Six Keys to a Classroom Makeover
I recently had the opportunity to sit down with three of the nation’s leaders in classroom design, and founders of the MTV-meets-classroom style resource, Classroom Cribs: elementary school principal Ben Gilpin, technology specialist AJ Juliani, and classroom teacher and award winning blogger, Erin Klein. In this Alliance for Excellent Education Project 24 Leadership Series Webinar, we discuss a number of keys to classroom redesign, the research behind designing a brain-friendly learning environment, and cost effective ways to transform student learning spaces. During the conversation, the following six keys to transformation became evident:
1. Student Voice is Paramount in the Design Process
In the webinar, Klein shares how it’s important for teachers to “observe students in their natural habitat and work to accommodate their needs”. Simply asking students how they’d like the room designed and what they’d like to see, as Klein recommends, helps transform the environment from one that is teacher-centric, to one that’s student-centric and designed with kids’ interests and needs in mind. In the design process, student voice matters. After all, whose classroom is it anyway?
