Ideal Layouts For Modern Classrooms

Classrooms should be efficient and flexible. It is important to consider the layout and whether the space has been utilized properly. In some schools, movable partitions are used to adjust the available space of a room and sometimes the whole rooms can be combined for specific purposes. Flexibility should make good sense in any school settings. Even if we don’t use movable demising wall, we could easily divide large rectangular space with rolling acoustical walls. It may also be a good idea to choose partitions with integrated acoustical dampening. In elementary schools, teacher’s desk is often located next to the door, so it is easy to monitor who enters or exits the room. This should make sense when teachers need to deal with younger children. It should make more sense to incorporate enough exit and entrance doors in college classrooms to create fewer disruptions.

It is also important to consider the ideal ceiling height in the classroom. When possible, any classroom should have high ceiling clearance minimize stuffiness, due to lack of air circulation. Classrooms with low ceiling could cause students to become drowsy and tired more easily. Higher ceiling also improves the acoustics factors o the classroom, so students can hear things that teachers have to say. Classrooms should also be energy efficient and they need to require the least maintenance. Carpeting should be used only on specific areas, like library, but not in classrooms. The tile should be sufficiently durable, because any classroom is a high-traffic area and we can expect students to step on each tile almost continuously, as they sit and walk inside the classroom. With durable tiles, schools should be able to reduce the amount of maintenance.

Teachers are essential elements of any classroom and it is important to make sure that we allocate enough room for them. In modern classrooms, teachers need to be as tech-savvy as their students and we should consider this fact when we design a classroom. The teacher’s location should have enough USB inputs, network equipments and electrical outlets to accommodate all the equipments and gadgets to support the educational process. They should be able to easily share learning material, news articles, videos, photos and PowerPoint presentations. Educational content can be stored in personal mobile devices, such as smartphones, tablets and laptops; they should be shareable between teacher and students, or among students themselves. To better improve space utilizations, we should be able to roll the teacher’s podium out of the way.

It is also a good idea to have collaborative space that allows for flexible and smart space. We can replace traditional desks with more flexible ones, especially if the y can contribute to collaborative learning. These kind of desks and tables are usually used in chemistry labs, but they can also be used in standard classrooms to encourage students collaborate on specific group tasks of projects. These desks could accommodate up to six people and there’s enough room for printed materials, laptops and other features.