Educators, Designers Look to Change Traditional Classroom Furniture

 

For much of the past hundred years, classrooms have been designed with the teacher seated in front of desks for students. The desks are almost always positioned in lines facing the teacher.

But many educators now say children can do better in a less structured learning environment. And designers have been providing spaces and seating to meet those suggestions.

Bob Pearlman works as an education consultant¹ in the United States. He helps teachers and school administrators² with educational planning and other issues. He told The Associated Press that traditional classrooms are a thing of the past. Now students work in “extended learning areas” that include project-planning rooms, workrooms, and laboratories, as well as learning spaces for groups and individuals.

Pearlman points to Albemarle County Public Schools, in Charlottesville, Virginia. The school system invited teams from all its schools to develop learning spaces that would help students deal with complex ideas and work on creative building projects. Now, its elementary school classes have exchanged traditional desks for things like soft seating and connectable tables.

Another change to the design of classrooms is the ability to connect to the internet.

“Classrooms, libraries, and [laboratories] used to be the only spaces where students spent their school hours. Wireless³, laptops and project learning have changed that,” Pearlman said. He noted⁴ that this has made all school spaces into possible extended learning areas.

Jo Earp is with Teacher magazine, a publication of the nonprofit Australian Council for Educational Research. She notes that in the 1970s, American Robert Sommer was urging a critical look at traditional classroom designs. Sommer was a psychologist. He believed that in any given room, the lighting⁵ or heating will be better in some places than in others.

Earp said that in addition to newer “freeform” classroom designs, some teachers can find good results with designs that combine new and old ideas. They could try lining⁶ up desks at the start of the year and then placing them in groups as the classroom relationships become clearer and project work begins.

Natural light, reduced outside noise and good air quality are all considerations in classroom design, says Aaron Jobson. He is with the Quattrocchi Kwok Architects in Santa Rosa, California.

“More and more evidence connects the physical environment to learning outcomes,” Jobson said.

New designs include glass walls inside buildings and doors that increase connectedness among students and create more open space for teachers.

A major supporter of nontraditional, explorative learning spaces is David Thornburg, who wrote the book “From the Campfire to the Holodeck.” He says schools should provide spaces based on how humans learn. That could mean one room is used in different ways at different times, or in different ways at the same time.

Loren Myers teaches at a public charter school in San Jose, California. She says redesigning traditional schools can be costly⁷, and teachers do not have big budgets. So she noted that many teachers get creative with what little money they have to create a specially⁸ designed classroom.

In her class, Myers set up a space where students can calm down and a special workplace for students who demonstrate good behavior.

Over the years, famous designers have lent their abilities to school furniture — among them, Jean Prouve, Alvar Aalto and Arne Jacobsen. Today, classroom furniture includes all kinds of seating, with work tables of different heights.

Imagine Charter Schools, which operates schools in nine U.S. states, offers colorful seating that turns in different directions and other soft seating. Montessori schools have soft lighting similar to home environments, and simpler furniture than traditional classrooms.

Marianne Box is a design specialist at school-furniture maker⁹ Hertz Furniture, in Ramsey, New Jersey¹⁰. She says movable pieces are big sellers at the company. They are designed to help control children’s energy levels, and give them places to center their attention.

Self-contained study areas have power supplies for computers, footrests and armrests.

Teacher Loren Myers loves that designers are coming up with more seating choices for young students.

“Children shouldn’t be expected to sit still in a chair for more than 20 minutes at a time,” she says. “Sometimes it’s as simple as switching where and how you sit that can set the tone for the rest of your day.”

I’m Pete Musto.

Words in This Story

desk(s) – n. a piece of furniture that is like a table and often has drawers

elementary school – n. a school in the U.S. for young children

libraries – n. places where books, magazines, and other materials, such as videos and musical recordings¹¹, are available for people to use or borrow

laptop(s) – n. a small computer that is designed to be easily carried

psychologist – n. a scientist who specializes in the study and treatment of the mind and behavior

outcome(s) – n. something that happens as a result of an activity or process

charter school – n. a school that is established by a document issued by a government that gives rights to a person or group, is run by teachers and parents, and uses tax money but does not have to be run according to the rules of a city or state

furniture – n. chairs, tables, or beds that are used to make a room ready for use

tone – n. the general quality of a place or situation

1 consultant   

n.顾问；会诊医师，专科医生

参考例句：

• He is a consultant on law affairs to the mayor.他是市长的一个法律顾问。
• Originally,Gar had agreed to come up as a consultant.原来，加尔只答应来充当我们的顾问。

2 administrators   

n.管理者( administrator的名词复数 )；有管理（或行政）才能的人；（由遗嘱检验法庭指定的）遗产管理人；奉派暂管主教教区的牧师

参考例句：

• He had administrators under him but took the crucial decisions himself. 他手下有管理人员，但重要的决策仍由他自己来做。 来自辞典例句
• Administrators have their own methods of social intercourse. 办行政的人有他们的社交方式。 来自汉英文学 - 围城

3 wireless   

adj.无线的；n.无线电

参考例句：

• There are a lot of wireless links in a radio.收音机里有许多无线电线路。
• Wireless messages tell us that the ship was sinking.无线电报告知我们那艘船正在下沉。

4 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

5 lighting   

n.照明，光线的明暗，舞台灯光

参考例句：

• The gas lamp gradually lost ground to electric lighting.煤气灯逐渐为电灯所代替。
• The lighting in that restaurant is soft and romantic.那个餐馆照明柔和而且浪漫。

6 lining   

n.衬里，衬料

参考例句：

• The lining of my coat is torn.我的外套衬里破了。
• Moss makes an attractive lining to wire baskets.用苔藓垫在铁丝篮里很漂亮。

7 costly   

adj.昂贵的，价值高的，豪华的

参考例句：

• It must be very costly to keep up a house like this.维修这么一幢房子一定很昂贵。
• This dictionary is very useful,only it is a bit costly.这本词典很有用，左不过贵了些。

8 specially   

adv.特定地；特殊地；明确地

参考例句：

• They are specially packaged so that they stack easily.它们经过特别包装以便于堆放。
• The machine was designed specially for demolishing old buildings.这种机器是专为拆毁旧楼房而设计的。

9 maker   

n.制造者，制造商

参考例句：

• He is a trouble maker，You must be distant with him.他是个捣蛋鬼，你不要跟他在一起。
• A cabinet maker must be a master craftsman.家具木工必须是技艺高超的手艺人。

10 jersey   

n.运动衫

参考例句：

• He wears a cotton jersey when he plays football.他穿运动衫踢足球。
• They were dressed alike in blue jersey and knickers.他们穿着一致，都是蓝色的运动衫和灯笼短裤。

11 recordings   

n.记录( recording的名词复数 )；录音；录像；唱片

参考例句：

• a boxed set of original recordings 一套盒装原声录音带
• old jazz recordings reissued on CD 以激光唱片重新发行的老爵士乐