Are you officially back at school yet?!
If not, I imagine you have at least visited your classroom and are starting to feel those goosebumps imaginging it will be like when students walk in on the first day!
Last week I shared some activities to ensure students are at the CENTER. But how about the room setup? What do student-centered classrooms look like?
Pictured above is a student-centered classroom at Gompers Preparatory Academy in San Diego. What stands out to you?
Perhaps you notice that there are varied lighting fixtures; seating arrangements; and use of space. You also might be thinking, wait Kyle, where are the rows of seats and chairs facing the teacher? There aren’t any.
In student-centered environments, EVERYONE’S a teacher.
Here are 7 dead easy hacks to make your classroom Student-Centered as well:
- Purchase pop up tents and lava lamps at a local garage sale and create a space for focused reading and writing in our classroom corner.
- Buy cheap, cushioned blocks from IKEA and stack them in the corner of the room. Use them for a quick class huddle, circle time, or open work period.
- Purchase chalk paint at the local hardware store and transform the pillars in our room into writable surfaces.
- Recycle scrap wood blocks from the local construction site and use them to transform a few of our sitting desks into standing workstations.
- Cut a large piece of whiteboard into small rectangular pieces and make it accessible in an open cupboard for peer-to- peer teaching.
- Get rejected carpet square samples from the home decoration shop and spread them out on the hardwood floor for circle time.
- Buy a cheap plug-in stovetop and place it next to your sink for meal sharing.
Most importantly, INCLUDE students in the process of classroom design. Providing them with this sense of ownership will build a student-centered culture from day one.
Any more ideas? I would love to hear them and share with the community. :-) Just shoot me a quick response in an email. And…
Gain More Ideas for Building Student-Centered Environments
In case you haven’t heard (but really, I don’t see how that’s possible :-)), I recently published a book chalk full of stories, strategies and structures to shift from a Teacher-Led to Student-Centered Environment in the new school year.
You can get that here: ‘Where is the Teacher: 12 Shifts for Student-Centered Environments.’
Join the 1,000 + teachers I have already trained and commit to making one of the 12 distinct shifts and I promise that you will experience a transformation like never before. You will watch once passive students transform into empowered, active citizens who take charge of their learning.
Here’s to building a STUDENT-CENTERED Day One.
Welcome Back!
Your [Co] Learning Experience Designer,
