is always changing, because learning takes place in the classrooms, goes home with the students, is shaped by real-life experiences, and comes back to school in a different form next day.
You will see students who are continually involved, and they'll be able to tell you not only what they're doing, but why. You won't witness chaos, but the room won't be silent, either. There will be an almost rhythmic pulsation of children actively involved in learning, moving around the classroom, working together or independently. You will observe that the teacher and students are mutually arriving at decisions and plans, and you'll watch one-to-one communication between the teacher and individual students.
A classroom model familiar to many parents and teachers is one with several “learning centers” or “activity stations” for different types of student work. Teachers use learning centers in many different ways. Sometimes the centers are subject driven. Other times, centers are built around the ways students learn. Another center might offer materials that appeal to children who learn best visually. Learning centers can be quiet or hives of activity; sometimes there is only one student at a center and sometimes there are several students working together on a project.
The ideal classroom is student-friendly. This doesn't mean that the teacher abandons control and the children are free to do whatever they wish. It is where the needs of each child drive decisions about classrooms procedures. The teacher uses a variety of teaching methods -from lectures to media demonstrations to real-word activities to simulations- to make sure that all of the children's different learning styles are addresses. The teacher is learning coach.
The ideal classroom will also feature individualized instruction, or teaching that matches students' ability levels. For many teacher, the way to do it is to group students together according to their abilities in math and reading. For social studies an science, students work on a general theme, but individual students and small groups may investigate interest areas related to the theme.

From the book "Helping Gifted Children SOAR" by Carol A. Strip, Ph.D with Gretchen Hirsch