Non-traditional classroom layout tends to help students to be more productive and comfortable.
The common classroom layout is not comfortable, because it is not designed to be comfortable. It is a relic of the original school system back in the days of colonial America, when schooling was meant to prime children for factory work, with regimented and uncomfortable design meant to prepare them for entering the workforce. It was even thought that comfort would distract and hamper from this ultimate goal. Even though these beliefs and ideals have since been proven untrue, and there are few factory jobs left in America, many schools still unknowingly operate at they once did, much to the detriment of students. Some schools are starting to evolve, however, and modern classroom layouts rarely reflect these new ideas. Here are some of the ways that classroom layout can affect student learning and comfort.
Everything We Thought About Comfort Is Wrong
It used to be thought that comfort distracted from learning and productivity, but it is the exact opposite. Studies about environmental design have shown that comfort has drastic positive effects on learning, productivity, and creativity. This change in understanding has been reflected everywhere from hotels to airplanes to offices, but for some reason, it has not yet been applied largely to schools through space planning and design.
Get Rid Of Hard Seating
Many school districts spend millions on new buildings and facilities, and then get cheap when it comes to educational furniture. Most student desks and chairs are hard, uncomfortable, and do not suit the vast majority of students. Considering that students spend hours and hours every day sitting in uncomfortable chairs and desks that most of them are too small or large for, it is no wonder that many students are falling behind. In many elementary schools, the same size desks are ordered for both first graders and sixth graders, which is at the heart of the problem. Young children are the most likely to be inattentive, and this problem is not ameliorated by putting them at large unwieldy desks that are clearly not designed with them in mind.
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