Facilitate
Teaching Method
Flexible classroom design optimizes teaching methods and morphs as teachers modify spaces based on personal style, subject matter and students’ needs. Whether lecturing, demonstrating, facilitating or personalizing your teaching method, you’ll find proactively designed furniture easily adjusts to support teaching goals. Focus on mobile products that have simple, non-handed shapes for optimal flexibility.
Group
Student Behavior
As educators prepare students for the complex global society and economy, the 4 C’s (creativity, communication, collaboration and critical thinking) become crucial for success. Obtaining these skills requires students to flex between working alone, in groups or all together. Look for products that enhance mobility, support a range of postures, and provide multipurpose solutions.
Clusters
Space
Space design might translate into basic shapes like rows, u-shapes or clusters, but agile space unleashes the other three quadrants of the Learning Environments Framework. Intuitive, easy-to-use classroom furniture empowers spatial and tool organization, connects students and teachers, and stimulates learning, engagement and well-being. Key features like table and storage mobility, height-adjustability and multipurpose functionality become essential.
Low Technology
Info-Medium
Today’s students intermix low- and high-tech info-mediums whether working with other students or their teachers. Low-tech mediums include paper-based reading and writing, brainstorming and class discussions. High-tech mediums use laptops and digital displays. Flexible design is crucial. It allows students and teachers to move fluidly between interpersonal, analog and digital modes of communication whether working alone, in groups or as a class. Plan for sight lines, space division, light levels, storage adjacencies, visual displays, and power/data access to optimize info-medium dynamics.
Teaching Method
Facilitate
Student Behavior
Group
Space
Clusters
Info-Medium
Low Technology
Insights for Music Rooms
- Instruments, sheet music, and uniforms are visible and important parts of a band and concert music space.
- Create a culture that draws students to the space outside of class hours to build comradery, communication, and collaboration skills.
- Move beyond stiff chairs with backs and incorporate simple ergonomic stool solutions that can move quickly between ensemble and sectional practice while saving space.
- Also, add in some incremental flip-and-nest tables to accommodate group gatherings.
