Ditching the Desks: Creating Brain-Friendly, Blended Learning Environments
My students need stability seating, beanless bag chairs, a table with benches, throw pillows, and mini storage crates for their newly redesigned, brain and sensory friendly, no desk, curriculum rich, flexible seating classroom.
I’m an out of the box thinker. It’s my passion to engage students, involve them in ways that they own their learning. 21st century, redesigned, modern classrooms go beyond looking nice, instead they consider researched, brain-friendly, ready to learn environments in which students spend seven hours a day for 180 days in. The physical makeup of the space in terms of actual furniture used to be desks in rows to prepare kids for lines in factories. Today’s classrooms need to be transformative to prepare students for the skills of today’s job work force - problem solving and collaborative spaces. Flexible, comfortable, user friendly, mobile learning spaces are uniquely nontraditional. What works for the kids? How do they work best? Do kids like to lay on the floor, then create more open space. Would they prefer a small reading nook? How do they feel in the classroom? Students connect to a student centered classroom where the focus is on student needs, work, and identity. Student perspective should always come first. Educators who show the greatness in the students build culture and bring about ownership, togetherness, leadership, and team building - stimulate learning, engage natural discussion and collaboration.
My Project
The world is changing, yet our classrooms are remaining much the same. Revitalizing space is a straightforward way to let students exercise choice in the learning environment and find academic success on their own terms. Designing brain-friendly learning spaces for blended learning requires environments that will enhance instructional practice which lends itself to independent learners and differentiation. Think about how education and schools are shifting. We need to prepare our students for their future. To build relationships with kids we need to have goals in how we teach our learners:
Start with redesign - no desks
Reading nook like the library
Corner kitchen tables
Supplies at student height
No teacher desk… tables
Highly effective teaching curriculum
Sensory rich environments
Furniture arrangement
Colors and Patterns Matter
Natural and Incandescent Lighting
Plants
Collaborative Work Spaces
Choice
Accessories Matter
Every child is someone’s world - dreaming, hoping, wondering, aspiring, our future. It’s time for learning to be an amazing endeavor!
DonorsChoose is the most trusted classroom funding site for teachers.
As a teacher-founded nonprofit, we're trusted by thousands of teachers and supporters across the country. This classroom request for funding was created by Mrs. Cimini and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
