We talk a lot about innovating methodologies in education, but we continue to teach in classrooms that have the same green desks thirty years ago. If we want encourage creativity and interaction among students, we also have to modify the way of distributing spaces and decorating them in educational centers.
I know that a good part of the educational community agrees with me in the opinion that their study and work spaces have become outdated. SEM methodology, project work or cooperative learning, are somewhat at odds with the rigidity of the classrooms and the boring of their decorations. We need new distributions and new furniture that facilitate collaboration and arouses student imagination.
The spaces
We need more open and connected spaces. As has happened with homes, where we have gone from an excessive division to the connection between the different rooms, in schools we have to change the chip as well. The work for interdisciplinary and collaborative projects needs a distribution that facilitates its realization and that goes beyond the classrooms by course, group and subject.
Needed more versatile and flexible spaces that facilitate teamwork at all times and that adapt to changes. Throughout one morning we can have activities that are carried out in large groups, others in small teams and others that each student has to do individually and the space has to adapt to everything in a simple way.
Colors
Today we know the importance of the choice of successful colors when creating environments. Although cold colors help us relax, warm colors give us strength and energy, it is important to keep that in mind when decorating the different spaces of schools and institutes.
In the nursery and primary schools it is usual to use cheerful colors but, often, without control over which rooms are suitable and which are not. When going to secondary and high school, in most cases, the colors become sober and boring, with a certain natural inspiration for the use of green, brown, but in materials that do not fit and in a monotonous and unmotivating way.
Signaling
Something very simple to give a more cheerful and fun touch to an educational center is improve and modernize signage. In many centers it is non-existent and in others it is created by and for adults but it is zero motivating for boys and girls. Choosing a theme to design the posters and place signs at various points in the educational center indicating where each space is located is essential.
Who says signage also says other small details such as bins, corks or exhibition furniture Temporary It is not complicated to turn those accessories with a bit of paint, some recycled materials and a bit of skill with DIY. This can help to capture the attention of students about something we want to show or wake up, for example, their interest in recycling.
The furniture
Another key aspect is undoubtedly that of furniture. When I see that my students sit in the same desks where I sat more than 20 years ago and that at that time they were no longer innovative, I understand that there is something wrong here because, however, my house is nothing like my parents'. Times have also changed in interior design and many educational centers have been anchored in the past.
He folding, compartmentalized and multifunctional furniture It exists, we just need to adapt it well to the tastes of the students and the needs of the educational community. As with the pact of politicians, it happens with the issue of design, we all have to agree so that the final product is the one that benefits us all.
And what can we do?
The reality is that there are plenty of ideas but the main problems we encounter are usually the lack of time and budget. In the secondary school where I work, IES Arcebispo Xelmírez II of Santiago de Compostela, we have had an idea: make students participate in the change process of the center and to implement the project we have called someone who knows a lot about interior design projects, IKEA.
We have been fortunate that an IKEA team has agreed to come to the center to give the students of 1st ESO a talk-workshop on the development of interior design projects. Carlos, Fidel, Paula and Andrea from IKEA A Coruña, in the image on these lines, they have explained to us how they work on their projects through the Design Thinking methodology and then, in a practical way, the students distributed by teams have used the same method for the realization of their own project thinking about your tastes and the needs of space. Many ideas and very good proposals have emerged, the experience was fun and enriching for everyone.
With the direct participation of students in the project of change relating it to the standards of the curriculum we solve, at least in part, the problem of time. The issue of the budget arose in question time, the solution that IKEA gave us, in addition to low cost furniture, obviously, is related to the use of recycled materials and simple DIY techniques.
Although the ideal would be to have the budget that each educational center wanted and to be able to do the perfect reform, that is impossible at least in the short term. So this may be an interesting alternative solution, IKEA has been open to collaborating by sharing its know-how with other colleges and institutes and I am sure there will be many who would be interested in an activity like this.
Photos | Dezeen, Aruliden, Decoesfera, 2DayLanguages and Business Insider
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