CLASS OF THE FUTURE HELPS STUDENTS GRASP ABSTRACT CONCEPTS
André Cholmsky knows how easy it is for students to become distracted in class. It happened a lot when hewas in high school. “Iwas a good student, and got high marks but Iwas tuned out more than half the time,” he said.
Nowa teacher at Villa Maria secondary school, Cholmsky admits it is not always easy to keep the attention of all his students for the full length of a class. Many factors play a part in how well subject material is absorbed. “You don’t have a homogeneous group. You have multiple intelligences, different things they are good at. It is really hard, even on your best day, to reach out to all of them in a traditional setting.”
The basic setup—with the teacher at the front and students in rows taking notes— for centuries. Now, though, some schools are reimagining that traditional approach. Studies show that changing the layout of a classroom can keep students more engaged in their work, Cholmsky said. “The research is clear. If the technology remains at the front of the class, you are always going to lose a proportion of the students, at some point.”
Bruce Adams, of Deloitte Consulting, advises education ministries and school boards across the country, and around the world. He points out that a seemingly minor change like using mobile furniture can yield surprising results.
“The simplicity of just having all furniture on wheels provides educators with the agility to reconfigure the environment to suit different levels of collaboration,” Adams said. “You can create broader groups or smaller ‘communities,’ as well engage informal and informal learning.”
It is this type of thinking behind Villa Maria’s new Class of the Future. On an academic campus steeped in so much tradition, the new teaching space is a window on the future. It was designed to enhance the school’s core curriculum withmore personalized, interactive learning. The traditional classroom layout is reinterpreted as an adaptable environment to help teachers, in Cholmsky’s words, “catch students in the act of learning.”
“You can navigate around, you can listen in on what they are doing.” he explained. “You can be part of a group and give them that question, or that little prod they need to advance.”
The Class of the Future was unveiled in early September, for the start of the academic year, and will be used by all grades at the school. The new learning environment represents an important milestone in the coeducational private school’s 160-year-old history.
The room feels like a spacious, high-tech-boardroom, with natural light spilling in from a glass wall. There is a sofa area where students can brainstorm new ideas. Onanother side, a design and rapid prototyping station is set up with a 3D camera and 3D printer. Several interactive digital displays are arranged around small groupings of chairs and tables.
Jasmine Saim, a 16-year-old Villa Maria student, likes the bright, modern design. “There are a lot more colours than there would be in a usual classroom,” she said. “There is also a lot of group seating. Instead of having desks in a row, it is going to be more like a circle.”
Another Villa Maria student, Mylena Salvador, noted: “We use technology on a day-to-day basis — texting, social media — so why not put it in our education?” She said the multimedia screens set up at various stations will help her visualize concepts that otherwise might be hard to understand. “When I see it on a screen, I find it helps me to know it more. You are not just writing it down.”
Cholmsky, who teaches math and science, believes the strong visual focus of the space will help students better understand complex and abstract concepts. He anticipates the 3D camera and printer will help overcome learning roadblocks, bymaking their work more tangible. Students can take complex math formulas and use them to design objects.
“They will be able to take their designs and make them real, by producing them,” he explained. “And that’s going to have a great impact on students who have trouble visualizing and making the abstract concrete.”
Nathalie Frigon, Villa Maria’s co-ordinator of Innovation in Technopedagogy, is excited about the possibilities ahead. “I can see any kind of subject being taught in this room. I like it when students are active in their learning.”
New learning spaces are a key part of delivering a 21st-century curriculum, Adams said — one that incorporates technology and supports new teaching methods. Schools are striving within their means to create these learning environments.
Villa Maria hopes to unveil more adaptable learning environments in the years ahead. For André Cholmsky, it is an exciting step forward. He has high hopes for students who have access to this kind of classroom: “I think that there is nothing they can’t do.”
Studies show that changing the layout of a classroom can keep students more engaged in their work