It’s about that time. Just about everyone has headed back to school to start another exciting school year. Although, now that we think of it, teachers have probably already been in their classrooms for two or three weeks, decorating and getting everything ready to deliver an invigorating year of learning for their students. Classroom design is one of those things we never really give teachers enough credit for, but there certainly is some strategy that goes into planning out all aspects of the school day and teachers certainly do not overlook the importance of creating a welcoming, accommodating and aesthetically pleasing classroom environment.
The Science of Effective Classroom Design
Students spend almost as much of their time at school as they do at home when you factor in the fact that most of the time they spend at home is spent sleeping. In fact, it is estimated that children will spend approximately 12,000 hours in classrooms before all is said and done. With all the time they spend in school—and often in the same room—there is something to be said about teachers and administrators considering how classroom design affects their performance both academically and intellectually. It’s something that we often overlook, but simple changes from year to year—or even during the school year—can have a dramatically positive effect on students and their ability to succeed.
Believe it or not, these changes don’t have to be large scale and even the simplest, most affordable alterations have been known to help keep students on task. Easy things like a new coat of paint, more natural lighting and less clutter can improve students’ academic performance and even reduce classroom disruptions. The layout of the classroom, in fact, is surprisingly paramount for maximizing student success. Creating space for independent work or making school supplies easier to access has been shown to increase academic engagement by up to 45 percent—45 percent from something that simple! Teachers can optimize their classroom space by rearranging student desks as well as theirs, creating group work stations or just divide the room in half and hold a discussion panel right there in the middle.
The color of classroom walls is something that teachers should consider taking care of over the summer as well. Different colors, like red, for example, have been shown to grab students’ attention and increase sustained passion for the work being done. Also, removing clutter along classroom walls and personalizing student spaces have shown to be effective at improving student focus, engagement and memorization by eliminating the distracting crowding that sometimes occurs. The amount of light that shines into the classroom can even be a factor in student performance as it certainly appears that brighter classrooms lead to brighter students—or at least better retention. Keeping the windows clear and open and using electric light to supplement the natural light is a good way to keep students sharp! Have you tried any of these suggestions or plan to try any? Let us know how they work!
The Way 21st Century Classrooms Should Be Designed
Education in the 21st century is undergoing a large-scale transformation to include a much greater emphasis on experiential learning, interactive assignments and the incorporation of meaningful technology. With schools adopting innovative approaches like project-based learning, makerspaces and flipped learning, their classrooms need to be adapted as well to accommodate students with optimal learning environments. These kinds of innovation can certainly happen in any classroom as long as teachers are willing to buy in—and are willing to create an environment that will help their students do the same. Sometimes, the hardest part is just coming up with your favorite new idea, but once you do, creating the classroom of your dreams gets a lot easier—and it’s pretty fun!
Assuming you have enough space to do so, dividing the classroom up into different learning zones allows students the freedom to not be tied to one spot all day long. There can be areas for individual work, group work, large tables, single desks and even beanbags if you want! Another key component of 21st century classrooms is accessibility. Teachers should make sure that the layout of the classroom is conducive to all learners, including the height of the whiteboard, and ensure that all students can access every resource in the room. Mobility is another important consideration as it’s imperative that students who are introverts, extroverts, collaborators and solo thinkers be met with a flexible environment that works well with everyone’s needs. Mobile tech stations allow students access to technology in the environment of their choosing.
You’d be surprised at just how much a classroom layout can enhance student inspiration. Teachers should no longer passively present creative opportunities to children and then expect them to turn on their creativity at a moment’s notice. Inspiration and creativity should be ongoing and the availability of a Genius Bar or innovation zone can help students learn to emphasize process over product. Finally, effective classrooms must foster a sense of genuine and ever-growing respect between teachers and students. Superficial rewards often do nothing but remind struggling students of their shortcomings, so bear in mind that it’s perfectly fine to limit them. Also, teachers who try harder to focus on one-on-one relationships with every student, learn their interests and listen to them tend to see improvement. Making learning more personal is possible just by rethinking the simplest of things when it comes to the classroom environment.
Secrets to Success in 21st Century Classroom Design
While the physical elements are no doubt important when it comes to modern-day classroom design, it’s what they allow students to accomplish that might be just a bit more of a priority. The physical layout and the way in which learning tools are placed should be done in a strategic but, more importantly, student-centered way. Since the best learning happens when teachers stop talking and let children take over, designing the classroom to allow this to happen tends to have legitimately beneficial effects. Whether it’s a kindergarten class just starting out their education journey or a group of high schoolers trying to prepare for a real-world college experience, there’s plenty that teachers can do to create the best possible environment for student-centered learning.
Classroom design nowadays doesn’t just mean the placement of desks, tables and chairs—there are lots of other factors to consider in enhancing the learning experience. For example, classroom design can facilitate new kinds of learning experiences, including team teaching, which is able to accommodate more students for group work in larger classrooms. Classrooms without any walls are another kind of 21st century innovation since they allow passersby to be able to see what’s going on inside. Teachers could even transform their classrooms into ‘multi-use learning spaces,’ or ‘makerspaces,’ which allow students to move the furniture around, access the Internet from anywhere, collaborate and engage in all different types of project-based learning. Then, of course, there are schools with no classrooms—just ‘collaboration zones’ where kids can learn single subjects or dual subjects in an intriguing new learning environment.
It seems like a simple adjustment to just incorporate some rolling chairs and movable tables in the classroom, but it can actually lead to some serious learning. Classrooms like this aren’t only innovative, they are truly student centered and every inch of the room is able to be used for learning. Students are not tied to being forced to sit still and listen to their teacher lecture—they’re able to get comfortable or get up and engage on much higher levels. Some educators have even gone as far to say that the traditional classroom setup (rows of desk facing the teacher’s desk up front with a whiteboard behind) is incompatible with 21st century learning standards. This design is intended to create structure and keep students on task, but not to help them develop higher order skills like creativity, reasoning and problem solving. Classrooms that enable these skills to be practiced are the classrooms that contemporary teachers should strive to create.
The Latest Trends in Classroom Design
Teaching and learning have changed dramatically in just the last five or 10 years. Much of that is due to the overwhelming wealth of technology tools that are newly available for kids to use in the classroom each and every day. With the occurrence of one major shift in education, however, comes another—and that’s the way in which classrooms are designed. They need to be able to facilitate the use of these cutting-edge teaching tools as well as incorporate plenty of student-led activities and projects for 21st century learning.
Teachers are no longer passive information dispensers; they are facilitators of learning, employing many different classroom techniques to make their messages stick. This includes flipped classrooms, active learning environments and project-based teaching in order to truly engage their students. With that being said, the construction of the classroom has to be organized in such a way that it’s conducive to personalized learning, which has led to a bit of an overhaul when it comes to planning these new-age layouts. Traditional classroom models are static and, honestly, they’re rapidly becoming obsolete. Students need to be active and using technology in order to fully grasp 21st century concepts and that’s just not something that the classrooms of yesterday can consistently provide at a high enough level.
Classrooms should be designed from the get-go with considerations for how they will allow for the incorporation of technology, such as mobile devices, laptops and hands-on STEM tools as well. Classrooms that offer flexibility, meaning that the entire room can be used and students can work independently or in groups, are ideal. Different kinds of seating and different styles of tables offer kids a choice in deciding the most comfortable way to spend the day. The way a classroom is designed can have a direct effect on how engaged children are throughout the school day as well as the school year. When the conditions of their surroundings allow kids to engage on higher levels, deeper learning happens—and it happens often.
How Classroom Design Facilitates Active Learning
A subtle (or maybe not so subtle) theme of this week’s Eduporium Weekly has been the reference to active learning. Did you know that the way in which a classroom is designed can potentially make or break active learning, student engagement and retention? There’s no question that active learning leads to deeper understanding and increased mastery, but there is currently no one-size-fits-all way of creating a classroom design to maximize this. Like many aspects of 21st century K-12 education, customization might just be the key; it’s all about gauging what’s best for the unique set of students who will be the ones doing the learning for 180 days.
Active learning combines doing, moving and continuous variety in such a way that gets students up out of their usual seats in the class. The goal is to create a new method for kids to learn, which, in turn, will hopefully spark creativity that leads to innovative ideas and actionable change. In order to encourage active learning, however, the space in which students spend their days needs to promote it. When kids see a traditional classroom setup, they’re conditioned to believe that they will be in for a one-way lecture because that’s what they have always expected. Classrooms with group tables, different tinkering stations and perhaps even the teacher’s desk smack in the middle would definitely catch their attention and is definitely something teachers should look to use to their advantage.
Creating a unique classroom design is not something that should put an inordinate amount of stress on teachers nor is it something that is excessively pricey. In determining the design for their classroom, teachers should really take the time to plan out the best way to cater to the specific needs of their unique bunch of students. Some factors that teachers need to consider are the vision they have for their students, the focus they hope to narrow, the amount of flexibility they think they will need and the budget constraints they must work within (if any). If possible, teachers can even try transforming a room other than their own classroom—say an old computer lab or library. Students might even love the chance to help in the design process and that would give them yet another opportunity to get creative and collaborative! There really are so many possibilities, but all that really matters is that the learning experience that results from the classroom redesign is engaging, two-way and collaborative.
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