Mastering Classroom Management: Strategies and Design Techniques That Transform Learning
Post by
CDI Spaces
September 13, 2023
September 13, 2023
Classroom management has transformed the world of education, enhancing the academic journey for millions of students. In days gone by, classrooms were predominantly teacher-directed, leaving little room for active student involvement.
Today's most effective classroom management strategies harmoniously blend structure with student engagement, emphasizing active learning and collaboration. Notably, these strategies also consider the design and layout of the learning environment, striking a balance between freedom and guidance, and nurturing students' growth and independence.
What is Classroom Management?
At its core, classroom management is the art and science used by educators to craft optimal behavior within classroom settings.
It encompasses the creation of an environment that not only promotes learning but also cultivates positive interactions and diminishes disruptions. Central to this concept are two pillars: involvement and control. Different classroom management styles tilt the scale between these two elements, either endorsing teacher-driven control or advocating for student-led involvement.
Classroom Management Styles
From the autocratic style, where the teacher reigns supreme, to the democratic method emphasizing student participation, to the laissez-faire approach championing student autonomy—each has its strengths and drawbacks.- Authoritarian: This classroom management style gives teachers the reigns, offering limited student involvement. This style often limits peer collaboration or active engagement and the structured setup generally cannot accommodate diverse learning styles.
- Authoritative: This style strikes a balance between moderate teacher control and moderate student involvement. Utilizing this classroom management strategy, teachers generally value student input and feedback, with a classroom environment that supports this.
- Permissive: The permissive classroom management style has both low teacher control and low teacher involvement. Though students have high involvement, they typically won’t experience structure, personalized learning, or much collaboration when a permissive style is used in the classroom.
- Indulgent: If employing the indulgent classroom management style, the teacher has a high level of involvement, but typically a low level of control. This low level of control can become problematic, as it can hinder students’ ability to learn and the teachers’ ability to effectively deliver a curriculum.
The Influence of Classroom Design on Management Strategies
Instituting a productive and conducive learning environment establishes a safe and motivated space to learn. It can promote confident teacher-student relationships while enhancing the classroom culture.A classroom management style that encourages positive learning outcomes can even teach valuable life skills like responsibility, respect, discipline, and teamwork.
Within each management style, there are levels of student collaboration, movement, decision-making, and learning styles. Let’s dive into how design can influence and enhance classroom management strategies:
- Collaboration: Promoting collaboration and group work to practice working together is an important element to be woven into any classroom management style. Classroom setup can easily accommodate this with moveable desks, U-shaped seating arrangements, and groupings of desks to create pods. Whiteboard flip-top tables can even be incorporated into the classroom to enhance cohesiveness when working together, a design element that CDI incorporated into their Huntsville School project. Working cooperatively is fundamental to the school’s educational beliefs, so CDI ensured that science and project spaces were outfitted with whiteboard table tops that move, depending on the space’s needs.
- Movement: Striking the right balance between structure and freedom is not an easy task, but incorporating movement throughout the day can help unlock freedom for students, resetting their brains and allowing energy to move and flow. Classroom design can help to inform this belief, with standing desks, wobble stools, and rocking chairs all easily able to be incorporated into any learning environment. Utilizing furniture that moves can help to maintain classroom structure while providing the necessary motion that some students require in order to learn optimally.
- Decision Making: Allowing students to make decisions can help to promote learning ownership and responsibility, a lifelong skill reflected not just in education but in the workplace. Furniture that can be flexible and easily adaptable can grant students the authority to exercise freedom over their learning needs, giving them confidence to make decisions. When CDI partnered with St. Thomas Aquinas, a Catholic Elementary and Junior school in Edmonton, Alberta, creating flexible gathering spaces throughout the school was one of the main project objectives. The open gathering areas have comfortable soft seating that can easily be moved to adjust collaboration requirements, something that students can facilitate on their own. Within the classrooms, tables with various heights are used to mimic stadium seating which allows for good sightlines, and the classrooms all have fliptop tables that can be easily moved or rearranged to accommodate students’ needs.
- Learning Styles: Accommodating various learning styles within one classroom might seem like a tall order, but with the right furniture and design, it can easily be attainable. Setting up soft seating corners in order to accommodate learners who need more quiet and calm is such an example, along with collaborative areas for free play and active learning. With flexible seating that can easily be configured depending on the students or teachers needs, adapting to learning styles in order to optimize outcomes has never been easier.
Best Practices in Classroom Design and Management
With classroom design complimenting classroom management styles, there are many ways to set up and integrate strategies into the learning environment. With flexible and adaptable furniture available at the ready, teachers can personalize their classroom setup, in ways that align with their teaching and with the learning needs of their students.- Integration of Technology: Embracing modern tools like smartboards and tablets can offer interactive learning experiences that can work for multiple learning styles. However, their introduction should be paired with guidelines to prevent distractions. Good design can even help with this- innovative ways that technology can be hidden within the classroom are all the rage, and easily attainable using the right resources and suppliers.
- Flexibility is Key: Sometimes, a lesson might require group work, other times individual tasks. Adapting the classroom setup accordingly can greatly enhance the learning experience.
- Accessibility: Always ensure that classroom designs cater to all, including students with disabilities. Flexible, moveable, and adaptable furniture was designed with just this in mind, able to accommodate every learner no matter their needs.
Classroom Management: Not a One-Size-Fits-All Approach
Education rarely thrives in a one-size-fits-all setting. Regular feedback from students can offer insights into what’s working and what’s not. Regular training updates and understanding the unique nature of each class are crucial.
The classroom is more than four walls—it's an intricate ecosystem where design and classroom management techniques intertwine. An adaptable approach, where these elements coexist in harmony, promises a transformative educational experience.
Ready to get started? Meet with a CDI design consultant today.
