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This setup is not space efficient and may not be possible in a smaller classroom with minimal space. It is also a good layout for show-and-tell sessions where students can show-off the props they bring into class. Guest speakers giving a lecture would be able to use this layout to talk to students and, potentially, keep the attention and eyes of all students. Horseshoe desks are common in university seminars, although are seen in just about any classroom format.
Classroom Design: Ideas, Research & Layouts
Rearranging existing furniture can go a long way toward giving your classroom more seating choices.Photo courtesy of Robert Dillon. Jonathan Matta is KI's National Education Leader, supporting organizations in their pursuit of solving complex challenges by applying the power of design. Matta previously served as the Vice President of Design at RXBAR, where he led a design team that applied a variety of design strategies, chiefly Design Thinking, to a multitude of organizational challenges. Jonathan holds an altMBA from Seth Godin's program, along with completed courses from Stanford University's "d.school" and IDEO-U. Share your designs with us on Twitter (@KItweets), Instagram (@KIfurniture), LinkedIn (@KI) or Facebook (@KIfurniture). We look forward to collaborating with you and discovering your unique learning culture.
#3 Student Interactions
Remember, you’ll also need to provide a space for storing works in progress, and may also want to set up an area for displaying work, which is great for personalising the space. The Horseshoe, sometimes also known as the Semi-Circle, is another good option for creating a more natural environment for discussion. A standard seating arrangement for a more traditional classroom design, pairing up students allows them to work independently or as a team. This is a great option for promoting collaboration while also minimising distraction during individual work.
Teachers Who Totally Conquered Their Cement Classroom Walls
30 Awesome Classroom Themes & Ideas For the New School Year - Bored Teachers
30 Awesome Classroom Themes & Ideas For the New School Year.
Posted: Mon, 24 Jul 2023 07:00:00 GMT [source]
From natural light to plants, elements inspired by nature can go a long way in creating a calm space that makes students feel comfortable. Research shows that biophilic design elements are correlated with students reporting higher feelings of well-being, mental health, and prolonged concentration. Prioritizing furniture that supports ergonomic principles can help your students stay engaged while they’re learning. If your students don’t have comfortable places to sit and work, it’s much harder for them to pay attention and stay focused.
Supporting Teachers as an Administrator: 5 Helpful Tips for School Leaders
This means you’ll need to consider the age of your students when determining the best floor plan for your classroom. The Clever Classrooms report explored the impact of classroom design on learning and achievement. This is good news for teachers as it means smaller changes, such as the layout of the room, can be employed to much greater effect – and at significantly less cost – than sweeping, school-wide refurbishments. Minimalist classroom design focuses on creating a clean, clutter-free learning environment that promotes focus, creativity, and productivity among students. This design approach emphasizes simplicity, functionality, and organization.
Principle 4: Environmental Quality
This can often cause students to believe that learning miraculously ‘happens’, potentially leading to feelings of failure when they don’t get something right on the first try. This is a great way of reassuring students that learning is often a messy and gradual process. Many students suffer from stress, which is why setting up a quiet place can help them unwind and decompress. This can improve how students feel about school, helping them feel safer, more valued, and more at ease.But setting up a quiet place in a busy and noisy classroom can be a challenge, so you may have to get a little creative. You can create a quiet nook in one corner of the classroom with cleverly arranged furniture or privacy screens. You can then furnish the space with beanbags, a desk, or even some headphones to really help students feel at home.
Related Content
There are many definitions of a smart classroom floating around the internet, adding them all together and putting them into a simple explanation. A smart classroom is a space for learning that is enhanced by educational technology, and the smart classroom design is used to improve the teaching and learning experience. In this century, classrooms are outfitted with multiple pieces of technology to improve teaching, learning, and other aspects of the classroom. These smart classrooms make for a near-perfect environment for students to engage with technology and learn from it. In summary, minimalist classroom design is effective in creating an environment conducive to focused learning, enhanced creativity, and improved organization.
Principle 2: Planning and Design Process
Out of the 7.3 million students with a disability in the U.S., about one in three has a learning disability or neurodevelopmental condition such as autism. For these students, who often have sensory or executive function issues, colorful, richly decorated environments may be perceived as a cacophony of visual noise, according to a 2021 study. In practice, this proved the assertion that there is no one optimal classroom layout. Instead, teachers should arrange their classes according to their instructional philosophy and in such a way that accounts for the characteristics of their students. When students get to pick their own seats, some will pick better than others and make it more likely that they have a better learning experience.
How a middle school classroom redesign increased student ownership of learning

Making technology tools easy to store and access is critical to successful classroom design. Both Dillon and Hare happened to send their children to schools that used the Reggio Emilia approach, which emphasizes documenting and displaying the learning process, not just finished products. So they apply that philosophy to the spaces they help design, and they advise teachers to keep looking for ways to display student learning in their classrooms. With this in mind, we are excited to introduce our new classroom design tool called Classroom Planner. This free resource allows you to design education spaces exactly as you see fit.
Portable furniture, group seating, and open spaces for active, experiential projects help accomplish these goals. Open, flexible spaces allow students to come together to share, collaborate, and create. Research shows that people are social learners and the latest trends in 21st century learning advocate problem-based learning, cooperative learning, and reciprocal (peer) teaching. Assignments and hands-on projects that require team collaboration nurture these trends. When you keep classroom design human-centered, it eliminates distractions and provides teachers and students with innovative learning tools.
The only time I would use this layout within my own classroom is to give students exposure to this layout for upcoming standardized tests. If students are only ever exposed to active learning spaces, they may be blindsided when they walk into a quiet exam space with a columns and rows format. So, I would use this layout simply so students are aware of what to expect when entering an exam room.
There was a place to drop the towers in and also space for a large monitor. With more students bringing their own laptops to class, the desks had fallen out of style and functionality pretty quickly. Marcus has worked in the experiential design community and also has six years of experience as a K-12 teacher and operations leader. Based in the Los Angeles area, Marcus supports the KI team on the West Coast. He earned degrees in media studies and childhood education from CUNY Hunter College. A blog in Edutopia suggests acquiring a Chromebook or an iPad, and then “immediately install an arsenal of apps or Chrome apps” to make that device most useful.
Schools rethinking classroom design to encourage collaboration, creativity - The Hechinger Report
Schools rethinking classroom design to encourage collaboration, creativity.
Posted: Sat, 22 Jun 2019 07:00:00 GMT [source]
One project, "End Homelessness Statewide," provided vital resources to help unhoused individuals find temporary and permanent shelter. Learn how universal design creates an environment that adapts and responds to students' individual needs in a way that’s impactful for everyone. Keep these classroom design tips handy by downloading the following PDF that highlights these ideas.
The discomfort caused by an increase in temperature and humidity can see student achievement and task-performance deteriorate as attention spans decrease. That’s why a cooler learning environment is best for supporting learning efficiency.Good central heating control allows teachers to maintain an optimal temperature in the classroom. Temperature can also be controlled by ensuring windows aren’t directly facing the sun, or at least have some form of shading to prevent the temperature from rising to uncomfortable levels. This is particularly important throughout Australia’s harsh summer days.
The abovementioned casters will help your students easily roll their chairs away if they need to work solo for a bit, or to collaborate with multiple people around the classroom. Add a clipboard, and voila -- a budget-friendly version of the Node chair. To walk the talk of a real classroom community, we must ask ourselves if all of our resources are designed and arranged for the convenience of all learners. Have you ever walked into a classroom and felt seriously overwhelmed?
Students love devices, and those gismos, while distracting at times, are actually beneficial for placing information at students’ fingertips. If you can equip your classroom with such devices as computers, video screens, and tablets, your students will be motivated to research and learn new things. Tech devices also allow students to stay engaged and move at their own pace.
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