Classroom
Encyclopedia
A classroom is a room
Room
A room is any distinguishable space within a structure.Room may also refer to:* Room , by Emma Donoghue* Room, Nepal* Room for PlayStation Portable, a social networking service* Thomas Gerald Room , Australian mathematician...

 in which teaching or learning
Learning
Learning is acquiring new or modifying existing knowledge, behaviors, skills, values, or preferences and may involve synthesizing different types of information. The ability to learn is possessed by humans, animals and some machines. Progress over time tends to follow learning curves.Human learning...

 activities can take place. Classrooms are found in educational institutions of all kinds, including public and private schools, corporations, and religious and humanitarian organizations. The classroom attempts to provide a safe space where learning can take place uninterrupted by other distractions.

Typical equipment

Most classrooms have a large writing surface where the instructor or students can share notes with other members of the class. Traditionally, this was in the form of a blackboard
Chalkboard
A chalkboard or blackboard is a reusable writing surface on which text or drawings are made with sticks of calcium sulfate or calcium carbonate, known, when used for this purpose, as chalk. Chalkboards were originally made of smooth, thin sheets of black or dark grey slate stone...

 but these are becoming less common in well-equipped schools, and are replaced by flipcharts, whiteboard
Whiteboard
A whiteboard is a name for any glossy, usually white surface for nonpermanent markings. Whiteboards are analogous to chalkboards, allowing rapid marking and erasing of markings on their surface...

s and interactive whiteboard
Interactive whiteboard
An interactive whiteboard , is a large interactive display that connects to a computer and projector. A projector projects the computer's desktop onto the board's surface where users control the computer using a pen, finger, stylus, or other device...

s. Many classrooms also have TVs, map
Map
A map is a visual representation of an area—a symbolic depiction highlighting relationships between elements of that space such as objects, regions, and themes....

s, chart
Chart
A chart is a graphical representation of data, in which "the data is represented by symbols, such as bars in a bar chart, lines in a line chart, or slices in a pie chart"...

s, book
Book
A book is a set or collection of written, printed, illustrated, or blank sheets, made of hot lava, paper, parchment, or other materials, usually fastened together to hinge at one side. A single sheet within a book is called a leaf or leaflet, and each side of a leaf is called a page...

s, monograph
Monograph
A monograph is a work of writing upon a single subject, usually by a single author.It is often a scholarly essay or learned treatise, and may be released in the manner of a book or journal article. It is by definition a single document that forms a complete text in itself...

s and LCD projectors for presenting information and images from a computer.

Decor and design

The layout, design and decor of the classroom has a significant effect upon the quality of education. Attention to the acoustics and colour scheme may reduce distractions and aid concentration. The lighting and furniture likewise influence study and learning.

Types of classrooms

For lessons that require specific resources or a vocational
Vocational education
Vocational education or vocational education and training is an education that prepares trainees for jobs that are based on manual or practical activities, traditionally non-academic, and totally related to a specific trade, occupation, or vocation...

 approach different types of classrooms both indoors and outdoors are used. This is known as situated learning
Situated learning
Situated learning was first proposed by Jean Lave and Etienne Wenger as a model of learning in a Community of practice. At its simplest, situated learning is learning that takes place in the same context in which it is applied...

. Classrooms can range from small groups of five or six to big classrooms with hundreds of students. A large class room is also called a lecture hall
Lecture hall
A lecture hall is a large room used for instruction, typically at a college or university. Unlike a traditional classroom with a capacity from one to four dozen, the capacity of lecture halls is typically measured in the hundreds...

. A few examples of classrooms are computer lab
Computer lab
A computer lab, also known as a computer suite or computer cluster is typically a room which contains many networked computers for public use...

s which are used for IT
Information technology
Information technology is the acquisition, processing, storage and dissemination of vocal, pictorial, textual and numerical information by a microelectronics-based combination of computing and telecommunications...

 lessons in schools, gym
Gym
The word γυμνάσιον was used in Ancient Greece, that mean a locality for both physical and intellectual education of young men...

nasiums for sports, and science laboratories for biology
Biology
Biology is a natural science concerned with the study of life and living organisms, including their structure, function, growth, origin, evolution, distribution, and taxonomy. Biology is a vast subject containing many subdivisions, topics, and disciplines...

, chemistry
Chemistry
Chemistry is the science of matter, especially its chemical reactions, but also its composition, structure and properties. Chemistry is concerned with atoms and their interactions with other atoms, and particularly with the properties of chemical bonds....

 and physics
Physics
Physics is a natural science that involves the study of matter and its motion through spacetime, along with related concepts such as energy and force. More broadly, it is the general analysis of nature, conducted in order to understand how the universe behaves.Physics is one of the oldest academic...

.

Challenges to the classroom

While the classroom is clearly the dominant setting for learning, the flexibility of classroom instruction is often called into question. Instead of isolating learners in a classroom, many teachers are experimenting with integrating learning into a student's daily life. New learning technologies and mobile devices make it possible for learning to take place at any time, at any place, and (perhaps most importantly) at any pace that the learner desires.

According to the American Society for Training and Development, more than 40% of corporate training now takes place online
ONLINE
ONLINE is a magazine for information systems first published in 1977. The publisher Online, Inc. was founded the year before. In May 2002, Information Today, Inc. acquired the assets of Online Inc....

 and not in a classroom.

See also

  • Classroom of the future
    Classroom of the future
    The Classroom of the Future is an education project in the United Kingdom. Twelve local education authorities sharing about £13 million to develop around 30 pilot projects....

  • School of the Future
    School of the Future
    School of the Future can refer to:*School of the Future *School of the Future *School of the Future *School of the Future...

     (disambiguation page)
  • Schoolroom
    Schoolroom
    A schoolroom is a regular classroom in any school that has multiple purposes apart from holding classes....

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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