Katherine Hicks
Internationally Minded.
Spartan Educator.
Life- Long Learner.
​
Learning Space Design
Empathize:
Ideal Classroom:
​
​
The space that I designed was my fourth grade classroom. I have been in this classroom for one year and it is one of the smaller rooms on my floor. In this space, there are approximately 25 students with 1-3 instructors throughout the day. When looking at the basic structure of the room, there are 2 small whiteboards, an overhead smartboard and a wall three large windows. There is no built in storage, rather, 6 large cubbies that house class material and supplies. Currently, each student has a desk that is positioned in groups of 5.
Constraint of classroom:
Mobility: The size of the classroom and number of individuals, makes it very hard to navigate during lesson and restricts the style of collaboration. Unfortunately, most of the space in the room is taken up by bulky cupboards. This got me thinking, what if, I eliminated the cupboards and created a space that had a variety of flexible seating and different areas for the children to collaborate?
My ideal room includes, a space where I can teach whole group lessons, at least two spaces where students can collaborate and have flexible seating options. The biggest obstacle in creating a room like this, is the physical area of the room. My idea was to eliminate non permanent cupboards and replace them with built-in shelving along the East wall. This will open up the space and will allow students to fluidly transition between whole group, peer, and individual work. It will also allow students to be cognizant of their “ideal learning space” and work in their chosen environment. For example, if a child worked well sitting on the floor with a low table, they could seat themselves in this area. If a student needed a more traditional table and chair, that would also be accessible.
Focus:​
​
My focus in the redesigned classroom was collaboration. I knew that I needed more space, so I eliminated all detached cupboards and replaced them with built-in shelving. This opened up the room and allowed me to create pockets of space where small groups can meet.
One of those areas is the library, complete with 2 built-in bookshelves, couch, and a small table, this area is great for teams of 2-3 to interact in a safe and “home-like” environment. I also created a bean bag area with a whiteboard. This space can accommodate slightly larger teams of 4-8 students. The whiteboards allow students to illustrate their thinking together. In the center of the room, opposite the “window wall,” I placed a large carpet area which can accommodate larger, whole group instruction. I placed chairs and tables on the outskirts of the carpet to provide flexible seating for students who learn best in a traditional way. Finally, I created a “technology station”
Thinking about my design for real life application, the materials would cost around 6,000-7,000 dollars. Materials needed would include, a couch, small table, 8 bean bag chairs, large rug, 3 sets of built in shelves and 1 whiteboard. The larger cost would be replacing the East wall. Currently, there is a semi-permanent wall separating my classroom from the neighboring room. In order to have built in shelving, this wall would have to be entirely replaced. The rest of the redesign could be implemented in small sections as long as there was an outside space that could be used to house the room materials while the east wall was under construction.
Rationale:
​
I chose to make these changes, because I wanted children to be able to work together in a space that allowed for flexible collaboration. This is evident through the numerous meeting stations across the room. The Third Teacher recommends that there is a space for students to create and have their work displayed. I added a whiteboard, so 3 of the 4 walls has a space to students to illustrate their thinking and leave it up for others to see. I also added a “gallery” in the library for finished student products. Finally, I wanted to be “accessibility aware” by having lots of flexible seating options, to accommodate students will all needs and learning preferences.