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| A typical high school classroom today. Having a flashback? |
Raise your hand if you thought some of your classes in High School were boring.
Now be quiet (as you stare at the back of the person's head in front of you), stay in your seat (in that uncomfortable desk) and wait until I call on you (now start daydreaming).
Sound familiar? Well, if you visited your old high school classroom, you would most likely see the same seating arrangement that was there when you were dozing off in class.
Why do we continue setting up high school classrooms like this picture above? We enable students to be consumers of content and technology instead of producers of knowledge using technology. We enable them to sit and get instead of being motivated to make and take what they are learning.
There are teachers out there taking the initiative to move their students around by engaging them in meaningful activities, and I applaud them. Unfortunately, teachers do not always have the support and resources to design their classrooms the way they know their students will learn best. We know that teachers have little if no say about which classroom they teach in. Sure, they can rearrange their wooden or metal desks, maybe even put some pictures on the walls. But, often times, that is about it. It is not uncommon for high school teachers to have to share rooms, schlep their "classroom" around on a cart wherever there is space to teach their students for that period. Honestly, the most charismatic and interesting teacher doesn't have a chance to completely engage all their students if their learners are sitting in uncomfortable desks, unable to move around because there is not enough space to go anywhere.
And what about 21st century mobile technology? Isn't the point to allow users to be mobile: digitally and physically? Students don't have to be tethered down with a device, yet their bodies are tethered to their desks and chairs.
Why do High School classrooms require students to sit in rows and be quiet over and over all day long?
Do you know of any job out there that requires you to sit in a row and be quiet for long periods of time each day?
Do you know of any job out there that requires you to sit in a row and be quiet for long periods of time each day?
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| What if? Let's inspire creativity and collaboration with a balance of individual work space and room to move. |
My Two Cents (actually, 5 cents...)
- Get with the 21st century: Do you live in a home that looks like it did in 1937? Your office? Your car? Your furniture resemble 1930's decor? How about your kitchen? Your bathroom (never mind)? Do you still use a manual typewriter? We need to remodel, develop, create and change these high school classrooms. They look extremely similar to this one from 1937. Thank goodness fashion has changed!
- Balance of traditional and new teaching and learning methods: Teachers need support, and by that I mean progressive professional development, opportunities to go out and see places where the set up is there or at least images, sharing of ideas. Let them have time to talk about what arrangements they have tried and talk to other professional teachers about what has worked or not worked in their classrooms. Then they can take their traditional methods (yes, lecture and whole group teaching still has its place) and mix in the new methods of delivering curriculum in a classroom which is set up to engage students.
- Developing hard skills: The content needs to be taught, but it can be and should be taught in a multitude of ways to a wide variety of learners. Requiring students to sit in rows hour after hour because the furniture impedes active listening and movement is only going to make the skills gap wider. How are they going to retain any information when they aren't paying attention?
- Acknowledging the importance of soft skills: This is a huge issue right now with our youth. We keep hearing from employers that many of high schools students are unemployable, mainly because of their soft skills. They struggle with manners, ethics, responsibility, social interaction, time management...the list goes on. What better way to practice the soft skills required to function as a successful citizen then in the high school classroom? It doesn't have to be separated from the classroom activities, in fact, it shouldn't be. Acknowledge there needs to be interactive dialogue among the students. Timeliness and your best work is expected. How do HS teachers do this, especially with students who are not motivated? It's challenging, but having an open, movable environment can expose them to more experiences of teamwork, responsibility, independent activities, and following through with projects then "sitting and getting" the content all day.
- Include students in the designing and collaborative process: You want students to buy into what you are teaching? You want students to enjoy school? Show them the school is built for them. Let them give input on how the furniture should be placed for different activities. If possible, let them vote on furniture being purchased. If safety allows, have them rearrange the furniture themselves. Encourage student ownership of their work space. That's real world.
Our bodies were made to move and our minds were made to be used.
Here's your hall pass to support active, not passive, learning.
Be sure to check out this guy:
Geoff Mulgan:
http://www.ted.com/talks/geoff_mulgan_a_short_intro_to_the_studio_school?utm_source=hootsuite&utm_medium=socialmedia
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