Teachers Agree: Classroom Design Can Help Learning, and More Room is Better

Teachers Agree: Classroom Design Can Help Learning, and More Room is Better

If educators could create the ideal classroom, they'd give themselves more room, and it would be more open and flexible and include collaborative spaces. According to a recent survey, those bigger spaces enable group work, discussions and independent learning, while smaller rooms are more likely to lead to distractions that deter learning.

As one teacher reported, "We teach classes of as many as 36 students. In some classrooms, students are practically on top of each other. There is no space to have quiet conversations, to work on writing, to do book groups. Space is premium."

The way the room is designed and set up affects student success; 94 percent of teachers said they believe that having a "positive environment" improved learning either highly (60 percent) or moderately (34 percent).

Those results came out of a research project undertaken by MDR, an education-focused marketing services agency, and a trade organization, the Education Market Association. Between May and June, a total of 1,685 teachers and librarian/media specialists filled out an online survey, intended to help researchers understand how the design of learning spaces affected student outcomes.

A goodly number of educators like to reconfigure their classrooms frequently; 30 percent said they change up their rooms between once a week and "multiple times a day."

The top pedagogical goal for any redesign effort: to accommodate the use of new technology, cited by 56 percent of survey participants. However, after remodeling projects were done, under a third of teachers (30 percent) found that their pedagogical goals aligned with their new physical space; the majority (52 percent) said it simply made the room more "attractive or functional."

Other findings included these:

  • According to respondents, the features that were most important for classroom learning were, in ranked order:
    1. Accommodating different learning styles (88 percent);
    2. Incorporating technology (87 percent);
    3. Allowing for movement and "less sedentary behavior" (85 percent);
    4. Manipulating lighting (81 percent); and
    5. Incorporating outside views and natural light (78 percent).
  • Technology improvements outshone many other desired projects, including changes to the orientation of the room (71 percent vs. 30 percent), adding or remodeling maker spaces (71 percent vs. 31 percent) or adding open concept spaces (71 percent vs. 37 percent).
  • Nearly three-quarters of educators (72 percent) believed their classroom environment was either "very" or "somewhat" conducive to 21st-century learning. However, teachers working in schools with high poverty-levels (surpassing 30 percent) were also less likely to consider their current environments "conducive" (68 percent) compared to people in schools reporting the lowest poverty level (80 percent).

"Teachers across the country overwhelmingly agree that creative learning spaces play an important role in student engagement," said Melissa Pelletier, MDR education research editor and an author of the study, in a statement. She added that the report is intended to help companies that work with schools "gain valuable insights into what teachers believe creates learning environments that encourage all students to collaborate, develop critical thinking skills, and achieve their highest potential."

The report is priced at $1,499. More information is available on the MDR website.

About the Author

Dian Schaffhauser is a former senior contributing editor for 1105 Media's education publications THE Journal, Campus Technology and Spaces4Learning.

Featured

  • teacher writing on whiteboard in office

    It's Never Too Early to Plan for Back-to-School

    School's out for summer, but teacher planning and purchasing for the upcoming year has only just begun.

  • elementary school building with children outside, overlaid by a glowing data network and transparent graphs

    Toward a Holistic Approach to Data-Informed Decision-Making in Education

    With increasing access to data and powerful analytic tools, the temptation to reduce educational outcomes to mere numbers is strong. However, educational leadership demands a more holistic and thoughtful approach.

  • stylized illustration of a desktop, laptop, tablet, and smartphone all displaying an orange AI icon

    Survey: AI Shifting from Cloud to PCs

    A recent Intel-commissioned report identifies a significant shift in AI adoption, moving away from the cloud and closer to the user. Businesses are increasingly turning to the specialized hardware of AI PCs, the survey found, recognizing their potential not just for productivity gains, but for revolutionizing IT efficiency, fortifying data security, and delivering a compelling return on investment by bringing AI capabilities directly to the edge.

  • school building connected by lines to symbols of AI, data charts, and a funding document with a dollar sign

    ED Offers Guidance on the Use of Federal Grants to Support Learner Outcomes with AI

    The United States Department of Education has provided new guidance on how K-12 and higher education institutions may use federal grant funds "to support improved outcomes for learners through the responsible integration of artificial intelligence."