My original plan of this setting up the room this way was to allow students to easily move seats around to communicate and collaborate with other students when they were having trouble on an assignment. Students could form their own groups based on what each student knew or didn't know about the content, which would naturally scaffold their learning. This seat layout, however, proved to have many constraints that I wasn’t expecting. While I did find that students collaborated with one another at their own table, they never branched out and switched groups for fear of leaving their friends. The organization of groups seemed to be more about friendships than content knowledge. This structure was clearly inhibiting students from collaborating in a more organic and free-flowing way.
This coming year we will be completely 1:1 (each student and teacher will have an iPad). While this technology will allow for so many more opportunities in the classroom, I still find myself wondering how the organization and collaboration piece will play out. Technology has so many affordances that will increase collaboration, but we will still need the ability to shift around the layout of the classroom based on the day’s activities. The pictures below show some of the different activities where the fixed layout of the classroom has forced us into less than ideal situations.
This coming year we will be completely 1:1 (each student and teacher will have an iPad). While this technology will allow for so many more opportunities in the classroom, I still find myself wondering how the organization and collaboration piece will play out. Technology has so many affordances that will increase collaboration, but we will still need the ability to shift around the layout of the classroom based on the day’s activities. The pictures below show some of the different activities where the fixed layout of the classroom has forced us into less than ideal situations.
Here we completed an activity that required two rows of desks. Students helped me move the desks which required 10 minutes of our class.
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Here we were completing an activity where students were cramped into the side of the room because the desks were in the way.
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Here the desks hampered our integer dance and students didn’t have much room to move around.
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We sometimes have to move out into the hall for an activity which disrupts the classes next to us.
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Changing the layout of the classroom requires me to spend 20 minutes shifting around tables and chairs just for one day and then I just have to move it all back the next day. Teaching is such an ever-changing, evolving profession - why are we allowing our students and teachers to be confined to a specific set up within the walls of our classrooms?
Content.
My ultimate goal with this project is to encourage students to develop the skills of perspective, application, explanation, and self-knowledge. I strongly believe that redesigning my classroom using Steelcase furniture paired with incorporating elements of flipped learning, mastery learning, and gamification (FMG) will allow students the opportunity to collaborate and discuss their ideas in a more organic nature. A properly designed classroom environment will push students to change their behavior toward a more collaborative approach that will nourish these skills.
This radical change in my pedagogical approach will require a big learning curve on the part of my students as well as myself. Many students are very stuck in a “traditional” setting in their classrooms. This traditional setting has taught them many norms about how they should interact with the classroom setting and many times extinguishes the opportunity to develop perspective, application, and explanation skills.In a study conducted by Herman Miller (2009), “...Fixed furniture in the traditional classrooms challenged students participation in collaborative and active learning situations. They observed that students were less likely to participate, respond, and react when sitting in isolated desks” (Miller 2009). As the leader I will need to break down these traditional norms and teach students the skills to build a classroom community where everyone feels comfortable moving around in a flexible environment. |
The d.School's philosophy holds that space, furniture, tools, and technology are integral to pedagogy. Students are encouraged to display their ideas and work in progress. See how they use their space to promote behaviors critical to design thinking, such as empathy and experimentation.
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Another challenging concept will be developing students’ self-knowledge. Metacognition is a skill that is built over time and middle school students frequently have trouble in this area. I will need to guide, model, and direct students on how to recognize what they know and what they do not know. Changing the design of the classroom will also radically help this process of teaching metacognition. Allowing students to work together and collaborate on a daily basis will give them more opportunities to discuss what they know and what they do not know with one another. Comparing and contrasting with other students while being immersed in the content will further engage students in these skills.Miller states that, “Students also reported being more likely to assist their peers who sat at the same table next to them. This type of support relieved students from the fear of not understanding the course material. Students expressed that they were more comfortable asking questions in class in a group setting environment” (Miller 2009). Having a support structure within the classroom will increase the likelihood that students share their own misconceptions of mathematics with one another freely and work to evaluate these misconceptions. When students apply the skills of perspective, application, and explanation within a collaborative community, their metacognitive skills are also developed through this process..
Technology.
There are many different factors when looking at a technology to transform your classroom. Design thinking is one of the paramount strategies to approach this transformation. When looking specifically to address the skills of perspective, application, explanation, and self-knowledge, I believe that a classroom re-design is one of the best avenues to achieve this development. Steelcase has worked tirelessly to design furniture with these exact principles in mind. “New data from ongoing Steelcase Education studies shows that classrooms designed for active learning—i.e., where physical space supports a focus on engaging experiences for students and faculty— have a significant effect on student engagement” (Steelcase)
This classroom redesign involves the purchase of a classroom set of chairs designed by Steelcase, specifically the Node Tripod Base with Tablet Stand ($479). The tablet stand will allow further integration of our 1:1 school, and will give students the ability to store their tablets and work on the surface of their desks simultaneously. The storage at the bottom of the chair allows students to have easy access to their materials. One of the main features of this product is the fact that it has wheels at the bottom. The wheels are an integral part of the design which will allow for mobility and flexibility within the classroom. “[Steelcase] believed [increased interaction] was a result of the mobile tables and chairs that can be glided across the room from one table to another” (Miller 2009). Changing layouts becomes a quick and easy task rather than a daunting time-consuming one.
This classroom redesign involves the purchase of a classroom set of chairs designed by Steelcase, specifically the Node Tripod Base with Tablet Stand ($479). The tablet stand will allow further integration of our 1:1 school, and will give students the ability to store their tablets and work on the surface of their desks simultaneously. The storage at the bottom of the chair allows students to have easy access to their materials. One of the main features of this product is the fact that it has wheels at the bottom. The wheels are an integral part of the design which will allow for mobility and flexibility within the classroom. “[Steelcase] believed [increased interaction] was a result of the mobile tables and chairs that can be glided across the room from one table to another” (Miller 2009). Changing layouts becomes a quick and easy task rather than a daunting time-consuming one.
Pedagogy.
Flipped-Mastery-Gamification (FMG) is really three separate ideas blended into one. According to Educause, "The flipped classroom is a pedagogical model in which the typical lecture and homework elements of a course are reversed. Short video lectures are viewed by students at home before the class session, while in-class time is devoted to exercises, projects, or discussions.." The flipped classroom has many theories attached to it. Most prevalent is the idea of recall and memory. Having videos available to students online offers students the opportunity to re-watch, rewind and pause the teaching. Cognitivism is a constructive process where learners reorganize ideas to make sense of everything. Having content available online allows learners to re-visit content so that they are able to link it to past learning experiences. This will allow the knowledge to go from short term to long term memory. Cognitivism is also seen in the pedagogical idea of mastery learning. Mastery learning allows each student to work at their own pace - to move on when they are ready and to take extra time in the material when needed. Students’ focus is shifted to the learning process rather than grades because they are given an unlimited amount of times to fail and make mistakes. Cognitivism holds this true as well because retrieval of knowledge/information relies heavily on using knowledge frequently, making multiple connections, and practicing to atomicity. When students are pushed to continue practicing material until it is mastered, they are more likely to store this knowledge in long-term memory. The last part of this pedagogy is gamification. Gamification involves a heavy behaviorist point of view. "Gamification is the incorporation of game mechanics, dynamics, and frameworks to promote desired behaviors." Lee & Hammer, 2011. Behaviorism fits in perfectly with this approach because games rely heavily on a person’s response to stimuli. Operant conditioning is seen throughout games with the passing of levels, gaining points and XP (experience points), losing health points. All of these aspects are just adding or removing stimuli to get a response from the gamer. Gamification harnesses this classical response to stimuli and uses it within the classroom. By awarding student’s points and increasing the competition between groups and individuals, we are providing a stimulus that motivates students.
TPACK.
When incorporating new technologies it is important to also look at how your pedagogy and content will fit into the mix. Technology, pedagogy, and content knowledge form the basic idea of the TPACK framework (Technology Pedagogy and Content Knowledge). I have designed my own TPACK framework to represent the connection of ideas between my pedagogical approach (Flipped-Mastery-Gamification), my technology (Steelcase chairs), as well as the content (perspective, application, explanation, and self-knowledge). These three items are all inter-connected and work together simultaneously.
The pedagogical approach of FMG connects perfectly with the technology and design of Steelcase chairs. Because this approach relies so much on communication, collaboration, and interactivity between the students, it is paramount to have an environment that is flexible and allows for constant restructuring. Without this classroom design and the use of Steelcase technology, reaching the full potential of FMG would be difficult. In a study by Steelcase, “Faculty expressed they were more inclined to implement active learning in the [classroom] since the classroom layout could be modified instantly. They stated that the [classroom] was flexible enough to support various teaching styles” (Miller 2009). Having the flexibility of the environment will allow the teacher (and students) to conduct activities based on the FMG style: collaborative groups, scaffolding content and projects, team quests, etc. Activities will no longer be limited to the classroom layout and there is no need to create constraints on the group size or levels. One day there could be 10 people in one group and the next we could have a whole-class discussion/activity!
Pedagogy and Content also go hand in hand. The pedegogical approach of FMG will allow students to have more time in the classroom to focus on the skills of perspective, application, explanation, and self-knowledge. The gamification aspect of my approach involves students working in teams to complete projects and every-day assignments. This pedagogical approach also puts students at the center of of the learning, and takes the teacher away from being the “sage on the stage”. Students will be encouraged to first turn to one another to gain knowledge and information needed to progress through each level. Being immersed in this type of interactivity on a daily basis will build a strong sense of individual perspectives.The flipped portion of this approach allows more time to build upon the content skills of application and explanation. Because lessons are now online, classroom time is not taken up by lectures and learning material. Students can watch the videos at home and spend time within the classroom applying concepts to real-world problems. In class time can now be spent teaching students to apply the Claim Evidence Reasoning approach to apply and explain their ideas. Lastly this pedagogical approach will build upon student’s self-knowledge. Each week, students will work on setting goals and progress monitoring. The affordances of our learning management system will also give students instant feedback to alert them of how much they know and do not know. With repetition these two items will increase student’s metacognitive abilities throughout the year.
Building the content skills of perspective, application, explanation, and self-knowledge would be difficult without the many affordances that Steelcase furniture offers. One of the aspects that is often overlooked within education is the concept of design and layout. Teachers constantly want to push students to be critical thinkers and digital citizens, but what they don’t realize is something as simple as the classroom layout is preventing this from happening organically. Steelcase furniture puts students in the drivers seat and allows them to make the decisions on collaboration. Steelcase completed a study that showed, “...classrooms intentionally designed to support active learning increased student engagement on multiple measures as compared to traditional (i.e., row-by-column seating) classrooms” (Steelcase). Giving students the opportunity to interact and collaborate on a daily basis will only further the skills of perspective, application, explanation, and self-knowledge.
Pedagogy and Content also go hand in hand. The pedegogical approach of FMG will allow students to have more time in the classroom to focus on the skills of perspective, application, explanation, and self-knowledge. The gamification aspect of my approach involves students working in teams to complete projects and every-day assignments. This pedagogical approach also puts students at the center of of the learning, and takes the teacher away from being the “sage on the stage”. Students will be encouraged to first turn to one another to gain knowledge and information needed to progress through each level. Being immersed in this type of interactivity on a daily basis will build a strong sense of individual perspectives.The flipped portion of this approach allows more time to build upon the content skills of application and explanation. Because lessons are now online, classroom time is not taken up by lectures and learning material. Students can watch the videos at home and spend time within the classroom applying concepts to real-world problems. In class time can now be spent teaching students to apply the Claim Evidence Reasoning approach to apply and explain their ideas. Lastly this pedagogical approach will build upon student’s self-knowledge. Each week, students will work on setting goals and progress monitoring. The affordances of our learning management system will also give students instant feedback to alert them of how much they know and do not know. With repetition these two items will increase student’s metacognitive abilities throughout the year.
Building the content skills of perspective, application, explanation, and self-knowledge would be difficult without the many affordances that Steelcase furniture offers. One of the aspects that is often overlooked within education is the concept of design and layout. Teachers constantly want to push students to be critical thinkers and digital citizens, but what they don’t realize is something as simple as the classroom layout is preventing this from happening organically. Steelcase furniture puts students in the drivers seat and allows them to make the decisions on collaboration. Steelcase completed a study that showed, “...classrooms intentionally designed to support active learning increased student engagement on multiple measures as compared to traditional (i.e., row-by-column seating) classrooms” (Steelcase). Giving students the opportunity to interact and collaborate on a daily basis will only further the skills of perspective, application, explanation, and self-knowledge.
The SAMR Model.
Teaching and learning is dramatically impacted and revolutionized using the technology of Steelcase designed furniture. When looking at the SAMR model for technology (substitution, augmentation, modification, and redefinition), we are not merely substituting Steelcase furniture for other furniture in our classrooms. Using this technology creates a complete modification and redefinition of previously conceived classrooms. In traditional classrooms, teachers have to create collaborative experiences ahead of time - they were required to decide on classroom layout previous to working through a lesson. Steelcase furniture allows students to make that decision in real time instead of the teacher having to take guesses on which collaborative layout is best for student achievement. Because learning happens differently for every student, this classroom furniture is easily redesigned for every student, in every class, every day.