A few weeks ago I walked into a Starbucks that was down the street from a high school. It was late in the afternoon and school had been dismissed for the day. The place was packed with high school students who were doing their homework; the students had migrated en masse from their classrooms to Starbucks. The students were sipping iced lattes and cappuccinos, and their textbooks, laptops, and papers were spread across the tables as they talked about their assignments, checked their social media streams. and watched YouTube videos on their smart phones. This was a typical Gen Z scene: students working in a relaxed setting while plugging into their devices.
And it’s the direction our schools are moving as they create new types of learning spaces. Research is showing Gen Z brains are developing differently - which means Gen Z students learn differently. They’ve grown up in a Starbucks world of choices, apps, comfortable furniture, and fun surroundings. Thus, learning spaces today are evolving, too. A redesigned classroom today might look more like the inside of a Starbucks than a traditional classroom with straight rows and beige paint. Think of it this way: in the 20th century, classrooms were designed for teachers to disseminate information; in the 21st century classrooms are being designed for students to create and collaborate.
As an ICLE professional learning consultant, I advise administrators on how to increase rigor, relevance, engagement, and technology usage, but I also discuss a myriad of other 21st century best practices, including learning space redesign. Administrators get it. They want their schools to evolve with Gen Z, but a question I often get from them is, “How much does it cost to create these new types of learning spaces?”
I answer, “It doesn’t have to be expensive.”
Here are some key points to consider when determining costs. First, learning space redesign falls into one of two categories: creating a learning space in a new building or redesigning a learning space in a building that already exists. When architects design new schools today, they will be aware of the education trend of using space creatively when teaching Gen Z and will work some of these elements into the design process. The architects will ask school leaders how they want the learning spaces to function. What should be added to meet the space requirements and match Gen Z learning styles? Will there be soft chairs and couches, desks designed to fit together to foster collaboration, high-top tables and stools, carpet squares, and bright paint? The good news is the cost of new types of student furniture is often in line with the costs of traditional furniture, which is usually already budgeted into the cost of the new building. This means school leaders who have the good fortune of designing a new building should not dismiss adding new types of furniture or learning spaces because they will be prohibitively expensive. Sometimes they are even cheaper than traditional furniture.
Of course, most school leaders don’t have the luxury of designing a new building, so they are focused on redesigning their existing learning spaces, sometimes in schools that might be forty, fifty, or sixty years old (or even older). These spaces can be wonderfully redesigned for Gen Z.
Another point to remember about redesigning today’s schools is learning happens in all kinds of spaces, not just classrooms. Today’s students need to spread out as they collaborate and create, so administrators are searching for ways to add flexible common spaces where students can be comfortable and work with students from multiple classes. The school library has traditionally been the center of learning, and today’s media specialists are often leading the way as they refit their media centers for 21st century learning. School leaders are also redesigning hallways, cafeterias, foyers, and out of the way nooks where flexible seating can be added and used for various independent and collaborative learning activities.
Existing learning spaces can be effectively redesigned on a relatively small budget. A tip I often give administrators is to make an overall, multi-year plan - and start small. The old saying is that Rome wasn’t built in day, and I remind principals that a school’s learning spaces don’t have to be completely revamped in one year. I urge educators to start with a few classrooms, a hallway, or a highly used common space to see what works so that students and teachers can get used to the idea. Or, if that’s too much I often say this: Start with one classroom and expand from there.
For example, I visited a fifth-grade classroom recently, and the students were working on an assignment in which they used the app Book Creator to write books online. It was a great assignment and the students were engaged and enjoying the process. The students talked, showed each other their work, and delved deeply into their content. The teacher had encouraged them to work comfortably, which meant half of the students chose to sit at desks - while the other students sat in small clusters on the floor around the edges of the classroom. However, the learning space had not yet been redesigned, so the students on the floor were sitting on cold, hard tiles. This environment could have been easily upgraded with a few carpet squares, a couple of bean bag chairs, and a soft chair or two, which would have allowed the students to get off of the tile and be more comfortable as they learned. I spoke with the teacher and principal afterwards and said these touches could be added for around 500 dollars.
As principals form their budgets for the coming school year, they can often find five hundred dollars for one classroom redesign or maybe two or three thousand dollars to start the process in a few classrooms and common spaces. I’ve also worked with principals who were able to get grants from their PTO’s and donations from local businesses. Some teachers have even redesigned their classrooms by using GoFundMe.com and DonorsChoose.org. I know a great high school teacher who scoured garage sales to find furniture for her classroom (but beware of any local health and fire codes that might prohibit the use of second-hand furniture in schools).
Here's another tip when forming a redesign budget: when buying furniture, it’s often best to use vendors who specialize in school furniture. As district-approved vendors, the companies often provide deep discounts, and their furniture is designed to withstand the daily wear and tear of schools. Plus, they have specialists who can help you choose the right pieces. A few dollars might be saved by buying furniture at the local office discount store, but that furniture often won’t hold up and will have to be replaced more quickly.
Finally, don’t forget to put aside funding to train teachers to use the new learning spaces. A book study can be an effective vehicle for fostering discussion, and digital tools such as Padlet, Dotstorming, and Slack are strong online platforms where teachers can share ideas 24/7 - and like the rest of the space redesign process, they’re very affordable!
For more into about space redesign, read our book. Available at Corwin Press and Amazon.
