Learning Spaces

Four Tips for Designing an Optimized Learning Space

July 9, 2019

Librarians have a number of acronyms for making decisions about how to remove books from their collection. Each of these acronyms is designed to help them make informed, objective decisions about what to keep and what to release from the space.

This practice of weeding isn’t a normal part of a teacher’s life, teacher training, or the everyday practices of most teachers, but weeding the classroom is an essential feature of designing an optimized learning space. Gathering items and resources for learning is important for a resource rich classroom, but layering on more and more often lends itself to clutter and visual noise as opposed to an effective learning space. Recent education research has even shown negative impact to student cognitive performance in high visual load environments.

So why then do classrooms seem to be a magnet for more and more stuff?

Many educators have been conditioned to feel the stress of a scarcity mentality. Some teachers believe that they may never get the supplies that they need or their budget will get cut so they collect and hoard. In some cases, this mentality is reality, but in other cases, it results in teachers having 2000 sheets of construction paper and 15,000 paper clips. When you feel like resources may never come, you cling to everything that have.

Sometimes, the hoarding of things, both new and old, comes from a sense of needing to be a fiscal steward. Teachers want to showcase to parents, community members, and taxpayers that they are using every ounce of the taxes spent on schools even when items are ready to combust into dust. In reality, parents and community members don’t like to see old, tired, worn things in classrooms.

Finally, there are some teachers that have a Boy Scout mentality. They want to be prepared for any scenario. They want to have enough desks in case 10 new students enroll in their class. They want to have materials for a different grade level in case they get moved in a few years. They want to have materials for students that are below and above grade level. They just want to be prepared with stuff for everything. This is a noble concept, but gathering more and more can mean less and less learning.

To overcome these mindsets and craft a learning space to optimize learning, consider using these four ideas as a way to judge where letting go of things can bolster change, innovation, energy, and achievement.

Old Materials

There is no joy in having old materials in a classroom. They take up space. They send a message that the learning in the space is old and tired, and old materials take up space that could be used for storage, inspiration, and providing students with movement and choice. Look to eliminate old textbooks, binders, and curriculum materials. If you inherited a file cabinet, purge as much as possible as quickly as possible.

Worn Items

There are very few stakeholders that feel like you should make things that are broken or torn last another year. If you have duct tape on something, it is time for it to go. Students aren’t inspired by old and tired items. Even the comfy couch that seems like a cornerstone of a flexible seating experience can get old and worn. Excellent schools are moving past items before they look poor and worn. Find the five oldest things in your room. Make some intentional decisions about their role and their future in the space.

Items that are out of sync

Instruction changes over time, and the learning space needs to change with it. Make sure that support documents, posters, and resources match the purpose and design of the instruction for the classroom. Does the perimeter of the room really support the space? Does it feel like there are old items that should be in a museum versus a classroom? Are there images and resources that don’t support culturally responsive instruction? Do you have items that are left from previous teachers? Do you have items that fail to serve students?

Things that have become invisible

Items that have faded into the background create visual noise for students. In too many classrooms, there are students distracted by items on the walls. There are so many items in a classroom that are on the walls based on inertia and momentum. Continue to be intentional about all items to make sure they servea learning purpose. It is very easy for items to disappear into the walls and consume moments of attention and short-term memory from students.

Weeding the classroom is essential to an optimal modern learning environment. Make it a habit. Make it a part of planning. Make the changes based on student feedback. All of these areas are essential for an intentional design based on research.

Dr. Robert Dillon serves the students and community of the University City as Director of Innovation Learning. Prior to this position, he served as a teacher and administrator in public schools throughout the Saint Louis area. Dr. Dillon has a passion to change the educational landscape by building excellent engaging schools for all students. He has published four books. THE SPACE: A Guide for Educators, Redesigning Learning Spaces, Leading Connected Classrooms and Engage, Empower, Energize: Leading Tomorrow’s Schools Today.

Learn more about how to design optimized learning environments with The Space: A Guide for Educators!

Creating Flexible and Intellectual Learning Spaces in the Classroom

January 14, 2019

Far too often, deeper inquiry is squeezed into assembly line learning simply because the architecture and furniture of our learning environments fail to support the process. If we improve intellectual spaces in the classroom, we can change the focus from each student submitting to a series of tasks, to instead, finding their own path of learning. The change doesn’t have to be a dramatic shift in the furniture. It can start with a clear intent for the experiences we want to create for kids. Try one or more of these shifts and see how it affects your environment.

Prompt Habits of Mind in the Classroom

What do we want students to learn and accomplish in six months, or in two or ten years? What will be the lasting impact from our learning experiences? Try choosing a few life-enhancing habits of mind to focus on. Want to build more resilient learners? Dedicate a part of the wall or a bulletin board to student reflections on perseverance as a celebration and a reminder to the whole learning community. This student quote is up in Rebecca’s room now after students were asked to reflect on a photography project:

“I have discovered that producing good pieces of art requires time and patience. Most good photographs are not produced in an instant but require time to plan and prepare, and time to edit after the picture is taken.” – Luka

In building intellectual spaces, we aren’t running away from the concepts and topics that are part of the standards learned in the classroom, rather, we are recognizing that the habits of the mind are lifelong and need daily practice. Gaining resilience, perseverance, and self-determination needs to be central to the work. Introduce the vocabulary of the habits you most want to support your youngest learners. Ask all students to self-reflect on their progress and share their work.

How to Get Students to Think Harder

“Sticky learning” comes from those times when our brains hurt. How often are we creating scenarios that allow for all students to have an opportunity to think harder? How often are we forgetting to take off the training wheels? Rather than giving students scaffolded projects, try giving groups a large piece of paper, a calendar, and a simple goal. Let them work backwards from the goal by deciding what needs to be achieved, who should do it, and how much time they think it will take. Be their consultant and guide, but don’t do the heavy lifting for them.

See the Big Picture

How does all the learning connect and overlap? It takes time to see how systems connect across learning experiences. Stop placing the learning in the drawer once the unit (quarter or semester) is complete and instead, use a wall or a shared digital space like Prezi.com to connect big ideas across the curriculum. Be sure to add to it or make adjustments as you go with the students. Have students write down the key points and big ideas and then ask, “Where does this fit?” Encourage conversations and debate how to visualize how the information connects.

Build a Culture of Student Exploration

If you are generating all of the questions in the classroom, you can inadvertently mute the inquiry-based student mindset. Most of the questions that truly spark great learning don’t have an answer in a search engine. Try creating a question box that is filled with the natural curiosity of your students. These can be pulled out one at a time for a whole group quest or divided up in smaller groups. Show students that their questions are just as important as those generated by our curriculum designers and that their answers, solutions, and attempts to consider and explore these ideas are worth everyone’s time.

Examine Student Progress and Success

As students grow their intellectual endurance, meet longer-term deadlines, and self-reflect on drafts, it is important to keep them anchored in thinking about their daily success as well. Beginning the class with students thinking about what success would look like for them before they walk out the door can be a way to keep momentum and energy. Try dedicating the first few moments of class, or the day, to students set goals for themselves. The last few moments of the class should be spent on reflecting on whether the student’s actions brought them closer or further away from their goals.

Push for More Raw Material

“You can always edit a bad page. You can’t edit a blank page.”

― Jodi Picoult

Writers write a lot of words. Photographers take tons of pictures. Artists go through more drafts and ideas than are worth counting. Great demonstrations of learning emerge from the production of copious amounts of raw material. Make time and space for students to engage in the creative process. Start by having your students come up with 15 ideas for their thesis statements, or 10 ways to solve or present a problem. Help them push past the goal of finishing the task and engage in finding the most exciting and interesting ways to approach it.

Establish That Learning Isn’t a Linear Journey

Many classrooms model linear learning. There is a timeline, schedule, and route for all learning to travel. Intellectual spaces account for the spiraling nature of learning. Try giving students three choices on how to engage with the material and then three ways to express what they have learned. Try assessing their process rather than their product.

Break some habits you might have unintentionally formed. Try a few of these easy wins for a quick shift in your learning space.

Cut the Clutter
- Examine the use of horizontal spaces to collect papers and other items. Too often these areas create visual clutter in the room.
Eliminate the Front
- Find new positions in the rooms to facilitate learning. This allows a fresh perspective and new ways of supporting students.
Focus on Hard Work
- Double down on language, both verbal and non-verbal, that supports a growth mindset. By valuing hard work and process, students see learning as a journey.
Consider Classroom Norms
- Review with students the best ways to use spaces throughout the classroom. This helps students rethink space as a learning tool.
Eliminate Invisible Items
- Be intentional about what remains on the walls. If posters and resources no longer support learning, they may have reached their expiration dates.
Think Long-Term
- Clear a space for longer-term project work. Until a space is clear, it is often difficult to see the logistics of making projects like these visible.
Value Student Feedback
- Visualize student feedback in the room by creating a suggestion box. In adding this, student voice is valued. Implement their suggestions when you can to let them know that you care.
Celebrate Learning in Images
- Add images of students learning to the walls and digital displays. This helps to celebrate the learning process, while visually showcasing the learning behaviors in a modern classroom.
Break the Momentum
- Make a few adjustments to the floor plan of the room (try some from your suggestion box!). Small changes break inertia and provide a fresh lens to see the possibilities of the space.

By taking a fresh look at how your space is an intellectual space in sync with implementing some physical tweaks, you can be more intentional in your practice, which is always a win for kids. Break the inertia now. Even taking the smallest step forward will begin a journey into the designer’s mindset that can bolster the success of all students.

Rebecca Louise Hare is a design consultant, science and design educator and co-author of The Space: A Guide for Educators.

Back to School Learning Space Tips

August 27, 2018

Consider these seven questions as you design your learning space.

Learning spaces include classrooms, hallways, entryways, office spaces, a library, and so many other locations. Each can be designed to support the needs of students. Each section contains some myths around space design and some practical tips for where to begin. For more information about space design, click HERE and to get a PDF version of the Back to School Learning Space Guide, click HERE

1. Do you have a designer’s mindset?

Designers have empathy. They design with students and base all decisions on high levels of intentionality.

Three Myths:

Designing is decorating. Actually, decorating can be neat, fancy, and cute, but it rarely impacts learning.
Designing requires a specific degree. Not true. The designer’s mindset is something that all educators can grow.
Design is about specific rules. There are some rules, but they are more principles that guide our creation.

Three Things to Try:

Try noticing your space in a new way. Sit on the floor, stand in the corner. Get a new perspective.
Consider all of the decisions in your space that were based in tradition, inertia, and momentum. Make a change.
Make a list of all the things that may negatively impact the learners in your space.

2. What are your verbs?

This is the central question to space design. If you know that you want students to create, make, and design then you can design instruction and space to meet those goals.

Three Myths:

Classroom environments and instruction can be separate. Actually, both are linked and require attention to keep them in sync.
Students know the purpose of the space. Not true. We need to be explicit about the learning verbs
Great instructional design leads to engagement. This is partially true, but the learning environment plays a central role in engaging students.

Three Things to Try:

Post your verbs in the classroom and refer to them often.
Make three changes in your space designed to promote your verbs.
Co-create the verbs of your learning space with students to make sure that they know what they mean.

3. How much of your space is available to students?

There are many learning spaces where the adults consume a lot of square feet. Let’s attempt to give more space back to learning.

Three Myths:

Teacher desks are bad. Nothing is inherently bad. It is all about being intentional with every decision.
Students have access to the whole room. There are often informal barriers that keep students from believing that they can use the entire space.
Pushing everything to the edge help. Trapped spaces can be worse than limited space based on the design.

Three Things to Try:

Move some items away from the whiteboards so students have more access.
Be explicit with students that they can be anywhere in the space. Do this often.
Consolidate spaces where piles form as this space could be converted into new learning space.

4. Can you add writable space to support learning?

Having students sketch, draw and think on writable space helps to visualize learning and supports collaboration among students.

Three Myths:

Whiteboards help with individual learning. They do, but they are a great way to collaborate as well.
Adding a writable space is expensive. Actually, there are a ton of new products that can turn any space into a writable space.
Adding whiteboards is the only solution. Not true. Many current desks have a writable surface with the right markers and clean up.

Three Things to Try:

Consider using a product like Thinkboard as a way to make your desks writable.
Use Expo markers on glass and desks that are writable.
Make sure that you limit the amount of adult writing on whiteboards to save that space for kids.

5. What are the important things in your space?

Most learning spaces would be optimized with less visual stimulus and clutter. These shifts can lead to more focus and greater engagement.

Three Myths:

It is essential to save school supplies and resources. Unfortunately, this mindset can lead to clutter and excess.
There is a need to have seats for every student. This isn’t true for all classes. Students just need positions in the room, not seats.
Having all of the resources available every day is important. Actually, a good rotation of supplies and resources can keep things fresh.

Three Things to Try:

Put ten items in your trunk. If you need them, go get them, but less can be more.
Remove a desk or two and observe if it works. This can create fresh space.
Consider covering cluttered areas or turning little-used shelves around to decrease visual noise.

6. How frequent is your student feedback loop?

Student voice is essential in keeping your room agile and flexible. Student feedback should be an important element of your learning space design.

Three Myths:

We know what works for our students. This answer changes so quickly. It is important to ask often.
It is easy to get a feel for what is working in the space. Actually, so much is happening while we orchestrate the learning. We miss a lot.
Students are willing to tell us what they need. This isn’t true. Lots of our students are people pleasers, and they tend to not speak up on things like this.

Three Things to Try:

Every two weeks ask your student what they like and don’t like about the space.
Videotape segments of your class to use as feedback around engagement and movement.
Consider having students draw the ideal class and move items to show what they need in their learning space.

7. What is the non-verbal story of your space?

Every element of your space is telling the non-verbal story about your learning priorities. Craft a story that showcases the amazing things that are happening.

Three Myths:

Teachers can control the story of their classroom. There are limitations to this as every item in the room plays a part in the story of the learning.
Most people miss the details. Even when we don’t see the details, they are felt and impact the space.
Work product tells a story. It does, but images of students learning showcase to all the amazing things that are happening.

Three Things to Try:

What do you want others to say about the learning space? Make sure the details tell this story.
Allow student voice to tell your story as well. Student video and audio about your space is gold.
Visit another classroom and use the space to tell a story. This is good practice for your storytelling through space.

Dr. Robert Dillon has served as an educational leader throughout the Saint Louis area over the last twenty years as a teacher, principal, and director of innovation. He has a passion to change the educational landscape by building excellent engaging schools for all students. Dr. Dillon has had the opportunity to speak throughout the country at local, state, and national conferences as well as share his thoughts and ideas in a variety of publications. He is the author of four books on best practices in learning including co-authoring The Space: A Guide for Educators.

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