Being Flexible in the Classroom

It is believed that many classrooms are set up for the convenience of custodians, not students. Through research for a doctorate in classroom environments, a student at the University of Massachusetts Amherst took a job as a custodian and found that many times chairs were set up in semi circles and would return the next day to find them in rows. This bit of information deeply disturbed me and made me want to do some more research on the equitable classroom setups. For my exploratory project, I did just this. I always found it interesting how teachers set up their classrooms and I wanted to investigate which set ups work best for certain lessons or subjects. This has really peaked my interest after reading articles for previous education classes that show some very interesting classrooms that have flexible seating like rolling or bean bag chairs. I want to bring in flexible seating into my future classroom in order to foster a positive learning environment.

Seeing that I am going to be teaching in a math classroom, I want to make sure that I can have students work collaboratively. With having a flexible seating concept, students will be able to work in pairs, groups, or as a whole classroom easily. This would also let students be able to have a different seat every day rather than be in an assigned seat for periods at a time. This allows middle schoolers to feel like they would have a sense of freedom to choose where they want to sit. This will then help students be more productive because they are sitting where they want and not have them feel confined in a certain chair. I have seen this in action in a placement that I was in year year and students were always engaged in their class because they were able to choose where they sat for the most part. Obviously, some students had to be split due to being too chatty or distracting, but that is to be expected when middle schoolers were choosing their seats.

There are many things that you can do in order to make your classroom flexible.  One way you could do this is by having tables that have wheels so they are able to move easily into different configurations that will work effectively for group work.  I would also want to have a classroom that has many windows so it will be predominantly lit by natural light. There have been studies on this that shows that class room with minimal or no natural light can increase depression within students. Along with the light, I want to make sure the classroom has students work on the walls and have the classroom be colorful and inviting. This way students will want to come to class and not feel like they are in a jail cell.

As we all know, many students are also very fidgety. If they are allowed to sit in different types of chairs, then that could help with their consent moving. There could be chairs that rock or swivel. With whatever chair works the best for the space, I would want to make sure that they are easily moveable and adequate for the tables that would be used. Along with the chairs, I would like to incorporate the idea of a fidget corner. I want to have a basket or area of the classroom where students could pick up things like pipe cleaners or stress balls if they need to hold onto or fidget with something during class. These supplies would be returned at the end of class so they can be used by other students in later classes.

Something else that appeals to me about this is that no flexible classroom looks the same. This is nice because from year to year with teaching, I can survey my students to ask what they need in the classroom to succeed. This idea of student voice and choice makes the student feel like they have a voice and made a difference. This makes them feel like they made an impact on their learning and had their needs heard. This way, we can create empathy within the classroom and respect others styles of learning. We could then brainstorm and find a configuration that works the best for the students. I could also make a mathematics lesson out of it by having students measure the room to see what kind of furniture would fit best in the room. I could also survey students throughout the school year to make sure the seating “arrangements” are still working for them.

Through researching flexible and equitable classes and thinking about my classrooms growing up, I feel like my learning would have enhanced more if I was not placed in the traditional classroom set up. I hope that in my future classroom that I will be able to use some of these ideas to ensure that my classroom would have a positive learning environment. So hopefully my future classroom will not look like a windowless prison but instead a fun and inviting space that fosters a positive learning environment.

Annotated Bibliography:

A place for Learning: the Physical Environment of Classrooms. (n.d.). Retrieved April 8, 2019, from Edutopia website: https://www.edutopia.org/blog/the-physical-environment-of-classrooms-mark-phillips

Design Thinking and the Deskless Classroom. (n.d.). Retrieved April 8, 2019, from Edutopia website: https://www.edutopia.org/blog/design-thinking-and-deskless-classroom-tracy-evans

Flexible Classrooms: Research is Scarce, but Promising. (n.d.). Retrieved April 8, 2019, from Edutopia website: https://www.edutopia.org/article/flexible-classrooms-research-scarce-promising

Reflections on Shifting to a Flexible Classroom. (n.d.). Retrieved April 8, 2019, from Edutopia website: https://www.edutopia.org/article/reflections-shifting-flexible-classroom

Transforming Learning with Physical Spaces. (2014, September 24). Retrieved April 8, 2019, from eSchool News website: https://www.eschoolnews.com/2014/09/24/transforming-learning-spaces-034/

     

            These articles were written by teachers who have incorporated the idea of a flexible classroom within their own. These are their steps and ideas in order to help make a flexible classroom with student involvement.

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https://www.prodigygame.com/blog/flexible-seating-classroom-ideas/