As we address the challenges of a highly competitive world, we must enable students to learn and generate new ideas by moving away from the “old school” classroom. The good news is that architects and interior solutions providers are embracing ways help transform our schools.
Here are five important aspects to consider.
1. Collaboration is now a given
At its most basic, collaboration is shared communication. It’s talking in small groups. It’s brainstorming ideas together. But in a traditional classroom setup, our students sit in forward-facing rows waiting to receive instructions and then do heads-down tasks.
Teachers no longer need to lose students’ attention or precious classroom time in transitioning set-ups for collaborative work. Options like adjustable-height tables and mobile desks that can be quickly reconfigured for the task or project at hand have solved those problems.
And keep in mind that collaboration is being heartily embraced in the workplace, so we must teach our children how to operate in that kind of environment early on. How to work in small pods. When to talk and when not to. How to receive feedback and turn it into a collaborative idea or solution.
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