Specialist room system

The specialist room system , which is also known as the specialist room concept , is a form of use of space in schools . There are three possible use of space are conceivable: the teacher comes to the area of class ( class room system ), the class comes to the space of the teacher ( teacher room system ) or the class and the teacher come for each compartment in an extra room (subject room system). The subject room system is intended to increase the quality of the learning environment .

Emergence

Approaches towards the subject room system can already be found in reform pedagogy . In the German work school (e.g. under Georg Kerschensteiner or Hugo Gaudig ) at the end of the 19th century. Lessons were partially relocated to workshops , school gardens and school kitchens with the emphasis on self-employment and manual work. With the additional aspect of economy, the city school director of Gary and later New York , William Albert Wirt , developed the platoon and that at the beginning of the 20th century Garysystem in the USA .

The aim is to make the learning environment more stimulating so that varied forms of teaching and learning are possible. Independent and individualized learning should be encouraged. At the same time, the existing premises should be used more efficiently so that they are better utilized.

implementation

In order to use the time more concentrated, most subjects are planned for two hours (90 minutes). This double hour model is a prerequisite for the specialist room system and invalidates many disadvantages:

Lessons are long enough to make effective use of the capabilities of a subject room and to alternate between lectures and student activities.
The “hike” through the school building and the associated unrest only takes place every 90 minutes.
Fewer subjects per day (only 3–4 instead of 5–8) require less teaching material and thus lead to a lighter satchel.

In addition, lockers are usually set up in practice , through which the weight of the satchel can be additionally reduced.

advantages

The rooms are rarely empty and are therefore used more effectively.
The quality of teaching improves because the rooms are designed more individually and, above all, subject-specific (wall paintings, posters, bookshelves ...). There may be a competition among the departments for the most beautiful room and the students could feel more comfortable in the school. The cooperation within the departments can change positively because they are responsible for the same room (s). As a rule, the subject-specific atmosphere has a positive effect on the lessons.
Teaching materials such as dictionaries, wall maps ... but also things that are directly related to the class such as worksheets or the like can be stored in the specialist room and the former storage rooms can be used for other purposes. Substitute hours are easier to do because the teaching material is already available on site.
Textbooks can also be stored in the specialist room. The books last longer, cannot be forgotten and the satchel becomes lighter.
The rooms can be equipped with expensive devices ( PC , projector ...) because the students are not in the room unattended. The devices last longer if they don't have to be transported.
Student-centered work, d. H. Group work , independent learning, station work , etc. is easier due to the better availability of materials, the possibility to interrupt work and to store posters or similar that have been started until the next lesson.
When leaving the classroom, the past lesson can be concluded better in thought. It is easier to distance yourself from the negative or to forget it right away.
Because there is a different seating plan in each subject room, one student always sits next to other students and the class community is strengthened.

disadvantage

Because many students are out and about in the corridors during the break, it is noisy in the school building. It may be that there is unrest and the corridors become more polluted.
The pupils have to carry their school bags, jackets, sports bags ... with them all day and take care that they do not lose anything.
There is no classroom as a retreat and home for the students.
The omission of a double lesson is more serious than that of a single lesson.
The specialist rooms can become more polluted because the class does not keep this “foreign” room clean. Here experience shows that the opposite is the case.
It is more difficult to organize as all classes are different in size and therefore the number of seats in the largest class must always be available.

criticism

The subject room system is very similar to the teacher room system : The rooms can be redesigned and the respective requirement is that the school day be rhythmic with the double-hour model. The main difference is that in the teacher room system the teacher sets up the room for himself, whereas in the subject room system there are subject-specific rooms. The teacher's room system cannot be strictly implemented because there are not so many rooms that can be used as a teacher's room and this would also not be efficient because the room would be empty if the associated teacher were absent. As soon as two teachers alternately teach the same subject in a room, one is almost closer to the subject room system than the teacher room system.

Room examples

Buigen-Gymnasium Herbrechtingen
Math room 2
Math room 4
Spanish room

literature

Horst Lost (Hrsg.), Hans-Peter Minzer (Hrsg.): "New learning culture. Experiences with changed school room concepts. 11 State Institute for School Development, Stuttgart 2010. ( download )
Joachim Böhringer, Johannes Bopp, u. a .: “Learning in the focus of competence orientation. Individual support in school by observing - describing - evaluating - accompanying. "State Institute for School Development, Stuttgart 2009. ( download )

Web links