ADMINISTRATION |
Furniture for the MLE
Creating the right environment for modern teaching and learning School learning environments have evolved since the not-solong-ago days of desks in row upon row – or, even earlier, simple wooden tables and basic benches. And just as pencil and paper has given way to laptops and tablets, and inks and paints have been replaced by pixels and digital graphics, so too has Furniture for the Modern Learning Environment adapted to reflex changing styles and approaches to classroom teaching and learning. While the term ‘modern learning environment’ (MLE) is unique to New Zealand, similar concepts –
also described as ‘flexible learning environments’, ‘innovative learning spaces’, and the like – have become the focus of increasing interest and research across the world.
with furniture arrangements more reflective of decades-old factory floors or typing pools of the ‘Mad Men’ era.
This is not simply an ephemeral ‘buzz-word’ phenomenon; rather, it is focussed on obvious (and yet long overlooked) questions such: How does the classroom ‘learning environment’ help or hinder student success? And, does the modern school environment reflex the real world – especially the real modern working environment – that students will eventually enter?
By contrast, a modern learning environment should reflect the future not the past, with greater openness and freedom of movement to access resources (especially digital technology) and to encourage more collaborative, more active and more enquirybased learning. Here, flexibility is key, with creative layout and thoughtfully designed furniture crucial to turning simple spaces into successful learning areas.
In today’s ever-changing, everadapting world, technology rules supreme, and it is unlikely that today’s students will encounter the same workplaces or enter the same professions as earlier generations. Yet some modern school classrooms still reflect the set-up of obsolete work practices,
Openness and freedom
Such versatility should also reflect not only the different tasks and activities being undertaken by students, but also the individual learning styles of these self-same young people – for example, beanbags in the reading zone
for more leisurely readers, higher seats with rotating bases for their more high-energy peers. Flexibility also allows for choice, with students themselves able to choose whether to work sitting down at a traditional desk, or standing and writing on an elevated one, or even kicking off their shoes and working on the floor. Again, this is a reflection of the move away from regimenting student behaviour, and for encouraging students more towards autonomy and responsible decision-making. A modern learning environment, therefore, is student-focussed, with a central aim to foster and maintain student engagement, and – most especially – to develop student agency, including the personal qualities of critical thinking and creativity, empathy and interpersonal and intercultural awareness.
Designing the right space for you and your learners We all want to see students thrive in the most inspiring learning spaces – ones that give students every opportunity to achieve their best. A common mis-step, however, is to get caught up in the bright lights and aesthetics of new space planning. Before you start, there are a few considerations that should be top of the list, while still working within your physical and budgetary constraints. The most important consideration when designing a space is, as author Simon Sinek says, “start with why”. Your overall teaching and learning strategy is critical – first you agree your values and then work through the process of defining your strategy. This is key to
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designing a successful learning space.
the students move from indoor to outdoor activities seamlessly?
If you are developing competencies around communication and collaboration, then what practices are supporting this? For example, are you teamteaching? Do you practise flipped learning? Is your learning inquiry-based or play-based?
Helpful observations from furniture manufacturers include:
Then it’s time to consider learning styles and activities in your space. There will be cultural differences within the group, students with special needs, those that prefer to collaborate and others who prefer quiet spaces. Similarly think about the activities in the space and what collaboration, creativity and critical thinking might look like in action. How will classroom technology be used, are you catering for wet areas in the space and how will
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Single desks are giving way to more flexible table solutions. Students are choosing to work at standing height surfaces, or on the floor. Teachers, too, need flexibility and are choosing mobile stations that take up less space and can be moved easily around or between rooms. Writeable surfaces are increasingly popular in the classroom. They encourage students to be more creative and less inhibited as they work through solutions before documenting their work through photos. Whiteboard tables are a great way to
facilitate interaction with teacher and students, and between groups of students. •
And structure is still important – comfortable chairs paired with hard work surfaces at the correct height have their place in classrooms and should be included in the overall mix.
In fact, modern learning environments are no longer the big unknown factor for schools. Over the past few years, schools have become more mindful that environmental factors in these spaces play a huge role in the comfort levels and engagement of students. Light, sound, air quality and colour all have an impact on how well the space functions, particularly when it is busy with a room full of inspired students. By Trish Scott, Furnware
