Collaborative Spaces
August 2021
My class - the only one in the senior (year 5-6) team with modern furniture. Many teachers made comments like, 'you'll learn The renovation of our hundred year old classrooms has finished. A remarkable project that was completed in record time. I was fully preparing myself to be in the hall with another class for the rest of the year.
Now we have been in with new modern furniture and have settled in. I was fortunate to have a collaborative education facilitator give advice on my classroom layout. The reasons behind everything she recommended was really interesting. The way a classroom area is set up gives messages to students. For example if there is a teachers book on any table, students may not sit there as it looks like that is where the teacher is going to sit.
The aim is to have the work spaces around the outside of the class. I do not have a teachers desk. I have a small coffee table and a chair next to the small portable whiteboard and close to the TV. I try to move around the room and sit in different places throughout the day, after the students have chosen where they will work for that lesson.
Our shared break out space. Plenty of pillows and a two person work space.
This space tells students they can get comfortable on the floor with beanbags and pillows to read.
Nice to have a small work space 1for students to sit and read if they don't want to be on the floor.
Break up the furniture into little pods of twos.
Having coloured chairs that go with that pod can help if you are delegating students to different spaces.
This is my favourite work space. I never thought to make a divider. This creates two work spaces of three. This is also clear with orange stools on one side and green on the other.
If students are side by side, they are more likely to be more focused on their work. If they are face to face across from each other, they are more likely to chat while they talk. There are times when you need both. The classroom can be moved around to suit your lessons need.
Kneeling spaces are another comfortable option for those students who like to work sitting on the floor.
I love these high tables. They balance out the noise in the room. Remember students facing each other are more likely to chat. If you do not want this for the lesson, perhaps move the table against a wall.
There are enough seats in the classroom for every student. However, these trays are also an option. Click here to buy your own from Spotlight for $8.
You may have notices that I have a few indoor plants in my class. I love how they give a homely atmosphere. They can also teach responsibility as students learn how to look after them. They provide oxygen which can enhance concentration and create a calming place to work. Check out what indoor plants could suit your classroom.
Use the beautiful views you have out your classroom windows.
Another pod of two. However, this is close to my whiteboard. I am very aware that if I put anything of mine on this table, students will not sit here. However, it works great for a testing area or conferencing space.
This is a really tricky piece of furniture. Usually a student sits in the center and rules the table. However, with it against a window like this or a wall, it is a pleasant place to work alongside others. When I need to use it as a modelling table, I simply move it.
In the April 2019 blog post below, I was in a single cell classroom with old furniture, trying to create collaborative spaces. The contrast to what I have now is amazing.
April 2019
My class - the only one in the senior (year 5-6) team with modern furniture. Many teachers made comments like, 'you'll learn to hate it like all the teachers who were in here before you.'
I saw this as an opportunity to try something different and make collaborative learning spaces where students like working.
I decided to have my teachers desk included as a working space for everyone. This took a bit of time to wrap my head around. Instead, I used the A frame white board as my moveable space. I put things that I need all the time in the draws and I moved it to wherever I was working in the classroom. Any other resources that were not used regularly were stored in a cupboard. This encouraged me to have a good clean out of my resources. Any examples of students work that I wanted to keep, I scanned and have stored in a digital folder. Alot of resource books I own have digital resources on a disk, so I uploaded those and took the books home.
Decluttering is such a good feeling.
Teachers Station
The whiteboard all my everyday resources were stored in. The only space in the classroom, besides a cupboard that was filled with my things.
It was awesome seeing the students faces as they came into their new set up. Together we names each space and the students created expectations for each area, such as how many people could work there at a time. This was important, especially for productive work to be done in the tent. Noise level in the different areas was included. The single desk spaces were identified as a good place to go and work alone if students felt distracted.
To take the expectations for the learning spaces further, students made videos on how not to behave each space , and how to behave in the space. This was funny and enjoyable but also led to serious discussions. The students liked the opportunity to be a little silly.
The Pod
A space to work alone without distraction.
The Pods
Rainbow Table
A space for collaboration.
Koru Table
The teachers desk used for collaboration.
Snake Table
A space for collaboration.
Caterpillar Table
A space for collaboration.
Chill Out Zone
A quiet place to chill out and work from on beanbags and cushions.
Sky Tower Table
Collaborative work either sitting on high chairs or standing.
Bat Cave
Two people to work quietly in this space.
Buddy Table
A place to work with a buddy on cushions.
Even nine and ten year old children love little cosy spaces to work in. A piece of fabric can help students look forward to reading in a special place. The class tent was very exciting for students. Pillows were donated by parents and the tent was $12 from KMart. We have a small classroom but manages to make room for it and the kids loved working in there. The teacher table was being used a lot more efficiently than before. The draws were set up for uncompleted work, instead of always having piles of students work that needed to be finished on my desk. Students could manage all of that themselves.
I love education. I love that I am always learning and always challenging myself professionally. What worked for one class, does not necessarily work for the next. Keeps me on my toes and no two days are the same!