As the new semester approaches we tend to think a lot about how our classrooms are organized. Now is the time to move that cabinet that you have been thinking about or finally reorganize your tray system. Most of our ideas for our classroom layouts involve how we can be more efficient, and occasionally this directly affects our students. However, Dewey (1938) suggests that we be very mindful of the experience we are providing to our students. “The belief that all genuine education comes about through experience does not mean that all experiences are genuinely or equally educative” (p. 8). This means that we need to make an effort to provide an experience that benefits our students’ learning.
To validate Dewey’s claims from the lens of the 21st century, a study conducted about classroom design concluded that learning progression is clearly impacted by environmental design (Barrett et al, 2013). Here is a list of some of the characteristics that were related to the improvement of academic success.
TABLE 1 – (Barrett et al, 2013, p. 688).
| Design principle | Design parameter | Good classroom features |
| Naturalness | Light | Classroom receives natural light from more than one orientation. |
| Classroom has high quality and quantity of electrical lighting. | ||
| The space adjacent to the window is clear without obstruction. | ||
| Individualization | Choice | Classroom has a high-quality and purpose-designed Furniture Fixture |
| Ergonomic tables and chairs. | ||
| Flexibility | More zones can allow varied learning activities at the same time | |
| The teacher can easily change the space configuration. | ||
| Connection | Wide corridor can ease the movement. | |
| The pathway has clear way-finding characteristics. | ||
| Stimulation | Complexity | With regard to the display and decoration, the classroom needs to be designed with a quiet visual environment, balanced with a certain level of complexity. |
| Color | Color of the wall, carpet, furniture and display all contribute to the color scheme of the classroom. |
I was fascinated by these categories and it made me reflect on my current classroom. How would the experience provided by my classroom design measure up in this study? So, I decided to do a little before-and-after classroom makeover.
Before
Here is a 3-D rendering that I made of my current classroom. It is pretty close to scale but to access the full library of objects provided by Planner5D, I would have had to pay for a subscription. This means that the objects in the room are more of a representation
After
For this particular before and after, we have to imagine 3 things: my classroom is almost doubled in length, the location of the door has changed, and my re-furnishing budget has greatly increased. Due to the lack of customization with Planner 5D, I decided to try RoomStyler for these images.
Referencing the table above, I will walk you through all the decisions that went into this rendering.
1. I decided to keep the wall of windows because I love that natural light.
2. I wanted the room to feel flexible and allow for a variety of seating options. You can see that the benches are currently arranged for either a lecture or a video. However, the benches were chosen so that students could rotate their bodies to collaborate or even be rearranged if desired.
3. Abundant seating options: standing high-top tables, table and chairs, and a couch.
4. Each of the tables and chairs face a white board that can be used for collaborative projects.
5. Shelving that builds upward to save space.
6. To promote an environment that is simultaneously complex and visually quiet, I decided to stick with neutral colors. This means that most objects are black, white, or wood tone. This keeps the space feeling cleaner and less cluttered.
7. I positioned my desk in the center back of the room so that I can observe all students as they work.
8.The space is intended to empower students ownership of learning by providing choice. It promotes both individuality and collaboration.
In conclusion, this design might be a little out of reach right now, but some of these ideas are fairly attainable, such as finding furniture that is easily re-arranged. After completing this before and after, I feel inspired and will be mindful of the experience I create for my students in the future.
REFERENCES
Barrett, P., Zhang, Y., Moffat, J., & Kobaccy, J. (2013). A holistic, multi-level analysis identifying the impact of classroom design on pupils’ learning. Building and Environment, 59, 678-689.
https://wwwsciencedirect.com.proxy1.cl.msu.edu/science/article/pii/S0360132312002582#tbl14
Dewey, J. (1938). Experience and education. Kappa Delta Pi.
Grabetz, J. (2020). Current classroom [Image]. Flickr.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/188776974@N06/50199963198/in/dateposted-public/
Grabetz, J. (2020). New classroom [Image]. Flickr.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/188776974@N06/50199962688/in/dateposted-public/
Grabetz, J. (2020). New floorplan [Image]. Flickr.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/188776974@N06/50199962278/in/dateposted-public/
Educational Technology 