Classroom Furnishings for the Future
However, when we design instruction for the entrepreneurs and employees of the future, straight rows of student desks might not always be the best option.
Today’s classroom furnishings also need to accommodate collaboration, communication, brainstorming, and group projects. One group of students might be the experts on crocodiles, while another is studying tortoises. Pairs of students might be interviewing each other about poems they are reading on their chromebooks. The team in the back might be preparing for a debate. Or a student might be demonstrating a chemistry experiment for the students who missed the lab. And others might be out in the quad testing pendulums. Flexible student furniture can help make this classroom collaboration possible.
English teacher Marisa Thompson was an early believer in adaptable furniture, so she began several years ago to search for non-traditional classroom furnishings. Her principal scoured the campus for unused tables and folding chairs. The woodshop donated some Adirondack chairs. She found some tables and bar stools on Craigslist, and received some donations. Now she has configured the classroom that she envisioned. And her students are doing lots of creating and collaborating.
“A more conversational arrangement of furniture has allowed me to change to the way I teach,” said Ms. Thompson. “Now my class is almost completely discussion-based. Discussing ideas first makes students more comfortable with writing, designing, revising. When we are more comfortable with each other we become more comfortable sharing and building on ideas. We become a team. And they are excelling at the skills they need to learn.”
A few years ago, Aviara Oaks Middle School teacher Penni Barachkov was similarly inspired to change the furniture in her classroom to encourage student interaction and involvement. She began with a budget from her principal, established a DonorsChoose.org account, and her own money. She shopped for barstools, bought erasable white board tables where students can jot down their notes right on the tabletop, and purchased some stand-up desks and some chairs with wheels. Today she feels she has a classroom that supports her engaging instructional program.
Carlsbad Unified believes that, like textbooks and technology, classroom furniture is there to support a dynamic instructional program. To that end, the district has undertaken a pilot program to place additional flexible furniture in selected classrooms to see how it might advance classroom innovation.
Jeff Brandmeyer, who runs the Film Academy at Carlsbad High School, is part of the pilot program. This summer Mr. Brandmeyer’s classroom was outfitted with individual desks that can easily be arranged in a way that encourages conversation and interaction; high cafe tables are comfortable and popular with students; a few “wobbly chairs” (stools that allow students to move around on their seats and that seem to work well for fidgety students); and a couple of erasable white board desks.
“The new furniture is working well,” said Mr. Brandmeyer. “I see students facing one another to do group work, being more productive, and interacting more effectively.”
The goal is to create an environment for inspiring instruction. As the teachers at Carlsbad Unified continue to design the classrooms of the future, we are learning how these flexible learning spaces can support the education of our students.
