Furniture and room arrangments

Photos and suggestions for equipment and room arrangements in eMINTS classrooms. Furniture Workstation arrangement Room arrangement Teacher workstation

Furniture and room arrangements

These pages are a primer for the selection of furniture, arrangement of student workstations and arrangement of classroom spaces in an eMINTS' classroom. Based on observations about the arrangement and operation of the first round of eMINTS' classrooms, eMINTS staff have identified options and issues to consider in planning the arrangement of your eMINTS' classrooms. All the photographs in this document were taken in eMINTS classrooms between March and May 2000.

The first two recommendations are simple ones:

• Involve eMINTS teachers in all aspects of classroom space planning.
• Plan the classroom layout first.

One of the goals of eMINTS is to create workable classrooms that allow teachers and students to use their computers effectively. Classroom teachers are the members of your school staff who will be responsible for creating and maintaining an effective learning and instructional environment. Their input into the creation of this environment is crucial. At the very least, teachers should participate in decisions about furniture selection and room arrangement, especially as they relate to the placement of the teacher workstation and the relationship of the teacher's desk to student workstations. Ideally, teachers should be part of the planning team for eMINTS implementation and have input into the selection and arrangement of all aspects of the eMINTS classroom.

Decisions about the technical infrastructure of the room (for example, placement of Internet wiring, placement of the SMART Board, location of electrical outlets) should be made after the room arrangement is determined. The goal is to create workable classrooms and equip them with an appropriate technical infrastructure. Decisions about classroom arrangement should determine the appropriate infrastructure, not the other way around.

Reviewed May 20, 2003.