As a classroom teacher, one of the most exciting aspects of starting a new school year was organising the classroom learning spaces. Where would the desks go? Can everyone see the board properly? Can everyone move around the room easily?
While I took a great deal of time thinking about the physical objects, I didn’t spend as much time thinking of the use of display areas in my classroom – how students would learn best using the materials selected for display. The classroom environment truly is The Third Teacher.
As my love and appreciation of design has developed, I have noticed those who make a considerable effort to consider an holistic view of classroom design. Physical space, classroom displays, learning opportunities, student preferences, movement of people – all contribute to an engaging learning environment and a positive learning climate.
Flexible Learning Spaces
Effective teachers are catering for a range of learning preferences in their classrooms. Jaki Graham, Grade 3 teacher has a combination of traditional group desk formations, standing up desks, low tables with cushions, and bean bags in her class set up this year. “I want students to be able to choose a space to work at which suits them best,” she said.
Fellow Grade 3 teacher Kim Duffy experimented with stand up desks last year, and she noted how much of a difference it made to her more fidgety students. “It really helped them focus,” she explained.
Nicole Tripp, who teaches Grade 4, has also provided the option of stand up desks for her students (see photo, left).
Comfortable Furnishings
Traditionally, a comfy chair was a privilege only given to teachers. Nowadays, we recognise that, like adults, all learners enjoy working in comfortable environments. Many teachers, like Anne Marie Chow, Middle school Literacy Coach, organise armchairs, lamps, or couches in their classrooms, which make them feel more like homes than classrooms.
Heather Kingston, Head of Grade 6, has Turkish carpets, armchairs, as well as bright red couches and cushions, which gives her room an inviting feel.
If you were a student in these classrooms, you’d want to settle in some of these places, surely!
Theme for the Year
Some teachers select a theme which sets the tone for the classroom experience in the year ahead. Middle school English teacher Paula Guinto has taken this approach for a number of years. This academic year, her theme is “Level Up”.
Her classroom features retro-inspired game elements, from Mario Bros to Pac Man, and invites her students to level up their thinking. Paula shares that for her, the theme is a chance to set the tone and allow her to focus her energies on teaching and learning.
She explains,
“Big picture though, it’s really an act of love. I put a lot into it because I want the kids to know that I love them. That I value their space and the time they spend in it. That they inspire me. To be creative. To be a learner. To be better in what I do. It’s a way for me to say, this space is safe, that I have your back, that from the very beginning, they are the priority and yeah, we’re in this together.”
Middle school English and Humanities teacher Miles Beasley has worked with themes for the past 2 years. Each theme was carefully chosen to pass on a message about the year ahead to the students he teaches. Last year’s theme was around Dr Seuss’s book “Oh the Places You’ll Go” which aimed to create a sense of excitement about the first year of Middle school for his Grade 6 students.
This year, Miles has selected another of his favourite books – Wonder, by R. J. Palacio – to set the tone. It says to students, in this place, we care about each member of our community. How we treat each other is one of the most important aspects.
His teaching partner, Trish Waszczuk, helped select some of the precepts that featured in the book, to be made into large posters to inspire the students.
Student Involvement
Great teachers like to get students involved in design, rather than have it solely be a teacher-directed experience.
Middle school English teacher Jabiz Raisdana had his mentor class this year put together a shelf to put plants on. They planted seeds, and got their hands dirty, providing a real sense of ownership in the class decor. This community building, participatory environment reflects Jabiz’s approach to teaching and learning.
Miles’s Wonder theme also invites student participation. He plans to kick off the year by having students make Wonder-style self portraits using the iPad, so they can contribute their images to the blank walls, to make it really feel like their classroom.
Grade 1 Head of Grade Ben Morley and his team create inviting displays that will encourage student exploration and creativity in their shared Pod area. Each new unit gets a brand new display.
These Reggio inspired pod displays spill over into the classrooms as well, with natural wood and other materials featuring.
Living Things
There is something about having living things in classrooms that make them feel more real. Increasing numbers of teachers include plants in their classroom design. Aside from their obvious decorative and aesthetic qualities, plants have been used as the inspiration for poetry writing, and lessons on responsibility.
As a parent and a teacher, I understand the effort that goes into the decisions around classroom set up, and appreciate the care and concern it shows for our children.
They are truly in great hands.
Additional Resources
20 Classroom Setups that Promote Thinking – This blog post outlines a number of different approaches teachers can use to set up their rooms. There is something for everyone in here.
Classroom Makeovers to Engage Learners – This article from Edutopia shows a collection of 5 minute videos that show different classroom set ups.
Stephen Heppell speaks here about Space: The Final Frontier
Ewan McIntosh speaks about the 7 Spaces of Technology in School Environments.
I would love to hear your thoughts on great classroom spaces.
Have a wonderful year ahead.
Stand-up work stations have been a big ‘hit’ with learners at CDNIS. The stand up tables had whiteboard surfaces which made them even more ‘desirable real estate’ for students and really supported collaboration and team work. The tables were supplied by http://furnware.co.nz
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It’s a wonderful thing when students have so much choice in their learning, isn’t it? Love that company – we have some chairs and desks from them too. Really good quality. Thanks for your comment Ellen!
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Awesome stuff KL. I want to make the same about PIE. Coming soon …
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Love these. I’m having a lot of conversations about designing learning places (a word that feels warmer & more connected than “spaces”) with teachers in my schools at the moment, so often driven by the idea of letting activity guide how we use the space, rather than have every space act as a jack-of-all-trades.
One of my schools has given me a classroom to play with as a kind of experimental facility for classroom design. I’ve kept it incredibly simple because it needs to serve the entire upper primary (at least), but prioritised natural light, open space, and movement. I’ve been heavily influenced by Thornburg’s “Campfires in Cyberspace” as a thought primer for the teachers. I’ve got an open space and a table like Paula’s for “campfires,” a few different possible configurations for “watering holes,” and as “caves,” there’s a refitted storeroom and a couple of custom built cardboard “business class pods.”
Given that it’s accompanying a brand new 1:1 laptop program, I’ve also wanted to make sure it’s lovely and tactile, and provides some off-screen opportunities too, so I’ve made every seat-facing table surface writeable as a dry erase surface.
Blog post’s coming once I’ve had more of a chance to put it through its paces.
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Great article. I agreed that it is important to understand how classroom design can impact students lives. It is also important to consider acoustics when designing a learning environment. The eBook “Acoustic Design in Education” it is a good source of information that can help designers and architects.
http://info.soundofarchitecture.com/acoustic-guide-for-education
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Keri-Lee, I am just researching for . inspiration for a workshop I am planning for Elementary faculty on Wednesday, and as always, I knew you’d have the goods! This is great post, I will be sharing it with teachers as part of a reading jigsaw, along with some of Jennifer Gonzalez Eye Candy posts. From here team will find at least two examples of a bar, café, or restaurant which uses space and furniture innovatively and effectively. Thinking about what the purpose of these designs is. Do they use a variety of zones targeting various purposes? Could these inspire different thinking in redeveloping learning environments? I also discovered some free downloaded flashcards, from The Third Teacher (http://thethirdteacherplus.com/) which are a great resource!
Thanks again for ever new (though an older post!) inspiration.
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Paula, this is so great to know! Thank you for sharing your plans with me. I didn’t know about the flashcards, but I will definitely check them out. I’m sure you know Jocelyn has blogged about this recently, and Tricia has been Space-Busting all over the place! Make sure you check them out too!
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