Rethinking Classroom Design

Create Student-Centered Learning Spaces for 6-12th Graders

Todd Finley and Blake Wiggs

Have you ever entered a building or room for the first time and felt enhanced--felt your body relax and spirit elevate? The effect of human-made environments on learners’ brains is not subjective. According to research studies, we all have measurable responses to the design of a space.

However, despite the many resources discussing how to decorate and design elementary school classrooms, few resources on middle and secondary level classroom design are available. This book fills that gap. Moreover, the purpose of this guide is to enhance learning spaces, boost student performances, and positively extend teachers’ influence.

Every instance where you make well-considered decisions about your classroom helps students lead self-actualized lives. This book will help you make those decisions by providing information about everything from students’ favorite seating arrangements to what temperature is ideal for learning. And learners will feel that effort every time they step foot in your room.

Rowman & Littlefield Publishers

Pages: 116 • Trim: 6¼ x 9½

978-1-4758-1852-9 • Hardback • March 2016 • $75.00 • (£58.00)

978-1-4758-1853-6 • Paperback • March 2016 • $38.00 • (£30.00)

978-1-4758-1854-3 • eBook • March 2016 • $36.00 • (£30.00)

Subjects: Education / Classroom Management

Rethinking Classroom Design

Create Student-Centered Learning Spaces for 6-12th Graders

Hardback

Paperback

eBook

Summary

Have you ever entered a building or room for the first time and felt enhanced--felt your body relax and spirit elevate? The effect of human-made environments on learners’ brains is not subjective. According to research studies, we all have measurable responses to the design of a space.

However, despite the many resources discussing how to decorate and design elementary school classrooms, few resources on middle and secondary level classroom design are available. This book fills that gap. Moreover, the purpose of this guide is to enhance learning spaces, boost student performances, and positively extend teachers’ influence.

Every instance where you make well-considered decisions about your classroom helps students lead self-actualized lives. This book will help you make those decisions by providing information about everything from students’ favorite seating arrangements to what temperature is ideal for learning. And learners will feel that effort every time they step foot in your room.

Details

Rowman & Littlefield Publishers

Pages: 116 • Trim: 6¼ x 9½

978-1-4758-1852-9 • Hardback • March 2016 • $75.00 • (£58.00)

978-1-4758-1853-6 • Paperback • March 2016 • $38.00 • (£30.00)

978-1-4758-1854-3 • eBook • March 2016 • $36.00 • (£30.00)

Subjects: Education / Classroom Management

Author

Todd Finley, PhD, is an associate professor of English Education at East Carolina University and an Edutopia assistant editor and blogger. His professional blog is Seven Degrees of Education.

Blake Wiggs is an educator and instructional coach at North Carolina New Schools and designs professional learning experiences for schools and districts.

Table of Contents

Foreword
Terry Heick

Acknowledgments
Chapter 1: The Classroom Design Process
Chapter 2: The Basic Parts of a Room
Chapter 3: The Second Teacher: Bulletin Boards
Chapter 4: Student Seating Configurations
Chapter 5: Extending the Classroom: Blended Learning
Chapter 6: Classroom Design with Classroom Management in Mind
Chapter 7: The Teacher’s Desk: Conquering Clutter
Chapter 8: Student Work: The Input-Output System
Chapter 9: Concluding Thoughts
Index
About the Authors

Reviews

By reading a book about classroom design—this book about classroom design—you have a chance to organize your teaching in a way that supports all of the other professional development and reading and twittering and reflection you do.
— Terry Heick, Director of TeachThought

Improving the quality of classroom environments supports improvements in the quality of instruction. Finley and Wiggs give teachers and principals practical strategies for creating the classrooms we need today.
— Jeff Theus, principal of Ayden Middle School

The physical layout of the classroom has a significant impact on teaching and learning; nevertheless, this essential component of instruction is often overlooked. This book provides teachers and administrators with the fundamental tools to immediately change the learning paradigm for all students.
— Patricia L. Hilliard, PhD, Director of STEM Accelerator, NC New Schools/Breakthrough Learning

This is now my go-to guide for classroom design and organization. Thank you, Finley and Wiggs, for providing an accessible research-based tool that empowers educators to rethink student learning environments.
— Sonja McKay, M.Ed., NBCT, Teacher at The Exploris School