FEATURE FOCUS: INTELLIGENT CLASSROOM DESIGN
How intelligent classroom design can support a safe return to school
A
recent social media poll conducted by The Mirror showed that the majority of
children want to go back to school, with more than 70% agreeing that they had been negatively affected by lockdown. Sadly, 738 out of 1,046 youngsters stated that their mental and physical health had suffered while being kept away from the classroom.
As we look towards transitioning out of a third national lockdown, intelligent classroom design has never been more important, with safety, hygiene and a positive learning environment all playing an essential role in supporting a seamless return to school. According to a year-long study by the
University of Salford, classroom design can impact learning by 25%, both positively and negatively. In fact, the study concluded that the difference between the best and the worst classroom designs was the equivalent to a solid year’s worth of academic progress! In this article, Bob Mortimer, UK & Ireland Sales
Manager at commercial carpet manufacturer Heckmondwike FB, looks at how some simple design changes can have a big impact on both learning and safety in the classroom.
Clever classrooms Despite the desire to return to school, many children will nonetheless find it daunting to make the transition following months of home learning. So, how can design support this change? Studies show that low wavelength colours
promote restfulness and calm, helping to improve focus. This makes green an excellent choice for improving concentration, with blue having similarly relaxing and calming properties. On the other side of the spectrum, orange can be both welcoming and mood-lifting for learners and is even believed to improve neural functioning! The Department for Health advises that
opening windows to let fresh air into a space can reduce the rate of infection by more than 70%, but the University of Salford research also cited temperature as a key factor in learning progress. Many children have been allowed to wear coats in the classroom to help combat draughts but flooring can help. Unlike hard floors, carpet has a low density and
requires little energy to warm up as well as having incredible insulation properties by allowing heat to be trapped and retained. The carpet tiles in our Array and Supacord range offer a wide-ranging colour bank and Supacord is part of thicker and denser fibre-bonded range for added insulation.
Adapting acoustics Research from the Center for Cognitive Science
documents the harmful effects of noise on children's learning, especially in tasks involving speech perception and listening comprehension. Sound is transmitted by the vibration of air
molecules and due to the individual fibres and underlay associated with carpet, it is 10 times more efficient in reducing noise compared to other flooring options, according to the American Society of Interior Designers. Other noise reducing measures include
sufficient sound insulation, furniture against walls, felt pads under moveable furniture and even the introduction of plants. Classrooms are naturally noisy environments,
so it’s important to minimise echo within those spaces as well reducing noise pollution into other rooms, to help create a positive learning environment. All Heckmondwike’s carpet tiles are BS EN ISO 140-8: 21db accredited, meaning that they can drastically reduce noise in learning facilities, with experts believing that carpet can reduce airborne noise by up to 35%.
Keeping your distance One-way systems in corridors are now common practice and the British Standards Institution (BSI) recommends pedestrian flow systems, as part of their guidelines to help schools, colleges and universities create a safer learning space. Loose-lay mats or hazard tape should only ever
be a temporary measure as they can be a trip hazard and are easily displaced. Flooring can therefore be a helpful way to aid both wayfinding and social distancing and contrasting colours, patterns or even types of flooring can all be used to define pathways and distances. Our recently launched ‘Social Distancing Carpet
Tiles’ (see link below) offer a bespoke solution that can help remind staff, students and visitors of the guidelines in place, with laser-engraved arrows and messages to create an easy
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www.education-today.co.uk
visual flow. To reduce circulation within school premises,
many educational facilities have adopted staggered timetables to limit the number of children entering and leaving the premises or being in shared spaces at any one time, as well as wider measures, such as eating lunch in classrooms.
Flexible layout In the University of Salford study, one of the key parameters that impacted learning was flexibility, or how easily teachers can rearrange the classroom layout to support the learning goal for that day. A traditional rigid classroom layout, where desks are always arranged in rows facing the teacher, was shown to have a negative effect on learning outcomes. The pandemic has also created an increased
focus on functionality, rather than cosmetic appearance, with configurable furniture and flexible fixtures seeing a surge in popularity, as spaces have had to continually adapt to meet changing rules and guidelines. Flexibility is key, as spaces can become multi-
purpose and adapted to suit different activities and varying pupil needs. Some teachers may want to alter the space to suit different activities, such as group projects and individual work for example. Moveable furniture enables them to do this with ease and limits the distractions for students. Carpet tiles can also be used to create different
zones within a classroom and all our products can be easily lifted and moved, making it easy and much cheaper to support the ever-changing needs of classrooms and learning facilities.
uhttps://heckmondwike-
fb.co.uk/products/social-distancing-carpet-tiles/
February 2021
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