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subject classrooms as they are used for both practical and theory learning and work will often be left either in progress or for display. In addition, a vast amount of materials and equipment are needed. Unfortunately, school art rooms are rarely as well equipped as those in art colleges, but there are ways in which you can build on what you have. It often seems that when many secondary schools were built, the architects and administrators were unaware of the requirements and safety considerations for learning visual art and this is frequently a stumbling block, whether the school is old or new. Part of your planning should always take into consideration the room layout, placement of furniture, light and equipment storage.

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The art rooms

The art room layout will affect the ways in which you plan and deliver your lessons. An essential requirement is that the environment is visually stimulating, with regularly changing student displays to inspire and enliven imaginations and attitudes. Most art rooms are restricted in some ways, often with limited space, large or cumbersome desks, tables or chairs, inefficient sinks or a lack of light. These impediments are fairly common, as is not being able to access the room before your lesson begins as it is shared space. This latter problem can be eased with portable materials and equipment, sympathetic colleagues (who vacate the room promptly at the end of their lesson) and able bodied students who help to move furniture or hand out work, for instance.

Preparing lessons for poorly equipped or problematic art rooms is challenging and emphasizes the need for careful planning. Your room layout will affect the ways in which pupils interact with each other and you. In the majority of secondary school art rooms, pupils are grouped around tables in groups of

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between four and six, giving good opportunities for group work. This can also mean that not all students will be facing you and it is easy for them to talk to each other rather than concentrate on what you are saying. This can make your job of managing behaviour more difficult, so be aware of this and either try to change things around (not always possible) or make pupils face you at all times between tasks. Often, it has been noted that `naughty' children tend to sit on tables nearest the door while better behaved children congregate on tables closer to the teacher. If you find this and it proves unmanageable for you, stick to a designated seating plan.

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Demonstrations

There is no better way to teach a technique or method of working than by demonstrating it to your students. By demonstrating a technique proficiently and explaining what you are doing logically and clearly as you work, you should engage everyone in the class. Pupils who have used the technique before will discover new ideas or reinforce old ones while pupils who have never before applied the technique will gain confidence and feel motivated to try it.

If you do not have suitable facilities for demonstrations in your art room, find an area where you can both work and accommodate students. You should have prepared the area before you begin the lesson. Tell students to gather round you. This encourages them to focus on what you are showing them and to ask appropriate questions (more intimate gatherings encourage even the shyest pupils to speak up). Always make sure that no one is lurking at the back, not paying attention or unable to see. People in the front could sit on chairs or stools to give viewers at the back a chance to see.

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Display areas

Make sure that you have lots of display space around the room and, if possible, outside the door as well. If you don't already have it, put in a request for a display cabinet for 3D work. Try to keep some display walls clear in the room so a class can put up all their work and discuss it in the plenary. An art class that does not display and discuss their own work is missing out on worthwhile learning. Display spaces around the school also provide a convenient way to share work with other students, teachers and visitors to the school. Displaying work helps to motivate

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The Art and Design Teacher's Handbook

If lack of display space is an issue, exhibit the work in a random overlapping arrangement, as here. Year 9 `Icons', Westcliff High School for Girls, Westcliff- on-Sea, Essex

students when they see their hard work and achievements recognized in this way. Displays also help to pull the school together and to raise the image and status of the art department.

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Windows and blinds

Art, probably more than any other subject in the school, needs windows for its sources of light and ventilation, observational drawing and for teaching about space, depth and perspective. Yet there are often occasions when you need to darken the room for presentations and so on. Many art teachers resort to pinning black sugar paper or black plastic bin bags across the windows, but if possible try to obtain dark, opaque blinds or curtains. ^

Wet and dry areas

Ideally there should be enough sinks for a class of 30 to be able to wash up their equipment speedily. They should be large enough for several people to stand by them without congesting the rest of the room. The areas behind them should be tiled and draining space should also be large. Dry areas should ideally be some distance away from the wet areas, but this is not always possible

in a school art room. As a compromise, try to keep things separate. Perhaps have a desktop drying rack a short distance away from the sink and shelves to keep completed projects, work in progress and props further away still.

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Colours and surfaces

Walls in art rooms should be neutral and washable. The atmosphere needs to be created through the artwork on the walls and around the room, not by the deÂcor. In addition, flat or horizontal surfaces should be materials that are easily washed or wiped down. Table tops and surfaces by sinks should be easily wiped and floors should be able to be washed as often as necessary.