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EdSurge
What Does Good Classroom Design Look Like in the Age of Social Distancing?
By Robert Dillon
Jun 22, 2020
Where we learn matters. This truth has exploded as we have waded through the realities of emergency remote learning.
As a profession, we have honorably pivoted to meet the needs of
students, but all of us have experienced the soft spots of our
strategy. We have seen students lack access to technology and Wi-Fi. We
have watched as students with additional challenges, including those
with physical or learning disabilities, fade from technology-rich
learning, and we have even seen our most driven students burn out from
the daily grind of hours on video conferences and completing
assignments online.
Returning to a school building for the first time since we were all
jettisoned to emergency remote learning will be a stressful event
All of this has us eager to be back in the same physical space as our
students as soon as possible. Nothing replaces proximity when it comes
to fostering relationships and building trusted connections with
students.
The realities of COVID-19 spreading in our communities without a
vaccine or herd immunity means that a return to full schools without
restrictions is simply out of our reach for many months. We will likely
see students returning to school in shifts to classrooms that have been
specifically designed to protect students and teachers. Cafeterias,
gymnasiums, and libraries may be off limits. Practices we once took for
granted, such as community supply stores, learning in groups and soft
seating may be on hold for now. All of these things will stretch our
ability to redesign our spaces so that students can explore, discover,
and connect in meaningful ways.
As the number of things that remain out of our control grows (spacing
of desks, movement in and between classes, scheduling), there are still
a number space design considerations that we can control and which can
allow our students to truly benefit from where they learn. Consider
these five ways to craft your classroom in these unique moments when we
need to balance the health and humanity of our spaces.
Signage and First Impressions
Returning to a school building for the first time since we were all
jettisoned to emergency remote learning will be a stressful event. Many
teachers and students haven’t gathered in large groups since March, so
this return to school will elicit a variety of emotions from everyone.
To support students’ emotional needs, it will be important to set the
right tone with the signage that fills our spaces.
From the front doors of the school, through the hallways, and into our
classrooms, do we have signage that cares for all or produces fear? Are
we asking people to be a part of a responsible community or filling
them with negative messages that lack empathy for the emotional stress
of returning to school? There is definitely a need for everyone to
understand the community health rules of a space, such as frequent hand
washing and donning masks, but this doesn’t have to be our leading
message. Let all spaces acknowledge the reality, but stress belonging,
community and the joy of being together again.
Optimizing the Perimeter
While the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and state health
departments may have control over how we design the floor plan in our
classrooms (i.e., six feet of space between desks, directional walking
patterns, coordinated movement between spaces), educators have control
over how we design the perimeter of our classrooms.
Fill the walls with only essential items for learning. During emergency
remote learning, we have realized that students can learn without the
anchor charts and inspirational posters on the wall. We shouldn’t
design a sterile space, but instead design with fresh eyes and ask
these questions. Does having this item on the wall add to the visual
clutter or support daily learning? Can I move more learning resources
away from the front of the learning space to calm and focus students on
presentations and content? In what ways, can I design with a color
palette in mind that brings a coherence to the space? Answering these
questions and focusing on the spaces that you can control will allow
the classroom to be a place of normalcy during a time when all of the
rest of school feels different.
Minimize Teacher Only Space
This was always a good idea, but with the mandated restrictions on
space, we need to double down items that fill up space with no real
purpose. Start by looking at the teacher-only space in the room—and if
you don’t know what spaces are teacher-only, ask students to go stand
in spaces where they feel are implicitly off limits. This will give you
a sense of what spaces have been removed from student use. If we are
limited by the rule that only allows 10-15 people in a space, then
every square foot matters. Consider ways to add 20-30 square feet back
to the space available for students. This addition by subtraction will
help give students some breathing room.
If we are limited by the rule that only allows 10-15 people in a space, then every square foot matters
Movement and Choice
Intentional space design is anchored in the concepts of maximizing
physical movement and providing students with choice over where they
learn. This has resulted in the flexible, agile and active classroom
efforts that had incredible momentum before COVID-19 disoriented all
aspects of learning.
Learning science continues to show us that movement and choice are key
to optimal learning. But in this sliver of life these optimal design
elements must be put on hold to mitigate the risks of spreading the
virus. Even so, we can’t eliminate these elements in totality. Having
students stand for 3-5 minutes behind their desks to listen to the
teacher talk can keep the brain oxygenated and primed for learning.
Giving students permission to stand along the sides or in the back of
the room or even the chance to sit on the tops of their desks will
promote choice and supply variation to a room that has been sterilized
by its arrangement. In some locations, moving learning to an outdoor
space is an option, and when available can provide the movement needed
to greater engagement and joy to learning.
Space is Time and Time is Space
Space and time are interconnected, and when we talk about the aspects
of space that we can control in these trying times, we should also talk
about intentionally designing the time that we have with students.
Face-to-face time shouldn’t be a content blitz filled with the voice of
the teacher, as most of this can happen in virtual learning; instead,
use this time to connect and listen. Use in-class time to promote
conversation and community. Use it to calm and lower stress. In the
coming months, our time with students may not have daily consistency,
so it will be essential to design the time in our physical spaces to
support the whole child. It will also be a time to anchor learning in
relevant, meaningful contexts. Sync time design and space design to
support the academic and emotional needs of all students.
This will be a very non-linear return to our school buildings. In some
locations, students will come to school with a new type of schedule.
Their in-person learning may pause because of contagion or public
health concern and then return to the physical space again. This cycle
could happen many times throughout the upcoming school year. For other
students and families, they will remain in a virtual only space because
of their unique needs or the success that they have found in the
virtual learning environment.
All of these variables will require educators to design with the
flexibility that allows for students to fluidly move between physical
and virtual learning spaces. Design with this reality in mind. Make
sure that our digital learning spaces provide easy access to resources
and learning tasks. Minimize the digital clutter in these spaces. Model
the power of learning near natural light and bringing fresh air into
the mix whenever possible, so that students carry this into their home
learning spaces.
Where we learn matters, and as we consider the launch of the new school
year, take time to listen to students, notice their needs and
incorporate that in which we can’t control into the design elements
that we can control. With these efforts, we can heal, remain healthy
and continue to bring a deep sense of humanity to our work to guide the
learning for our students, students that are eager to be connected with
their learning community again.
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