After school on Thursday, February 6th, I moved all of the desks to the outside of the classroom because of our Human Body activity on Friday. Since our plan was to turn the classroom into the human body, we thought that we’d need more space to work, and so we moved the furniture. When Friday came to an end, and we were in the midst of clean-up time, we decided to keep the desks along the outside of the room as students were building their organ systems on Monday. Again, we thought that more room would be helpful.

Yesterday, students loved having the additional floor space to cut, paint, and create, and those that wanted desks, just moved them where they wanted them. And so since some groups needed to finish their organ systems today, and other groups were going to start the art component of this activity, we again left the desks against the wall. Even as students read, researched, wrote, and did math today, they just moved the furniture, worked on the floor, or found a comfortable chair space, and they were great!

Our New Classroom Design

Talking to some students today, I began to wonder if maybe this new room design should be more than temporary. Don’t get me wrong. There are times that we need desks … but students can still have access to them, and move them where they want to work. 

• This design allows for flexible groupings. Students can create groups based on different needs, and the teacher can do the same. 
• This design allows for more quiet areas to work. Even though the students often collaborate in class, and love the opportunity to do so, they also like quiet places to work and to think. Since students are moving desks around to suit their needs, they’re also creating dividers within the room: blocking off noise, and making quiet alcoves for learning.
• This design reduces distractions during teaching times. I have to admit that I’m not a fan of teaching students at their desks. There’s lots that can distract them at their desks: from the objects inside their desks to the people around them. I often get the students to move away from their desks during the lessons, which helps. Now the students don’t have desks to sit at during instructional time. They just move a chair into the middle of the room. It’s great! I have way closer proximity to the students, and they have fewer distractions: win/win!
• This design benefits the caretakers. Since I made the change, the wonderful caretaker that cleans our room has been so happy. She said that this design makes it so much easier for her to clean the floor, and she even surprised me with a special floor washing job last night. The floors were sparkling! 🙂
• This design still gives a permanent desk for those students that need it. I have a couple of students in my class with autism, and I was worried about changing the seating arrangements, as change can be difficult for them. I decided to keep their desks in the same spots, and then the other desks are just pushed to the outside of the classroom. This has worked perfectly! These two students have the consistent desk location that they need, while still being able to move and work with their peers during activity times.

So while it may sound strange, I’m going to talk to the class tomorrow about the possibility of keeping this new room arrangement. Since our school is focusing on student voice and student choice, I think that the students should have a say in this big decision. I wonder what they’ll say, and I wonder why they’ll make the decision that they do. Stay tuned! 🙂

What are your thoughts on this plan? How do you arrange your classroom to meet the varied needs of the learners? I’d love to hear your thoughts on this!

Aviva