Creating Flexible Learning Spaces

Teachers are striving to shift their learning spaces from the traditional, factory model rows and columns set up to spaces that promote the 21st century competencies of creativity, collaboration, critical thinking, and communication. But how can we teachers truly embrace flexible learning spaces when we’re given rigid, outdated furniture? In short, get rid of as much of it as you can and replace it with furnishings that flex and flow. Here are some ideas to get you started:

Free Up Space, Create Flow

• Downsize/dump that enormous desk. We used to need all the storage for paper documents, supplies, and PCs. Now we have laptops and Google Drive. Do a trial run, push your desk to the wall and don’t use it for a week. If you don’t miss using the desk, get rid of it. Or consider finding something smaller. There may be a small one already on campus you could swap out.

• Get rid of filing cabinets. Most of us have a soft copy of every lesson and hand out, so do we really need a hard copy, too? Keep reusable class sets in a file crate. Keep confidential documents in a binder. Store both in your closet since they are infrequently needed.
• Turn in bins eat space. Move them to a countertop or replace them with a wall-mounted magazine rack.
• Personal classroom kitchens. Consider using a nearby colleague’s mini kitchen or store your microwave and fridge inside your closet or cupboard.

Acquire Free Furniture

• Retired furniture from home. Are you or a friend upgrading your living room furniture with that tax return money? Move the old one into your classroom. A beat down sofa is a welcome thing to kids. Throw pillows and blankets are also popular. Parents could also be a source for this.

• Consider crowdsourcing. Two teachers in my school have been successful with Donors Choose, acquiring yoga balls and Hoki stools for their rooms. Be sure to promote your project on social media.

Budget Friendly Purchases

• IKEA Linmon/Adils desk. This costs $25 and you can choose funky colors for the table legs. I went with white/white because my room has yucky, dark carpeting so I wanted to lighten up the room. I bought six and lined them up under a bank of windows so students are facing outside. The wall supports the flimsy desks. I don’t let kids sit on them and so far, so good. I do have to wipe them down once a week as they get dingy looking quick, but it’s worth it as the white surface reflects the natural light.

• Walmart Ameriwood 3 shelf bookcases. These are two for $38 dollars and come in black, red, griege, and oak finishes. Yes, they are cheapo MDF, but supported by a wall they are better for storing a classroom library. I prefer these to the $120 metal bookcases the district will order for you as they take up less floor space and less vertical space. I have a whole wall lined with them. They fit just under the chalk tray on our boards freeing up a few more precious inches. These are not suitable for textbooks, however.
• IKEA Kallax shelving unit. The eight cube unit is $65 and comes in white, red, pink, green, black, and birch. I use this for binder/bag storage and lost and found. Some of my students carry three bags and a large binder to every class. Our hallways are so crowded and our campus is so spread out that they prefer to carry everything all day instead of fight to get to their locker. This is a way to get all that off the floor.

These are just suggestions. The heart of Flexible Learning Spaces is creating a space that best supports students’ needs as they learn while providing choices for both students and teachers. How that manifests in your classroom depends on what you teach, how you teach it, and who specifically your students are and what they need at that age developmentally.