The way we all engage and interact with the world has changed dramatically over the past decade. Students today have never experienced life without technology, constant connectivity, and endless choices. Yet for some reason, many of our classrooms still look exactly the same as they did 50 years ago. But, with bold innovations in classroom design and technology, teachers are finding new ways to bring the 21st century into the classroom and vice versa.
Modernizing the Classroom
When teachers can create a classroom environment that accurately reflects the outside world, they set their students up for greater success both inside and outside of the classroom. And there is a growing body of research about the positive relationship between classroom layout and student performance. According to a study conducted last year by HEAD (Holistic Evidence and Design), the configuration of a classroom can impact a student’s ability to learn by around 16 percent. And a similar study conducted by the University of Salford found that classroom design can affect a student’s academic progress by as much as 25 percent throughout the schoolyear.
Here are a few of the key strategies teachers are using to boost engagement and modernize the learning experience:
Flexible Seating
Offering a variety of seating options is a relatively easy and inexpensive way to provide a number of benefits for your students. Something as simple as adding some stools, beanbag chairs and/or exercise balls, and encouraging your students to move around the classroom in a fluid way during classroom activities, can help create classroom environments that are more conducive to open collaboration, communication, creativity, and critical thinking. It also encourages students to burn excess energy, which is proven to help keep students on-task and engaged.
Variable Lighting
We all know how lighting can completely change the mood of a room. And the classroom is no different. According to a study published in the Journal of Optics, varying classroom lighting to coincide with certain activities can have a positive impact on learning. Specifically, the research indicates that warm, yellow-white 3500 K lighting provides a more relaxing environment for fun recess activities, while the standard 5000 K lighting is best for reading, and cooler 6500 K lighting, which mimics natural light, best supports student performance during intensive academic activities such as tests.
Tech Upgrades
From in-class activities to administrative tasks, technology is revolutionizing the education sector in countless ways. Here are two of the hottest classroom tech trends currently popping up in schools all around the world:
- Video/Virtual Content – From cutting edge video lessons, to interactive video games, to augmented and virtual reality programs, video content and VR are become an ever more integral part of the classroom, providing students with immersive educational experiences that don’t require expensive class trips.
- Paperless Schools – Whether it’s replacing textbooks with tablets and eBooks, or using an Enterprise Content Management solution to handle administrative tasks, going paperless can help schools reduce costs, lower carbon footprints, and eliminate the time-waste associated with traditional texts and paper documents.
One of the most difficult tasks that elementary school teachers face each and every day is getting and keeping students engaged with what’s going on in the classroom. But one thing is for sure, schools cannot keep up with the pace of modern learning if classrooms can’t keep up with the pace of the modern world. But with these innovative new approaches to classroom engagement, many schools are taking major steps toward bringing the contemporary classroom up to speed.