Week 6: IDE(a)L Learning Space
Image by Daria Shetova on Unsplash.
I am a blessed human being. I am at a point in my life where I have an office, which I spend very little time in thanks to the ongoing Covid pandemic, and my own study. Both my office and study are air-conditioned and have large tables and ergonomic chairs. Yet, I spend most of my time working and studying on my sofa-bed with a coffee table next to it. I’ve always found myself to be more productive lying down. Even before I was studying using computers, I’d lie chest down on my bed to read or take notes.
Sorry Robben (2016), but I respectfully disagree. Nevertheless, let’s get on with the post before I digress too much and switch on Crusader mode.
So, I sat (okay, lay) down and decided on three criteria for what in my opinion is the ideal learning space. While it is more likely for these to be easily achieved in a personal learning space, it is possible (to some extent) to apply them to a group setting. Interestingly, it seems like my ideal learning space supports the online class.
Comfortable
Image 1: This is a picture of my former-colleague teaching a secondary 2 class.
It was hard to concentrate for long hours sitting in a rigid plastic chair in a stuffy classroom with 39 other students. This is was my secondary school experience (see image 1 above, which was taken from the very secondary school I studied and taught at). It is still the default setting for most schools in Singapore today. Nair (2014) proposes that students need to be comfortable to learn and some aspects of such an environment include “ergonomic seating and other furnishings, ample daylight, lots of fresh air, and well-designed artificial lighting and acoustics’ (as cited in Persaud, 2014).
I believe that being physically comfortable also reduces anxiety, which makes students more likely to openly share their views. Outside of the classroom, most of us would put some consideration in selecting our preferred setting when we want to have an insightful discussion, pitch a new idea to a client or propose to our partner.
Flexible
The flexible classroom isn’t exactly a new idea. A good example can be seen in the following video produced University of Michigan Engineering (2017). Classrooms in most higher education allow for some flexibility with moveable tables, chairs and whiteboards. Flexibility allows the teacher and students to reconfigure the setting to suit their needs. Learners can work alone or collaborate in groups. Teachers can also, according to Professor Yalisove in the video, play with “team dynamics… and tap into that the collective intelligence” that the students bring.
However, most institutions have rules when using these settings. One very common rule, from my experience, is that students are usually not allowed to bring in any food or drink. I get it. These rooms are expensive, with all the fancy equipment and furniture. But, the problem is these rules aren’t implemented for pedagogical reasons. It may be a cliché to bring in Maslow’s hierarchy of needs in my argument but it is hard to imagine a hungry student being productive.
For me, this flexibility goes beyond the classroom design. As a teacher, I allow for some bending of these rules. My students are allowed to bring in a cup of coffee or a drink, if they explain to me how they will prevent spillage. I also think this is a good way for them to exercise some critical thinking. I’ve had a student who ingeniously attach a cup holder to his table.
Individualised
I’ve always found it hypocritical that we, teachers, expect a student to take ownership of his or her learning and learning space but rarely allow him or her to individualise or truly make it his or hers. We expect them to keep their desks, chairs and the area around them clean. They aren’t supposed to vandalise the furniture. Moreover, we tell students that they are all unique and different learners and that they should play to their strengths but rarely ever allow them to manipulate their environment.
In a recent study, Barrett, et al. (2015) found that ownership is one of the seven factors that account for “16% of the variation in pupil’s learning” (p 118). Perhaps, the first step to getting student to take ownership of their learning is to take ownership of their environment.
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