Historically, classrooms have utilized stationary furniture, facing front toward a centralized instructor position, and limiting student-to-student interactions. Such classrooms often stem from design processes that tend to focus on building codes and feedback from investors, architects, and planners, which leaves little input from instructors and…

The main objective of the study was to understand specific ways in which a flexible, technology-enhanced space can create opportunities for student engagement. Despite a few studies that address classroom elements such as furniture, researchers argue for more-holistic attention to the materials of learning environments to better support the…

Given that much of the research on classroom libraries focus on elementary school classrooms, this study sought to examine classroom libraries at the middle school level. Access to books is especially important for middle school students given the persistent decline in reading engagement at this level. The research questions guiding this…

Recent calls for university administrators to advance interdisciplinary research and teaching have suggested that allocating campus space to such initiatives is key to their success. Yet questions remain concerning just what kinds of spaces are most conducive to this agenda. This article aims to shed light on this relationship by drawing on case…

This paper examines the effect of the architectural layout of two classrooms (one flexible and one less-flexible) on Teaching Assistants' (TAs) movement and interactions with students. Four TAs from a first-year undergraduate introductory course were chosen for the two studies. In study 1, the TAs taught the same lesson twice to two groups of…

Physical qualifications of group rooms are highly important in terms of child development during preschool education. First of all, the required space should be provided in order to create ideal conditions in a group room. The standards of the required space for a child in group rooms vary among countries. It is stated that in Turkey minimum 1.5…

Presents tips to help teachers best use their preparation time before school opens. Suggestions include making multiple student lists; designing classroom desk arrangements; reviewing cumulative records; adding desktop names and numbers; checking texts; posting correctable schedules; decorating only one bulletin board; creating box-trays for…

This article examines how classroom space is utilized and what this communicates about the teaching conducted there. (RC)

Presents a list of affordable decorating suggestions for elementary classrooms, including: a reading tepee where students can read quietly; bouquets of construction paper flowers with students' pictures in them; an art center that displays posters of paintings by famous artists; colorful curtains created with bulletin board paper; and a secret…

The kinds of spaces needed to house the learning activities of today's school English program are discussed in this paper. The following spaces are recommended in the planning of new buildings or in the remodeling of existing buildings: (1) a space capable of seating several hundred persons for viewing plays and films and for large-group…

Provides specific guidance to teachers planning activity areas and storage spaces to create an environment that supports children and how they learn. Areas of consideration include order, independence, comfort, materials, and boundaries. Hints for discovering unused space, including small and large storage projects, are provided. (SD)

With the advent of the informal or open classroom, a new area of concern has become important--classroom arrangement. In the past, classrooms were oriented toward the front, toward the teacher's desk and the blackboard. Education depended mainly on the pupil's interaction with the teacher and with printed materials. Nowadays, in informal…

Open classrooms, embodying an educational policy and a setting departing from the traditional is said to provide especially good opportunities for environmental studies. An approach that summarizes a wide range of information on specific classes is a beginning to gathering environmental information useful to the deisgn process. This information…

This booklet (prepared by architects, educators, and community groups) presents some guidelines for creating learning environments in child care centers. The ideas and information could be used for creating new centers, for redesigning facilities, or for remodeling existing buildings. Emphasis is placed on the interrelatedness of the goals of a…