in the classroom
front of the room talking and transmitting knowledge to the students .
Didactic teaching is common in a traditional space with groups of desks and chairs . However , teachers become more student-centred when they ’ re in a flexible area .
By student-centred , we mean that teachers will set up some instruction but make sure that the students are actively engaged in their learning and that students drive the learning .
We noticed that teachers use a statistically significant change in their practice in each environment .
In a flexible environment , students would naturally gravitate to the place in the room they deemed suitable for their learning activity and with whom and how many people they wanted to study .
Those options aren ’ t available to students when there are 30 of the same desk and 30 of the same chair in an environment , which in return , teachers work harder to keep students ’ engagement up .
Teachers had to find ways of getting students to be creative , think differently , and stay engaged in a traditional setting , increasing their workload .
Teachers felt they could do a good job in a traditional environment , as they could get through all the information needed . Still , they couldn ’ t personalise students learning and encourage student autonomy .
In a traditional environment , students became less adventurous in their learning . Students flipped a switch , thinking they needed the correct answer and didn ’ t want to take control of their education . Younger students also mentioned that having desks facing the front of the school meant they needed to be quiet , and their whole behaviour changed around how they engaged in school .
How can teachers use flexible furniture in their classrooms ? The study shows that a flexible learning environment isn ’ t necessarily an openplan environment - it is accessible to every classroom .
We ’ ve seen that you don ’ t need costly furniture and certainly no more expensive than your standard desks and chairs .
We found that 6 % of our students liked having soft seating options , like small round ottomans that they could pick up and carry around the room with them .
I ’ ve seen teachers pop down to Kmart and grab a TV or dinner tray table for students to sit on the floor and have a desk to work .
It is all about having a few different options within the classroom where students can find the space that suits them best and not feel like they have to remain in one area .
Teachers should start small and change a couple of furniture at first to see its impact on their students , then slowly scale that up over time .
How can teachers navigate a flexible environment where students are all around the space ? How can they structure their lessons around that type of classroom ? We had a teacher in the first year of our study who started in a traditional space and then moved to a flexible area before returning to a conventional room - that teacher told us it took about three weeks to bring the students on board with a changed learning environment .
In traditional classroom management , paying attention to the teacher when talking and making eye contact is essential .
We saw students making sophisticated , articulate decisions about the furniture they use and how it supports them .
In innovative spaces , this still happens , but it is happening in the route rather than with a teacher , sort of in a fixed point at what is perceived to be the front of the classroom .
It is about setting up clear rules with students and helping them see the possibilities with the types of learning .
It ’ s really about the teacher having control over what they would like to happen in their learning environment and setting it up so that students can work effectively with that .
Having different furniture in the classroom also means teachers can support diverse learners and diverse activities .
What are the costs ? The advice is to start small . Start with one or two interested teachers and see how it goes and fits within your school community .
From there , there ’ s always a natural increase . If you know another teacher having positive results , you ’ re likely to start interrogating your practice and seeing if you can implement this in your classroom .
Regarding the cost , starting small allows you to prototype and figure out what works out for your students in your setting .
While you might not put in 30 desks and 30 chairs , what you might do is spend slightly more money on some different furniture items , but you are putting less into the space .
It can be great to discuss with students the furniture they like .
We also had lots of students wanting their furniture to help them concentrate , which meant for some having a still environment or comfortable on a soft seat , but for others , it meant sitting on wobble boards or choosing a place that allowed them to move around .
In the end , changing furniture is one of the most affordable ways to change a classroom environment because there ’ s nothing structural that ’ s much more affordable than trying to go through a whole new building process . ■
educationreview . com . au | 21