What the Tables and Chairs Taught Me

It seems like a simple question, "What are we going to do in here?" 

This past week I had the opportunity to help lead EdCamp Leadership Texas. In preparation to host EdCamp Leadership, we set aside time to make sure that the facility was ready for the event. We began setting up by visiting the classrooms that breakout sessions would be held in. Then we moved into the main space that educators would gather in. As I entered the room with my principal, he looked at the large space and said, "What are we going to do in here?" What an awesome question as it sent us in a totally different direction from what we normally do.   

In the past, whenever we have set the room up, it has been rows of tables with chairs. His simple question turned into an experiment of how we could arrange the tables and chairs in a way so that people could interact and meet each other. We spent about a half hour experimenting with different configurations. We moved things around until we came up with a different footprint for the room. We needed to accommodate 100+ people. After the event, we reflected and discussed how we felt changing the flow of the room and arranging the tables in a new way brought a different energy to the room.  We simply needed to think inside the box that we had and not do what we had always done before.

At EdCamp Leadership, I also had the privilege of meeting Christine Dismuke, @cmdismuke2 . She passionately shared her experience with classroom redesign and the positive effect she has seen it have within her own classroom. I encourage you to check out and share her blog, The Deskless Tribe.  

The topic of space & design is a conversation we need to continue to have as educators. Considering the space and how it is best used during professional development is now something that we will always do. I will look at learning spaces in general in a different light moving forward.

If you have experience or insight on learning environments, please share what you have learned.