12 Ways to Upgrade Your Classroom Design

1. Ask your students how they work best. A student survey can be useful. Here is a sample survey.

2. Subtract-take away unused furniture (or just decorative) and only keep what you need. DECLUTTER.

3. Mix up your seating options-flexible seating allows students the freedom to stand or move while working

4. Consider the perimeter. A lot of wasted space is along the walls of your room. How can you utilize the space better?

5. Reduce your teacher footprint. Taking away some of your own personal desk space frees up classroom space for students to use. 

6. Create spaces for collaboration. Can you move some desks to form groupings, or even make them into one long rectangular 'board room' workspace for whole group discussions. Some days put them all in a circle so students can see one another. 

7. Create spaces for creation. All students benefit from the freedom to create. As students get older the product may change, but the process of creating is beneficial in the learning process no matter the age of the learner. Do you have a space where students can access materials such as markers, glue, paint, or paper freely?

8. Create writable spaces. Turn filing cabinets sideways to create a magnetic surface, or paint a thin board with chalkboard paint or whiteboard paint and mount it on the wall.

9. Create spaces for quiet. Sometimes work needs to be done quietly, and sometimes students want to work alone. Create a soft, quiet place where students can enjoy quiet. 

10. Create spaces to showcase learning. Anchor charts are a great way for students to show what they know. Allow learners to make comments on the anchor charts using sticky notes and encourage learners to provide feedback on each others work as well. Developing a gallery of great work samples allows learners to see where they are going in their own work and provides a platform for self-evaluation. 

11. Narrow your color pallet. Don't overwhelm students by having a rainbow of colors in your room. It may take a while to replace some of the tubs of books, crates, or containers if you already have a wide variety of colors. Be patient and stick to the 2-3 colors you want most in your room. 

12. Utilize the hallway. A third of all the square feet in school is hallway. Let students spread out to work outside the classroom and utilize this space.