GIVE STUDENTS EMOTIONAL RELIEF
Find ways to keep emotions in balance
Creating learning spaces where students and teachers truly want to be is the ultimate goal. A place where students happily learn and teachers teach with enthusiasm.
Environmental change creates behavioral change.Quiet nooks and corners
In addition to areas that foster movement, the classroom should also have nooks and corners that children can seek out themselves when they need quiet time.
Students are constantly switching between being tense and relaxing throughout the school day. To thrive in these opposing states of being, students need appropriate spaces in equal measure. Spaces or zones that invite students to relax and recharge should not only have appropriate furnishings, but also the right lighting and colors in order to create a sense of well-being. It makes sense to locate quiet zones along lesser-used corridors so as to actively promote relaxation. A table facing the wall or located behind a mobile partition and quiet corners also provide the right working atmosphere for easily distracted children. In contrast, the area in the middle of the classroom offers more active space to move around.
Show students you care
"We don't have to say a thing to our students to tell them how we feel about them. Space and design do that - investing in learning spaces for our children that show them we respect them and who they are. That's where VS America is close to my heart because they get that as well."
Putting the student first - and highlighting the capacity of the student not only to absorb information but also to think critically and to be creative - can be strongly supported by incorporating ergonomic school furniture in the layout of a classroom setting. By enabling the student to feel both naturally active and at ease, an agile, flexible layout can effectively transform the learning experience. Ideally, this type of setting helps the student to feel both individually empowered and aptly positioned to support other students in a group context.
"Students love the library and are very proud of it. One parent mentioned that 'her children took it personally' meaning that they appreciated that the library was created for them and they realized that thought and effort were invested for their benefit."
Equity in the classroom
An important question for all of us to consider: Are we providing an equity of opportunity - where every single student has an opportunity to sit, stand, or learn in any way they need to? This isn't just necessary for one classroom or one grade level - it's essential from pre-K through high school, and beyond. With VS America's furniture, you can provide that equity of opportunity for each student in a building or a school system.
Active learning spaces help to create opportunities for collaboration among students. In sharp contrast to traditional seating elements, which are designed to keep individuals still and facing forward, restricted both in terms of motion and in terms of focus, contemporary furniture options such as cantilever chairs and Hokki stools allow students to interact more organically with one another, and help to minimize hierarchies created by more traditional seating arrangements. Above all, active classroom furniture enables students to actively contribute to the culture of the classroom and the educational environment.
A student-centered classroom supports student health and safety, fosters social and emotional well-being, and promotes equity and student potential. Therefore, when a teacher cultivates a student-centered environment in their classroom, it does not mean kids receive free rein to do what they want. The goal is to holistically marry learners' academic, social, and emotional needs as they seek out answers to the wonders of the world around them.
