Take Your Learning With You Wherever You Go: "Is Classroom Design (Still) a Thing?" Classrooms in a COVID context.

It's hard to believe, but I started my Classroom Design journey 10 years ago. From the beginning of my teaching career, from my first portable 30 years ago, I always thought about the way classrooms affect learning. It wasn't until I started this blog though that I actually began to act on this idea. I started blogging here for a few reasons:

1. I wanted to document my journey and my thinking.

2. Writing is a creative outlet for me, but it is also a way for me to process and reflect.

3. I wanted to share and reach out to anyone else who was thinking about Classroom Design for feedback, support, and for more ideas.

At the time, not a lot of people were thinking about how the way classrooms are set up affects learning. I remember working on this blog at the beginning, and my father in-law asked me, "Is Classroom Design a thing?" It was a foreign idea for him, thinking back to the classrooms he was in as a boy.

I haven't blogged much lately, other things taking up my time, but I have been thinking a lot about classroom design lately, and not by choice. In case you are from another planet or you are reading this many years in the future, due to the COVID 19 pandemic, schools were closed in the spring. In my jurisdiction (Vancouver-area, British Columbia, Canada), we shut down in March and returned to school with limited amounts of students in class in June. We were one of the few provinces to return in June.

What did June look like in my classroom?

On Monday and Tuesday, I had 7 students in class. On Thursday and Friday, I had 4 students. (The rest of my 12 students I taught through home-based assignments and video conferences on Wednesdays).
For the in-class students, every morning, I met them outside (I wore gloves and a face shield) and took them back to the classroom to wash their hands. They waited in line around the perimeter of my classroom which was marked with a vinyl tape line.
Every day, we reviewed the safety and hygiene procedures.
I rolled up the carpet, pushed the risers to the back, and brought in some desks. Each student was able to have their own desk and chair. It was their spot and they were 2 m away from each other.
Each student had their own bin of materials, and their own individual work.

2 m spaced desks

What did I think of teaching like this in June?

The in-class teaching was scary at first. It felt really weird and we were all afraid of infecting each other after being isolated for three months. The students did an excellent job of following the safety protocols and keeping their distance. This was all doable because there were less than 10 students.

In class learning went very well, however, trying to maintain online learning and staying connected to the 12 home students while seeing them once per week, was very, very challenging. When we went for summer break, I was burned out. I felt like pond scum. I felt so bad that I thought I had contracted COVID (I tested negative). It took me until late July to start feeling okay again.

What does this have to do with Classroom Design, Greg? or "Is Classroom Design Still a Thing?"

Classroom design is impacted by COVID in these different learning conditions:

1. At home learning and Classroom Design
2. Return to class in June and Classroom Design
3. Starting new in September and Classroom Design

1. At Home Learning and Classroom Design

The feedback I received from parents was that though at home learning was not the same was classroom learning, they thought the transition (to home learning) went better than they thought it would. They cited as a reason that we had built a good working and supportive community within the class. At school, this class really liked being with each other and the design of the class (with the risers for whole class, the tables for collaboration, the tall stools looking out at the beautiful view for inspiration, the rug spaces for play or for stretching out on the ground, etc.) made it possible for different kinds of choices, learning, and interactions.

(A few photos of the classroom before COVID, below).

Similarly or possibly conversely, the students' home environment had a massive effect on their learning. Because our on-line learning began after a three week gap (two weeks of Spring Break plus time for us to cobble together a remote learning system), understandably, many students had a tough time getting themselves back in "school" mode while at home. Some were in their pajamas, eating snacks or were passive or unresponsive during on-line lessons because watching me do a lesson on a screen did not seem that different from watching a video which is what they were used to doing from the comfort of their homes. After adjustments along the way (worthy of a separate blog post), the learning situation improved. But it was noticeable that whether at home or in school, the environment played a large roll in students frame of mind for learning.

2. Return to class in June and Classroom Design

When I heard we were going to return to in-class learning in June, I went in to school as soon as I could and started re-designing the space. I already described what I did above. Usually, when I am arranging my class, I focus on things like community, curiosity, comfort and flow. But in redesigning my space for June, I focused on one main question, "How can I keep everyone as safe as possible?" This utilitarian thinking drove everything: access to the sink, 2 m spacing, individual work spaces and supplies, getting rid of the carpet, reducing multi-touch areas, etc.

3. Starting new in September and Classroom Design

Starting September with a new batch of 22 kids and some different conditions (full time attendance of the entire class with 2 m spacing an impossibility) will be a (design) challenge.

Seating and desks
I have 10 desks left from June and 9 student chairs.
I re-assembled 3 tables, but they might only allow for 6 students with minimal spacing.
I will probably dismantle the risers because they are great for community, but not so good for avoiding contact and shared spaces.

Access to the sink
In June, we washed our hands about 10 times a day. We had a clear line while we were waiting in line that allowed safe spacing. In September, we will probably have to go in groups to line up for hand washing.

Again, safety will be important, but in this case equally important will be the affective domain.

Last time, one of the biggest "benefits" to going to home learning in partway through the year was we already had a pre-established community and some norms and routines in place. In September, I will probably have a new batch of students so I will have to find ways of bringing everyone together as a community.

Beyond this, I want to focus on the emotional well-being of the students, and to decrease the fear and anxiety of coming to school in these unusual conditions, so I will work on using the classroom environment to create a sense of calm and comfort while still maintaining safety. I'll try things such as:
warm, medium intensity lighting, not too bright, not too dull.
a neutral, natural colour palette as much as possible in the students' main frame of sight.
reducing the reverberation from the floor as much as possible. Taking the carpet out in June was okay with 7 students, chairs, and desks, but multiplying that number by 3 is going to create a lot more noise and amplified echo from the hard slick floor. I will continue to use my cobbled together mini-PA so every student can hear me without me having to shout.
having lots of fresh air circulating through the classroom and including live plants.

I went into school today (since I began writing this). Here is what my classroom looks like so far: