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schools in focus SCHOOL ENVIRONMENT
She describes the industrial classroom as the “educational anachronism of our times”, suggesting that the concept of the classroom as we know it, with teachers standing at the front, preaching at students, needs to be “unlearned”. She instead proposes a model that could be likened to a café: a “robust space for experiencing the pleasures of self-managed learning”. She points out that centuries ago, cafés allowed people to share information and literature in a non-restrictive environment, and were a melting pot for society with different classes mixing and conversing with one another: “The coffee house provided a convivial space, a place of sociability and public display, where learning opportunities transcended social class barriers.”
The classroom
environment can affect a child’s academic progress by over 25% – either positively or negatively
ZONING IN McWilliam believes that her own concept, known as ‘meddler in the middle’, by which the teacher is not stood in front of the class, but actively involved in discussions within the classroom, moving “in and out of collegial collaborations”, is the best model of teaching – one that should be supported by a flexible classroom design that allows and nurtures this approach. There are many innovative ways that schools
could approach classroom design, but does it really have an effect on how a child learns, and ultimately how they perform in exams? Abby Chandler, marketing manager at carpeting manufacturer Heckmondwike FB, believes it does: “Recent research by the University of Salford and Nightingale Associates has found that the classroom environment can affect a child’s academic progress by over 25% – either positively or negatively – over the course of the year. Despite recent debate over whether classroom and school design is important to education, this finding demonstrates that the learning environment does indeed have a significant impact on pupils.” Chandler says that it is particularly important for classrooms to provide clearly defined areas for quiet independent work, creative work and group activities. “The University of Salford study highlighted the importance of flexible space. Creating defined learning ‘zones’ is one way to achieve this by allowing for a variety of learning activities to be carried out at the same time,” she explains. It also allows for differentiation in mixed classes. “Zonal areas also allow children to progress with activities at different speeds and use different learning techniques where appropriate.” The ‘zoning’ concept that Chandler refers to involves creating different sections or zones in a
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classroom using bright and contrasting shades of carpet, giving particular areas of an open-plan space a specific purpose or identity. “This approach has been found to engage young people and create a stimulating learning environment by simply but effectively communicating to pupils what the purpose or expectation is in a particular area,” she says. This simple but effective method of adapting a floorspace allows the teacher to break down an open-plan classroom without the need to change the infrastructure of the room – lending itself perfectly to the kind of café-type environment McWilliam suggests.
Some schools use equally as simple methods that create a similar effect. By painting blocks of colour on classroom walls, schools can create a ‘reading corner’ or ‘quiet zone’ or ‘fun zone’ depending on what colour they paint it. These kind of unobtrusive adjustments are multifunctional, aesthetically pleasing and most importantly, cost- effective for schools looking to innovate with classroom space.
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