How Unique Furniture Can Change a Classroom
The modern classroom has changed from yesteryear as we equip our learners better with digital literacy skills and present them with hands-on learning opportunities. It’s a long way from thirty wooden desks and a chalkboard. A 21st-century education now consists of collaborative learning through discussion and brainstorming with teacher-led instruction.
Creating learning spaces that are unique to each student and unique to each school is something that more classroom teachers are looking into. Furniture goes a long way in constructing a perfect classroom environment that supports the educator, the pedagogy, and the needs of the students.
When examining old school classrooms, they definitely are not made for discussion and collaboration. Rows of small desks that are all facing the same direction do not go along with a 21st-century learning experience. Learning spaces should be flexible enough to change at a moment’s notice depending on the activity or the lesson. Also, it must be capable of integrating technology into all areas of the space. Collaborative learning spaces can be made either for a large group or for just a few students. The days where a teacher stands in front of the class all day long and lectures have passed.
When finding the perfect furniture for your classroom, you are probably facing a small budget. School districts will only kick in so much money if you want to redesign your classroom, usually enough for a bucket of paint and a whiteboard. Here are some tips that may help you out in your quest to remake your classroom into a 21st-century learning environment.
Garage Sales or Craigslist
There are a lot of useful pieces of furniture at garage sales or on Craigslist that you could incorporate into classroom use very easily. More and more teachers are moving away from having desks and instead use tables where students can collaborate and do group projects. Garage sales are great places to find a table for a cheap price. Be sure to mention to them that you are a teacher and this will be in your classroom. A small comment like that could result in them giving you the table instead of having to buy it. If you choose to go with Craigslist, always have someone else come with you. You can never be too careful when picking up an item.
Bus Barn
Older schools often have a bus barn of some sort on their property. Bus barns were more popular when districts would actually buy the buses that they used day in and day out. Now they tend to basically rent the buses from a company and never have to store them. This means that the old bus barn does not see much action anymore. Schools often use it now for storage of old furniture and textbooks instead.
My school was getting ready to demolish their bus barn and asked if anyone would like anything out of it first. I fought through the cobwebs and rescued a bunch of really nice chairs that were last used in the 1970s. I also found what I thought originally was a ten-foot long, four-foot high bookcase. After some research, it was discovered that it had come from the old music room and was built for the students to store their instruments in. All the little cubby holes that the piece provided was a welcomed addition to my classroom.
Storage and Functionality
Storage in a classroom is always important. You want to make sure that you are using every square inch of your storage space because it is such precious a commodity. As classrooms fill up with 25 to 30 students, everything is a tight squeeze. With this mind, find benches or tables that also have storage built into them.
Change the Surfaces of Your Desks and Tables
There are new pieces of furniture currently being produced for classroom use where the surface of the desk or table is completely writable. The top of the desk or table basically functions as a whiteboard for the student. While this creative furniture can cost a pretty penny, I went out and bought rolls of adhesive whiteboard rolls for less than twenty dollars. I applied it to all the desks in my room in a matter of a couple hours. We used them every day for almost every subject area. It was one of the best things I ever did for my classroom. The students loved it and it was a handy way to practice spelling or math facts.
If you would like to find more ways to improve your classroom and better equip it for the 21st century, iAchieve can help. There are numerous professional development sessions offered that will guide you in the right direction. In addition, visit some other classrooms that are not located in your hallway. It always helps to see what other educators are doing.
Written by Ryan Crawley
Interested in our teacher professional development programs? Contact us today to learn how our programs help maintain high standards of teaching and further the growth of all educators!
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