Future-ready classroom – The HEF Learning Lab [Nov 1, 2017]
By Smitha Ram | November 1, 2017 | Newsletter
The ‘HEF Learning Lab’ transforms classroom dynamics.
Project title: Creating Inspiring Learning Spaces for HHS Students
Sponsor educator: Colleen Worrell
Grant amount: $17,200
The birth of a grant
“Our students are not working in the ‘inspiring learning spaces’ that the Department of Education’s Future Ready Classrooms movement is advocating in order to ‘ignite, illuminate and inspire powerful ideas, boundless imagination, profound inquiry and deep understanding’.” This was the message from Colleen Worrell, an educator and an ed-tech enthusiast who recognized the need for bringing technology into classrooms in order to create a more engaging and productive classroom environment. That was how the grant ‘Learning Lab: Creating Inspiring Learning Spaces for HHS Students’ was born and was entitled in 2015.
HHS Students reflect upon their new learning experience
“The tables and chairs made it really easy to move around the room and ask other people for help on a problem. It’s a good, chill learning environment and I don’t feel as stressed out about math as I usually would in a typical math room.”
“The classroom makes me excited to come to class and the aesthetic calms me and primes me to learn.”
“This semester, math is one of my favorite classes and I have done better since. The bright colors in the room keep me awake and alert, and I enjoy learning in this classroom.”
The transformation
Jaime Hall later took over this grant after Colleen Worrell left the district. The pilot began a few months into the school year in December 2015. The educators Jaime Hall and Lorelle Govoni immediately experienced the positive impact of this transformed space.
“It completely changed the ‘vibe’ of the classroom. I can no longer imagine teaching without this flexible, vibrant, space.” – Jaime Hall
“In this new space, the student-teacher dynamics are transformed. Blended learning is more inviting and encourages students to interact more. Students work in groups where there is a great deal of math discourse.” – Lorelle Govoni
The students and the teacher are able to move around the room without barriers. Students are free to work at the white boards, roll over to a peer and work on problems together, or be comfortable on the couch learning with peers. “There is no traditional front of the room. The model lends itself to the room being one learning space.” – Lorelle Govoni
Snackables worth sharing
A vision into the future: classroom21c.weebly.com/design.html
What’s on the horizon for education technology: EdTech Magazine