EVERY CLASS ROOM SHOULD BE A LABORATORY TO THE INQUIRING MIND!!!!!

In the future, we won’t have “classrooms.” The enemy of the future of the classroom has arguably been that phrase: “the future of the classroom.” It locks us into a model of believing students will be sorted by age and sit in a room together with one teacher in the front.

Students will learn in student-centered environments—perhaps we’ll call them learning studios—where each student’s learning is personalized to meet his or her precise needs. It will be critical to rearrange the physical space and furniture to align with the principles of student agency, flexibility, and choice that are the core of new learning models. Because these models will leverage multiple modes of learning, they will need spaces built for different activities, which can occur individually through digital media or in small interactive groups 

 

Rethinking the Classroom

“Learning is not a spectator sport… [Students] must talk about what they are learning, write about it, relate it to past experiences, and apply it to their daily lives. They must make what they learn part of themselves.” —Checkering and Gamson

Spaces Designed for Active and Engaged Learning and Teaching

Educators, researchers, and students are discovering the benefits and advantages of cooperative, active, and engaged learning. Classroom spaces that support such a shift in teaching and learning have lagged behind. A significant opportunity exists for maximizing learning opportunities and creating meaningful experiences by rethinking the classroom experience.

“Getting and keeping students engaged is perhaps the most important step in creating a successful learning outcome. The Collaborative Learning Spaces provide a unique learning environment.

The 21st century is challenging old notions of learning spaces.

The idea that students must be seated at desks working in rows is quickly becoming archaic. Technology and collaborative work environments are changing the design of learning spaces. Experts hope that the emerging paradigm will translate into improved learning spaces and influence future architectural design.

What We Know

Classroom design influences levels of interaction and engagement. Engagement and active learning improve retention.

Students need to be in classrooms that inspire them—spaces that are light, airy, and filled with examples of work that they aspire to do. Each school will have a variety of spacious classroom settings. Some will be more traditional in the way that we envision classrooms now, but others might be set up outside or within an atrium or amphitheater. There might be desks, cushions, or benches arranged in rows or circles—however the teachers want them, as not every classroom will follow a template. Each classroom will be set up based on what is necessary to meet learning objectives. But schools will prioritize configuring classes to inspire learning first and foremost, and, where appropriate, reflect the diversity of environments that students are exposed to outside a school setting. Students will have beautiful spaces that make them feel good to be at school—with art, living plants, music where appropriate, comfortable seating, and fast internet access.

Windows that open are a nice feature, as are clean bathrooms and individual desks that can be rearranged. Smaller schools and smaller rooms seem to work better than larger schools and larger rooms. 

Teachers enjoy decorating their classes; the walls of the rooms in which I substituted often held a polychrome profusion of STUFF—posters and charts, and rules and exhortations, and cartoon characters and keyword lists. Sometimes the decor works wonderfully, sometimes it doesn't. Less is more, in general. If you are forced to go to a place you hate going every day, any sentence on the wall can become an irritant.

In general, there will be different types of movable desks varying in size and capacity—individual, long, and round. Chairs will be movable and will not have an attached desk. There will be large pillows near the windows. Students will be able to find a place that is comfortable for them. Standing will also be allowed, even when students are using computers. There will be a large open space that will serve as a community gathering spot. The classroom will have big windows to let a lot of natural light shine through. The room will be colorful without being obnoxious—colors will be blues, greens, whites, and yellows. There will be multimedia equipment in the room, along with the latest computers. There will be areas where students can post ideas to help make the learning environment more engaging and fun. The classroom will also be tailored to the topic, but all will have interactive stations where hands-on learning can be experienced by all students.

A study from the National Training Laboratories in 2000 found that only about 5 percent of the information delivered through lecture was retained. Compare that with retention rates at 50 percent for discussion group and 70 percent for practice by doing. Even higher, at 80 percent, was retention by students teaching others?

Greek philosopher Sophocles already knew this in the fifth century B.C. when he wrote, “One must learn by doing the thing, for though you think you know it, you have no certainty until you try.” The wisdom of that ancient perspective was reflected in research Herman Miller recently conducted at Estrella Mountain Community College (EMCC). Sixty-four percent of students surveyed said that “learning by doing” was their preferred learning style.

Alexander Astin, professor emeritus at University of California, Los Angeles, notes the shift in teaching that an active learning classroom requires. Teachers focus less on what they do and more on what the student does. Teachers are aware of how motivated the student is and how much time and energy the student devotes to the learning process. “Student involvement,” says Astin, “not teaching resources or techniques, becomes the concern of the instructor.”

Astin goes on to note that motivation then comes into play. Motivating and involving students becomes the concern of the teacher. This suggests a significant shift from traditional pedagogical outcomes.

Classroom design can help to develop skills for life and work beyond the classroom. Self-directed learning and collaborative problem solving are essential skills for success.

How students learn to learn builds essential skills for life beyond the classroom. The League for Innovation in the Community College identified outcomes for twenty-first century learners. These outcomes included communication skills, diversity and pluralism, critical thinking and problem solving, interpersonal skills including teamwork, relationship management, conflict resolutions, workplace skills, and personal skills for management of change, learning to learn, and personal responsibility.

According to Roger Yohe, director of the Center for Teaching and Learning at EMCC, “It isn’t what the student knows; it’s what they can do with what they know. With group work, you have a lot of social norming going on. You don’t have the misbehaviors or distractions you might have with instructional teaching. Small groups keep their members in check. It is community learning. Students consult with their peer group first and go to the teacher second.”

Classroom design can increase levels of student and faculty interaction through formal and informal means.

When teachers can move around the room freely and easily connect with the student who is struggling or questioning something, then the level of interaction improves significantly. Astin states that regular interaction with faculty is more strongly related to “satisfaction with college than any other type of involvement.” Students who have interaction with their teachers are more likely to express satisfaction overall with their college experiences. The more student-faculty interaction occurs, the better the outcomes.

Comfortable classrooms—physically and psychologically— promote a sense of well-being, keep minds focused, and limit distractions.

Comfort is not always a quantifiable phenomenon. But we know that when people are uncomfortable, they are distracted. Temperature, lighting, and furnishings all play a role in a person being comfortable. Psychological comfort is also important. Environments that are intimidating or uninviting will influence the depth of learning that can take place.

Herman Miller has researched the effects of comfort in the workplace. Those findings indicate that giving people some control over their surroundings adds to their sense of well-being. When given ergonomically designed furniture and work areas, their ability to stay focused and on task is improved. In a sense, a comfortable environment clears the mind of the distractions that impede the work or learning that needs to be done.

Responses from Estrella Mountain Community College faculty and staff leave little doubt that learning studios offer more positive environments for learning and teaching than traditional classrooms do.

Diversity among the student population is increasing. The challenge for colleges, then, is to create classroom spaces that can be flexible enough to adapt to this diversity and enhance the learning experience for all students, regardless of their backgrounds and educational objectives.

Responses from Estrella Mountain Community College faculty and staff leave little doubt that learning studios offer more positive environments for learning and teaching than traditional classrooms do.

Therefore

The goal of classroom design is to enrich academic, psychological, and sociological growth. The design of such spaces should be intentionally serendipitous and avoid prescriptive and restrictive behaviors, for both teachers and students. The design of learning spaces should increase levels of engagement, foster active learning and teaching, and support the learning goals of higher education institutions.

Challenge

If active and collaborative learning and teaching is more effective than lecture methods and individually based learning, why haven’t classroom environments changed to support them? If instructor-directed, competitive environments result in lower retention scores and higher attrition, why do students continue to sit in immovable desks—“soldiers in a row”, as one community college professor observed—rather than organized in groups at tables or sitting in a circular arrangement? Why haven’t classroom spaces evolved to support kinetic teaching and dynamic learning?

The difficulty in answering these questions lies in the fact that institutions must align many different elements. They encompass researching learning and teaching methods and cultural and sociological trends, understanding the needs of teachers, students, and administrators, and determining how the shared goals of these constituencies can best be realized in the learning spaces throughout a campus.

Successfully meeting the challenge of creating engaging and active learning environments requires collaborative vision, design, and implementation from a dedicated team that brings diverse talents and specialties to the work of achieving innovative solutions.

Solution

Changes in physical space will foster real student engagement and encourage ingenuity.

Physical spaces are central to creating a new paradigm for learning. 

What might these physical spaces include or what might they look like?

1. Learning spaces should be comfortable. A new, yet simple, idea is that classrooms can be comfortable spaces where students feel at home. They might crawl up and read a book. Heppell proposes that we see few people reading in chairs outside of school, so it may be best to make cozy spaces in the classroom too.

2. A changing space with mood lighting. Lights with different colors might, according to some research, create a fresh perspective. Just like in any environment, change allows for a mental break and lighting can do a great deal to alter a space depending on the activity. As an adaptation, I have seen some classroom teachers bring in lamps from home to create softer lighting during reading times.

3. Allow different seating patterns and configurations. A variety of different furniture would allow students to work in different areas, depending on the project or time of day. Heppell’s daughter teaches at Stepping Stones, which adapts learning space for children with disabilities.

4. Create Playful spaces. Bring the fun back into learning! Play helps teams work together effectively and create meaningful learning engagement. Heppell mentions how Google gives employees space to be playful and play acts as a “powerful motivator” for learning.

5. Notions of Time – Different ways of structuring time might be beneficial, instead of traditional scenarios with rigid schedules. Teachers might look at immersion in one subject at a time. Time lost moving students around the school might be minimized by using technology.

6. Encourage community involvement. Learning is a community effort. The philosophy that “it takes a village” to teach a child, resonates in that online communities can be used to support learning.  Social media can be used to foster a sense of collaboration. The physical space of the school should also allow for other adults to participate in classrooms.

7. Shoeless learning. Yes, shoeless learning spaces. According to Heppell, in Scandinavia and other countries children often learn with shoes off, perhaps because it reminds them of home and creates a relaxed learning environment.

8. Bring the outdoors in. Some model classrooms have allowed an indoor/outdoor space that becomes an extension of classroom learning. Spaces might include a door that rolls back or time to learn outside.  Some studies have even found that teaching outdoors might improve grades.

9. Multipurpose spaces. Spaces that lend themselves to a variety of learning styles and activities are best. For instance, there might be an area for presentations, performances, or cooperative groups. 

10. Bright spaces with plenty of light and air. For Ingenious, students preferred spaces that were colorful and special events controlled air flow. For instance, if it started to rain, ceiling vents would close automatically. Teachers might inexpensively replicate this by bringing in a fan or being aware of the temperature of the room.

11. Technology accessibility. Classrooms that have a variety of media allow for different learning activities and might include a projector, a white board, digital cameras, laptops, satellite TV, video production, and even iPod accessibility. 

12. Toilet accessibility. Believe it or not, according to Heppell some research suggests children try to avoid using the toilet during the school day. Having a bathroom attached to the classroom might be a way to increase concentration and help health as well.

13. Designing for a space where students bring portable technology. Some experts argue that the PC will soon become obsolete to cell phones and laptops. In “Learning Environments of the Future”, Heppell parallels the example of calculators and ballpoint pens that were once banned in schools and are now encouraged as learning tools. Heppell believes that smart phones may the most powerful learning tool of all, as they allow for collaboration and are inexpensive.

14. Spaces that foster creativity, rather than productivity. Traditional spaces designed in the industrial revolution were designed to maximize efficiency. For the 21st century, employers tend to look for teams that work organically in collaborative groups to solve problems. It would make sense to structure classrooms to reflect the needs of our global economy.

 15. Tiered seating areas. Tiered areas allow for groups to convene to discuss ideas and communicate procedures. These areas are especially helpful in classrooms that employ groups regularly. They allow for a space for group instruction or presentations. The speaker can maintain eye contact and a steady volume, rather than projecting their voice. Tiered seating creates an intimate, small group discussion format. Similarly, “cozy” carpet would work well for younger children.

16. Storage areas such as cubbies and shelves. Organization is a key component of successful learning environments. A de-cluttered learning environment is free from distractions and allows the focus to be on learning. Students can move quickly through the space and easily access resources needed for various learning purposes.

17. Design for different learning needs. Rather than rows of computers facing a wall, schools can use cheap piping to conceal wires and face computers in different configurations. Layouts should adapt to the learning, rather than limiting the learner. Classrooms should be designed to allow accommodation for varied learning styles and learning disabilities. I remember taking a student with Autism to recess and being afraid of him hurting himself outside. Special foam recess areas using recycled tires, for example, might allow his time outside to be free while adapting to his safety needs.

18. Signage and displays. Small details, such as wall displays are important. For example, signage in the classroom should try to stay away from the negative. Lists of rules with DO NOT drink eat or talk, can send a bad message. Instead, signs might include positive reinforcement. In addition, student displays can include a description of the thought process behind the work.

19. Virtual spaces. Online mediums such as Skype and virtual portfolios, can be included as part of leering. Heppell argues that the future of education will turn to virtual formats.

20. Cloud Technologies. A recent article in Business Today discusses that LG has partnered with Microsoft & KIE (Kenya Institute of Education) to launch a model classroom that incorporates new cloud technology. The aim is to lower the cost of IT in schools. Cloud allows multiple users to share one main computer using Windows Multipoint Server 2011.

Generation Y wants their learning to be playful and exciting. Classrooms should be spaces that students don’t want to leave. Some communities are still hesitant about these futuristic looking learning spaces and have resorted to older, traditional physical spaces.

To address these needs, three principles could guide our thinking:

1. An institution has the power to create spaces that promote students’ success and advance teaching and learning.

2. Creating new spaces allows an institution to address the changing needs and expectations of students and faculty.

3. Learning spaces cannot constrain or prescribe a certain style of teaching or learning.

The primary challenge is to rethink classroom spaces, as these places would most immediately influence a desired change in learning and teaching methods. How could the design of a classroom support collaborative and active learning, engage students and faculty, offer means for interaction among students and faculty, and challenge and support students?

It becomes clear that the answer to these questions wouldn’t come from incremental changes to the existing classroom model. Thinking in terms of “learning studios” became descriptive of not only the physical space attributes, but also the paradigm shift toward engaged learning and teaching.

In EM CC a team initially created two prototype learning studios. Designing and creating these first two spaces took about two months from planning to creation, yet the experiment gave EMCC what it needed to affirm the direction of moving from traditional classroom spaces to learning studios.

Several months after the learning studios were in full use, Herman Miller surveyed the EM CC faculty and students who taught and learned in these spaces. Herman Miller was interested in comparing and contrasting traditional classrooms with learning studios. Research methods included focus groups with students and faculty, interviews with faculty, and interviews with administrators. An online quantitative survey of students and faculty was also conducted.

Having experienced the learning studios, students and faculty had overwhelmingly positive responses. Faculty, in particular, expressed an appreciation for the learning studios as a paradigm that better served the possibilities of experiential, constructive learning.

Levels of interaction and engagement

The intentional flexibility of learning studios supports multiple teaching and learning styles. Without a prescriptive design, teachers are free to lecture or lead discussions or facilitate group or hands-on learning.

Mobile Intersect portfolio tables and Caper chairs make it easy for students and teachers to arrange the room to fit the purpose or preference. A circle of chairs for a full-class discussion or six tables for small group projects can be easily configured within the same space to support varied learning and teaching styles.

Intersect portfolio mobile display products can move to wherever they are needed. Larger whiteboards can quickly divide a single larger space into smaller group areas.

Wireless access throughout the spaces frees students to move, along with laptops, to where they need or want to be. Replacing desktop computers with laptops has increased levels of engagement. Students interact frequently and are more open to share information, in large part because they are not tethered to or hidden behind a computer monitor.

Because the studios foster direct and conversational relationships, they help avoid the passivity and isolation associated with traditional classrooms.

Accountability

The dynamic and adaptable nature of learning studios adds an element of surprise. The unexpected opportunities the mobility of the space creates also translate to a fresh outlook on what the class might become on any given day. Contrast this with the predictability and immobility of a traditional desks-in-row classroom.

Ways of learning through learning studios fosters independence through group activity. Ample room to accommodate break-out groups, flexibility to reconfigure the furniture and space, and the ability to display information were all cited in follow-up research. Faculty can also be highly able to make use of the space to teach students to take learning into their own hands. Teachers and students alike can have a hand in shaping the learning environment.

Faculty can also nurture engagement and build accountability among students. “They need to focus less on presentations and more on student learning. That’s active teaching. Their job is to show students how to apply the theory, not just to teach the theory. When they give their students the tools to learn, they understand they are accountable for using them.”

Learning studios also would improve peer-to-peer support. Compared to traditional classrooms, learning studios permit more relaxed, less intimidating group collaboration, while still providing academic challenge. Learners would begin to form study groups on their own or would turn to peers more often for help because interaction and participation becomes natural behaviors.

Learning-studio design also helps to build a sense of identity and belonging. Students would say that the face-to-face arrangement of the tables and seating in learning studios makes them more likely to introduce themselves to one another at their tables and talk about assignments or share questions.

Skills for life and work beyond the classroom

The design of learning studios intentionally builds an atmosphere of teamwork, one in which problem solving and relationship management occur on a regular basis. Tables instead of individual desks, organic spatial arrangements instead of linear ones, discussion-based versus lecture-based teaching methods—all of these can promote communications skills, teamwork, and relationship management.

Every student is a leader in a class that supports small-group work, collaboration, and experimentation. The instructor is not the only leader. “Decentralizing the teacher’s zone “This is a feature of the learning-studio design. The learning studio also decentralizes the teacher’s role. Giving and taking is an essential experience for students when they leave the campus and one that faculty play a role in developing.

When checked, students would comment on how the design of the space influenced self-directed learning by

• allowing greater involvement in group activities,
• helping create an environment that was more supportive of speaking up and participating in discussions, and
• Assisting in technology access to support research and dynamic learning activities.

Interaction through formal and informal means

For students, opportunities to interact with faculty would happen primarily in the classroom. Commuting and demands of work and home mean that many students would attend class and then leave campus, so the faculty/student interactions would occur within the learning studios are essential.

Traditional classroom configurations create tacit hierarchies in which the vocal and confident students sit forward and receive more individual attention while quiet or timid students find seats in the back and avoid interaction with teachers and other students. Students said they were more comfortable talking because the learning-studio arrangements were informal. Conversations flowed more easily when the classroom was more collaborative and when teachers moved around freely.

Design considerations were also made for one-to-one opportunities between faculty and students. Celeste soft seating, Covey stools, and Resolve stand-up work surfaces create areas for individual conversations and smaller sessions.

Psychological and physical comfort

As with many community colleges, EMCC has a large percentage of high-risk students. It includes a population of first-generation college goers, many of whom come with little support from family. A number of students also have little formal educational experience or are enrolling after years away from formal education. Creating an environment that welcomes, invites, and promotes a sense of well-being can help the difficult transition and influence successful outcomes.

Students’ survey responses indicate that the atmosphere of the learning studios dovetails with their expectations for higher education. The furnishings and environment communicated to them a level of professionalism, trust, and value that traditional classrooms did not. The impression they received: We are respected and valued by the college. Students described learning studios as “welcoming” and “relaxing.” With the challenges community colleges face with attrition, these positive impressions may help decrease drop-out rates.

Physical comfort is also important. Products within the learning studios are ergonomically designed to provide comfort and support. For example, students commented that Caper chairs were comfortable and didn’t strain their backs, even during two-hour classes.

The open design of learning studios creates a more comfortable ambiance. Students felt they could spread out their belongings and move their chairs. Room configurations varied as well, with display tools used throughout the space. Students didn’t have to strain to see things or feel too close or far away, as they might in a traditional classroom configuration. Faculty cited the roominess of the space and furniture configurations as helping them to walk freely through the room, without having to squeeze between narrow aisles.

Integrating characteristics of natural environments into the learning studios should be also a design goal. A mix of shapes, patterns, colors, and hard and soft surfaces infuses the spaces with variety and surprise, and helps to create stimulating learning spaces. The Intersect portfolio butterfly table has a soft form that supplies a balance to rectilinear tables. Resolve screens add a softer element to the structural components of the studios. Some studios also have soft seating to facilitate one-on-one student and faculty interaction.

 “Good design solves problems. If the designs of our spaces don’t allow teachers and learners to interact in meaningful ways, we need to serve as advocates for teaching and learning so that our facilities truly become learning spaces.”

The partnership of EMCC, Herman Miller, and Goodman’s resulted in a problem-solving, collaborative approach to planning and designing learning studios. It demonstrates how success results from the shared experiences, ideas, and participation of a diverse and creative team—not unlike the experiences of students and teachers in learning studios.

Avoiding chatter and meaningless conversation can be a difficult task as a teacher. But on the other hand, channeling meaningful discussions can provide students with an arena to express new ideas and voice their opinions.

Some other reasons why discussion can be productive include:

> It gets students thinking more critically about the material.

> It challenges them to listen to other students’ opinions and think critically about their contributions and ideas.

> It gives them the opportunity to challenge each other intelligently and build off of each other’s ideas.

This could take the shape of a reflective session 10 minutes before the end of a session, or by asking one member of a group to present their ideas to the class.

Collaborative working spaces help students see themselves as co-constructors of knowledge, rather than “subjects” of teachers. Without hierarchical front to back row seating, every seat is the best seat in the class, and students are always at the center of learning.

Maintain structure in less traditional ways by creating “zones” for different parts of the learning process, such as reflection and brainstorming. For ideas and inspiration for your classroom, watch the video below as several teachers who have tried this mode of learning share their challenges and triumphs.

Hopefully, they will begin to embrace changes to better prepare students and move them in the 21st century global economy....PLEASE...REFLECT AND POST YOUR COMMENTS.....