Reflect and share by EUN Partnership aisbl

Fatma AVCI, Turkey

fatma_epo — 2019-02-04 16:37:31 UTC

Annibale, Italy

annibalemorsillo — 2019-02-04 17:00:55 UTC

I found the video very inspiring. I really liked the cooperative approch by teachers, experts, students and volunteers. I like so much this approach to solve the problem with what you have. I can apply this method but only regarding the mouvemnt of the equipement, becouse to make other change in the classroom you need permissions from the owner of the school that usually is the Municipality or the Province.

Grazia, Italy

graziampl — 2019-02-04 17:15:38 UTC

The video is really interesting. Rarely, at least in Italy, you ask the people concerned their opinion on learning spaces and ask the boys who have to live there at least 6-7 hours per day for 5 consecutive days is really a fantastic idea. Unfortunately, I have very limited spaces, but fortunately I have many fewer students. What I can do is organize and reorganize the class every time I have them work collaboratively. In fact generally the class is arranged in a frontal way also because my colleagues prefer it in this way and then what I have to do is arrange the island stands

Elisabetta, Italy

goshprof — 2019-02-04 17:30:25 UTC

Unfortunately my spaces are not that flexible. Limited space between the rows of desks, aisles full of backpacks, no rooms for jackets. When we get to group work or circle time it takes a lot of time to rearrange the setting and start working (and it's only one hour I have). Moreover groups are very close to each other, so voice level sometimes disturbs the work of the nearby group.

Michela, Italy

2019-02-04 17:48:05 UTC

The learning spaces I have at my disposal aren't either flexible or interactive. This is particularly annoying when project work is scheduled. So I often take my class to the library to work in a more effective way.

Hakan TATLI Talas KAYSERİ

2019-02-04 18:19:20 UTC

I observe that our work is more effective by bringing it to nature in order to be permanent and understandable.

Ankica,Zagreb,Croatia

ankicarebrovic — 2019-02-04 18:49:04 UTC

Unfortunately, our classrooms are not as in the video. We need to start from the beginning, from the furniture in the classroom

Lucía, Spain

lucia_marase — 2019-02-04 18:56:01 UTC

Unfortunately my spaces in class are not so flexible and I could not make the changes shown in the video.

My classroom is set with individual seats which can be easily transformed into places for two or fours students. Sometimes students come into class and decide independently how they prefer to sit - alone or with a work partner. This makes our work more flexible.

2019-02-04 19:01:38 UTC

Naile Topbaş

nailetopbas — 2019-02-04 19:49:35 UTC

Unfortunately, our classes are not like in the video. We have no permission to change the materials different places.

Mehtap Öz

mhtpz83 — 2019-02-04 20:11:05 UTC

Thank you for this inspiring video.I tried to change my class last year.I study with small groups.4-5 students in each group.I have two round table for students.We have smart board and a computer.We need more computers and a printer.I started and I will go on :)

Doinita B., Romania

2019-02-04 20:22:26 UTC

In my class, the furniture can be arranged to allow for the creation of workspaces appropriate to the students' favorite styles of learning and for the activities proposed by the teacher. It is a very bright room, equipped with what I need to carry out personalized activities and students enjoy this training environment.

kamil. turkey

2019-02-04 20:34:09 UTC

we cant change too much becouse 10 teacher sharing same ... actualy we can change palace of desk when we want to colobrative learning...

Clara Vitorino, Portugal

clara_vitorino — 2019-02-04 20:39:23 UTC

My school is waiting for reforms… everything is pretty old and ugly. It’s difficult for us to make changes because teachers don’t have a classroom for them, we share a classroom with other teachers of other subjects, even students don’t stay all day in the same room. So it’s impossible to make a decorations, or to put new material, or to change the place of tables and chairs because the next teacher may not want these changes… Anyway moving tables to facilitate collaborative work is something we can do and do.

The video is inspiring specially in the way students are asked to show their needs and tastes with the photos.

Nicolette, Malta

nixmill78 — 2019-02-04 20:47:39 UTC

Luckily I do have some extra space in my room which I use when I am doing movement or an activity which requires instruments and singing. The only disadvantage I have is I am not the only one using the class so I might to rearrange the classroom setting before/after each lesson.

Naide,Turkey

2019-02-04 21:07:10 UTC

Exactly

Carla, Portugal

carlasfs — 2019-02-04 22:23:43 UTC

In our school the classrooms are very different from the one that appears in the video, but we can make some changes according to what we want to work with the classes. However these changes have to be punctual, since the same room is used by different classes and by different teachers.

Sarah Mallia, Malta

sarahborg85 — 2019-02-04 22:31:43 UTC

My classroom is very similar to the one in this video and I also face the same challenges. I have four groups of 6 students and one of 8 however I am encouraging my students to move around during group work and stand up from their place too.

Ksenija, Slovenia

ksenija_pecnik1 — 2019-02-04 23:16:40 UTC

Luckily, my classroom is very spacious and there are rarely more than 20 pupils in it at the same time. But still I could make it cosier, friendlier.

Anita,Croatia

akruzice — 2019-02-04 23:31:56 UTC

My classroom is not so flexible. I tried to make her look more beautiful with models, pictures, flowers, crystals, but I can not change my schedule as other teachers surrender in it

Mine, Turkey

maygulkaya — 2019-02-05 07:22:28 UTC

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y0Lq0OgZ7A0
There is some details about our school. Sometimes we can change the tables and chairs place.

Maria luisaa, genova, Italy

2019-02-05 08:11:07 UTC

Fortunately, the classrooms in which I teach are large enough to be able to arrange them differently from the usual arrangement, but I simply have them join two by two, thus forming groups of 4 pupils each. Anyway the class can still interact and help each other. carrying out a task.

Luísa Lima, Portugal

2019-02-05 09:36:22 UTC

It's not difficult to rearrange my classroom whenever I need it. It's also possible for us to use the library or the small auditorium, for instance.

Georgeta Caspruf

2019-02-05 10:21:38 UTC

I am lucky. I can arrange and rearrange my classroom and I have a library space and a rest space.

Dan Sovan- Romania

sovan_dan — 2019-02-05 10:55:59 UTC

The video is inspired and made me think how I could make more space in an overgrown classroom with students so they really can cooperate. It is nevertheless desirable that school designers and builders take into account the mandatory space and volume requirements required by a student and keep pace with the requirements of students and teachers of the 21st century (endowment with sports halls, classrooms, laboratories, ergonomic furniture , recreational green space, showroom, etc.)

Adina Marcu

adinamarcu9 — 2019-02-05 12:31:51 UTC

My classroom is not so flexible,but i do the best in every day to make it good for my students.

Carla Paiva, Portugal

crlpaiva73 — 2019-02-05 13:03:44 UTC

I'm very lucky because my classes are very small (12 students) and most classrooms are big enough to move furniture and circle around the classroom. But I quite understand the problem of classes like the one shown in this video. I´ve already had 28-34 student classes and it is very difficult to work in groups when there aren't enough tables or the classrooms are too small (designed for just 20 students).
I must admit that I avoided group work because of the lack of space and the noise created and I didn’t find a solution, really! I’m expecting to learn more about it. I think leaving backpacks outside the classroom, maybe could help, and put some tables against the walls around the classroom. I really don’t know!?

Violeta Cumak, Lithuania

2019-02-05 13:31:17 UTC

As a non-formal education teacher, I usually offer to students non-formal learning spaces-museums, parks, libraries etc. Its rise up students motivation.

Ella, Croatia

ella_rakovac — 2019-02-05 13:43:57 UTC

Video is very inspiring and gives you a whole set of ideas. Unfortunatelly, in my school teachers and students are changing classrooms during the day, so some of the ideas will have to wait a new school building.

Daniela Coman, Buzau, Romania

danielacoman22 — 2019-02-05 13:46:48 UTC

My class has modular furniture, but it's very small, so I can not arrange the banks as I would like for group activities, .

Elisa, Italy

secondabtaliercio — 2019-02-05 14:16:00 UTC

The video gave me good ideas unfortunately I don't think I'll be able to implement any of them, since it would require the cooperation of other teachers who seem not to like so much the idea of collaborative learning

Salva. SPAIN

cristinagomezmadrid — 2019-02-05 14:56:38 UTC

Of course, the video gave me good ideas to be implemented. I think we have to change our mind and be flexible with the organization of the spaces and groups in class in order to facilitate the learning.

Ivica G, CRO

2019-02-05 15:35:58 UTC

My classroom is not so flexible but I tried to make her look more beautiful with models, pictures, ...More teachers have lessons in same classroom. I can change my schedule and other teachers can do it if they like.

Francisco, Portugal

2019-02-05 15:48:57 UTC

Most classrooms, even in higher education, can be used in more than one way. The video was definitely an inspiration to try even more bold approaches to spaces

Mirela, Croaria

2019-02-05 15:53:20 UTC

This video inspire me.
Every day i try to make my classrom beter and more atractive for my students so we can all work the best we can.

Fatma,Turkey

fatmasarikayis — 2019-02-05 16:28:08 UTC

the class is not available for my students. ı cannot change my classroom setting. ı only work in pairs on the desks.

Mira, Croatia

mirar467 — 2019-02-05 16:36:30 UTC

My classroom has furniture that I can move and I do it depending on the activities. I have a tatami available for activities on the floor. Since I have 19 students, I can change my schedule and everyone has enough room to work. The only problem is that my school works in two shifts and I'm sharing the classroom with another class in the opposite direction.

Angelo, Rivoli, Italy

Angelo — 2019-02-05 16:39:03 UTC

3.5. Fortunately, I have enough space to be able to make the students work in groups. The problem is that in my school I am one of the few to use collaborative learning, so I can not arrange the classroom even with table islands, because the other teachers prefer the traditional rake arrangement.

The thing that always amazes me is the resistance by the students to leave their place to go to another part of the classroom with the group that I have formed even for just an hour.

Barbara Matysek, Poland

BarbaraMatysek — 2019-02-05 16:57:01 UTC

Classrooms in my schol do not have enough space for the change but if we had different furniture it would deffinitely help and make the classrooms more cosy and students' friendly. I hope it will happen in the future. Now to help my students and make their learning environment more friendly I can take them out or organise learning out of the classroom from time to time :)

Lidija Antolić, Croatia

lidijaantolic — 2019-02-05 17:49:31 UTC

I change learning space to support personalized learning. Especially when we have different workshops.

Sandra Oliveira, Portugal

sandrasoliveira — 2019-02-05 17:53:40 UTC

This video is indeed very interesting and shows us that redesigning a classroom to adjust it to collaborative teaching is possible. Therefore, this video is an inspiration.
It is possible to change the plan of my classroom but it is not as interactve and flexible as the classroom shown in the vídeo.
My school is brand new but the responsables for its project didn´t watch the video!

Elizabeth, Malta

2019-02-05 17:58:14 UTC

Wow, 35 students!!! I look forward to seeing the makeover....
The classroom that I am with are fortunate to have enough space, and are comfortable to work in collaborative groups.

Ana, Spain

arbenito — 2019-02-05 18:05:20 UTC

The classes where I work are too many! I teach English so that what I try is to give visibility to what the students bring and do in class related to English; show the results of their work group too

ayşin/türkey

aysin_72 — 2019-02-05 19:54:31 UTC

José María, Spain

josemaria_diazfuentes — 2019-02-05 20:06:22 UTC

I feel totally identified with the video. Our class distribution is very traditional and not very flexible so this video is very inspiring for me. It is also clear that this is a collaborative task with decisions that affects many people in the educational community and that all together we should look for the best solution.

Nilüfer Güreşçi

nil35b — 2019-02-05 20:17:00 UTC

I have a class in classical order.
This order does not allow for many group discussions.

The idea of changing class order comes very close to me.

Adriana, Romania

adrianamaris201 — 2019-02-05 20:22:39 UTC

My classes are not that flexible and interactive. There are a lot of students and not so much space. But the students can work in pairs and can change their seats if necessary.

Dana

danapunei — 2019-02-05 20:31:38 UTC

Unfortunately, in my class, the furniture can't be arrange.

Sadık Çalışkan

sdk44drk1 — 2019-02-05 20:33:06 UTC

increase motivation in activities

Marina, Zadar

marina_kulas — 2019-02-05 20:59:01 UTC

My classroom is perfect. I organized it before two years.

CROATIA, Suzana

suzanaz0607 — 2019-02-05 21:00:36 UTC

My classroom is well organised. We often work in groups and everything is adjusted. In every class, I've got 10 to 15 students, so it's not hard to move desks when necessary.

Ivana B., Croatia

ivanabasic70 — 2019-02-05 21:04:56 UTC

My classroom is large and I often change the bench layout to make the students more entertaining.

Cândida Passos, Portugal

candidasampaiopassos — 2019-02-05 21:10:23 UTC

My classroom is not large, but my classes are composed by 15-20 students.So It is flexible to put my pupils working in groups.

Igor CROATIA

2019-02-05 21:25:06 UTC

Ideas in the video make so much sense. My classroom depends not only on me, because others use it as well... :(

Jorge Conde, Portugal

jmsc — 2019-02-05 22:51:38 UTC

We all would like good furniture for our students, but that's not possible. My project based environment allows students to be place into groups quite easily. When they have to work language/grammar contents, students can go to different groups and share their problems and doubts.

sonia bras

2019-02-05 22:55:10 UTC

the learning spaces are some flexible but not interactive. Of course the video inspired me to make my classroom environment more collaboration-friendly. there will be more equipment,

equipment practical to use and straighten, more variety, more new and recent. Also an computer and a projector to watch some information and videos.

Soraya, Portugal

sorayaroliveira — 2019-02-06 09:21:08 UTC

The video shows a very crowded classroom and the ideas they give to optimize the space are very interesting.

However, in my case, we just need to sit students in small groups, so we don’t even need to moove the tables around the classroom.

As I work with other teachers in the classroom and we only have 16 young students in the classroom it is easy to access everywhere and to move them around the classroom, according to the type of activity they do. And we change them a few times in each lesson.

emma Giurlani Italy

findingasensense — 2019-02-06 10:12:23 UTC

most of the spaces where I work with my students have been not really thought to be flexible spaces , because out school has been build during the 70s years of last century. Nevertheless I think that we can adapt our spaces depending on the activities we want to do with our students. Although we have at leat 25/30 students in each class and the classrooms are sometimes not that big , we already work with students divided in small work groups but I think that we must do a long way still to gain really personalized learning. I think in my school we already have spacec where we can work in a more personalized way but it is not yet the normal daily practice. More than the spaces we have to achieve that shift of mindsets which is explained in the three videos. Without this we cannot realize real effective personalized teaching and learning and that is what most inspired me in the three videos: to facilitate this shift of mindsets ,making our learning spaces, but most of all our attitude to teaching and learning, more flexible . This could help a lot to become more willing to give more space to creativity and imagination, by combining what exists and needs to be enhanced, with what can help to renew the didactic practice. Technology as a support to an activating methodology for each style of learning

Lidija, Croatia

2019-02-06 10:32:55 UTC

In my school, we share classrooms with other classes. That is why it is quite difficult to change the schedule. However, I often change the layout of furniture to make us more comfortable in the classroom.

Sílvia Teixeira, Portugal

silviamg_teixeira83 — 2019-02-06 12:30:54 UTC

The active participation of students, through collaborative learning, requires that the educational space is organized in such a way as to facilitate free expression and participation: collective school objects should be available to the students in a way to be used and arranged, with autonomy and responsibility ; the work files, corresponding to the various areas of the curriculum, must be ordered and classified; the registration maps (map of attendance, map of tasks, registration of study projects, Journal of Class and Curriculum) must be exposed and able to be accessed by the students, responsible for their completion ... This work organization also requires a more flexible spatial organization of the classroom, creating:

the area of arts, music and drama, where are the materials needed for painting, drawing, clipping and gluing, constructions, musical instruments, puppets...
the library of the class, making available to the students, books and documents for reading, consulting and supporting studies and project work;
the writing area, where are the computer, the files, as well as the works for school correspondence, the school newsletter and other projects related to writing;
the area of Mathematics, where are available structured and unstructured materials to support this area;
the area of science, which will be built throughout the year with the materials used in the most diverse experimental activities proposed.

Maria Luisa,Genova, Italy

marialuisa_borr — 2019-02-06 12:38:52 UTC

In order to participate actively in the lesson, through collaborative learning, the students need a different space from what our classrooms contain. Also I often combine the two-by-two desks like in the video, to allow the students to collaborate work given.

I like:Emma Giurlani, Italy and Soraya,Portugal

İSHAK KURT

kurtishak16 — 2019-02-06 14:16:58 UTC

The new design teaching in the video was wonderful. Collaboration and interaction in this class will be better. I have a class design.

Anunciação, Portugal

2019-02-06 14:55:42 UTC

In the previous module I shared a photograph of my classroom, the biology lab. In this room, the space is already organized to provide group work and free movement of students in the room. The room has a computer with internet connection and wi-fi, which are used whenever necessary. The works that the students are doing throughout the year are exposed in the room, so that they identify more with that space and feel it as their own.

Anita, Croatia

anita_simac — 2019-02-06 15:06:39 UTC

The video and positive attitude of the teacher is excellent.
Seeing my classroom through different eyes makes me want to make changes and create new spaces for different activities.
Subtle changes can make all the difference: arrangement of tables and chairs, moving artwork around, there are a lot of ways to make a change.

Ana, Portugal

ana_montenegro5 — 2019-02-06 15:08:50 UTC

I think my classroom is very interactive, once children have the opportunity to chance whenever they feel like its necessary! We have a big group meeting area and they we have small areas where children can play with each other. We also have one of those areas that only two children (at the same time) can attend, so that it's possible to have also pair work in the classroom. We don't need much furniture, we need the necessary one and children to be involved in the process of organizing their own classroom.

This video has inspired me to share with some colleges how they can change their classrooms (from older students) to be more flexible and to be able to support personalized learning.

I don’t have my own classroom in my school. I have to attend fourteen different classes to teach two sessions per week. Physical mobility is not a problem in terms of my students and me. The decoration is quıte useful and practical. I can reach every student, and I am free to move the desk.The video is really inspiring. I appreciate the tutor a lot.

2019-02-06 15:29:45 UTC

Sílvia, Portugal

simavidu — 2019-02-06 15:30:43 UTC

I think that my classroom is very interactive, as it is constantly altered in its layout, just as all the things on the walls are renewed periodically, and whenever it is deemed necessary (not only on my part but also the students).
The layout of the room is always planned with the class, so that they feel involved and that everyone has the chance to try to work in different ways and with different colleagues.

Cristina Dias, Portugal

crisprof7 — 2019-02-06 16:30:48 UTC

Yes, I think my classrooms are flexible and interactive, of course they aren't the greatest spaces in the world, but we can always adapt them to the activities we want to develop . And in my opinion the teacher can make the difference - Yes, we can! - it's just to be creative ... I can give an example: one of my classrooms is very little and yet when I want to teach something more theoretical it 's ok and when I want them to research we go to a ICT classroom or even use the library, another space is, most of the times, a solution that is attractive to us all.
But the video is clear when it shows that we can always make the difference, getting things better and improving all classroom schemes and furniture layout.

Monique Malta

2019-02-06 16:47:04 UTC

Luckily I have a very big classroom and I only teach small groups as I am a complementary teacher. I have ample space to set my kids on different tasks.
The video was very positive. The idea of getting educators to put in their suggestions when designing a classroom is crucial

Maria Natália Couto, Covilhã, Portugal

niacouto — 2019-02-06 16:50:50 UTC

Most space my students and I have in our timetables are not at all similar to the ones depicted on the video; Neverthless the video is rather inspirational in showing that if the right people unite effort, it may pay off.

In my school there are 5 or 6 spaces that are actually a “white canvas” where you can carry out different approaches to your classes. The problem is that there are also too many people to use them. It is a very small school for the number of students and teachers we have.

When I need more flexibility, I divide the classes into groups and the students may move from one place to another, including going to the library or outside to film scenes, for example.

For the teacher it is a bit more complicated as you have to move from one place to another to monitor and provide feedback on what students are doing. Doing this every 90 minutes may be exhausting. But what you lose while being tired is clearly overcome by seeing motivation of the students (even the ones that with a more traditional classroom methodology tend to do nothing).

Alessandra Amideo, Ital

2019-02-06 16:57:32 UTC

If I think back now to the learning spaces that I have available for my students, they are not entirely flexible and interactive, like the one shown in the video. The video inspired me to make the environment in my class more conducive to collaboration.

Emiliana Rufo, Italy

emiliana_rufo — 2019-02-06 17:15:11 UTC

Even if my classrooms haven't got flexible furniture, I try to organize cooperative learning activities by moving desks from rows to small groups. I work in a middle school and I'm teaching my students to find materials, create and re-use their knowledge, to not be so based on the book. We also use online tools and Virtual classroom to share activities.

Farah

2019-02-06 17:34:07 UTC

The video is very interesting. It inspired me because I have 35 students in the class, and I always thought it is difficult for me to do collaborative learning. My class is not interactive and flexible, but I will try to find a way to more often do collaborative learning, and arrange students in groups.

Daniela. Italy

2019-02-06 17:42:33 UTC

We have a class 2.0 in which there are small desks that can be put together by 4 and are of different colour. Students have their own tablet that can be controlled by the teacher with the LIM. Rucksacks and personal things must be put in a special wardrobe.

patrizia_lucchelli — 2019-02-06 17:55:17 UTC

Unfortunately, the problem of spaces does not always allow me to optimally manage groups created for collaborative and cooperative learning. What can I do with my students and move the desks two by two to allow them to exchange ideas and opinions and work on the proposed project.

Patrizia

patrizia_lucchelli — 2019-02-06 17:55:17 UTC

Patrizia Italy

patrizia_lucchelli — 2019-02-06 17:55:21 UTC

Habibe, Turkey

2019-02-06 19:00:04 UTC

The video inspired me as in some classes I have 40 students. But I am not sure whether it will be useful with controlling the students. Also by making much noise when they collaborate, they can disturb the other classes. In my opinion collaborative learning is much more useful with small numbers of students.

Göksel Ogalan, Manisa-Turkey

gogalan — 2019-02-06 19:08:18 UTC

This video is really inspiring in terms of re-arranging not only the classroom but also the atmosphere of the class. Unfortunately I don't have here any chance to hire a helping-hand like "the third teacher" but I try to design the classroom in a way that supports collaborative and side by side learning .

Luísa Pires, Portugal

luisap36 — 2019-02-06 19:22:41 UTC

It is true that architecture and resources are important. But the most significant pieces in the classroom are the people involved – teacher and students. My classroom is flexible enough for me to change students’ desks and organize groups to make collaborative work part of the learning experience.

At my school, team work has been set as a priority and when the teacher says “today we are going to work in teams”, the students immediately prepare the sitting arrangements and put the desks and chairs back in place at the end of the lesson.

Ana

anaanic — 2019-02-06 21:36:38 UTC

Very positive attitude,great teaching. Very inspirational. My classrooms are flexible furniture wise and I got a lot of great ideas to implement.

Ana Teresa Gonçalves, Por

ateresag — 2019-02-06 21:38:16 UTC

Yes, with the space I have, I can group or change the room so that I can adapt it to the class I intend to give. Since the room is of the the class and is used by different teachers, the only problem is that I have to change it whenever I have a class with them and then leave it as it was before to the other teachers.

Ana Teixeira, Portugal

annapaulart — 2019-02-06 22:24:33 UTC

My classrooms are small, but the U-shaped layout allows for more flexible and interactive learning environments.
In fact, the video is inspiring. The human resources are fantastic people. They are teachers who carry out their mission and look after their children with love. I could follow their footsteps and intervene more positively in my workplace, however, time is a deterrent factor. Unfortunately, next year I will be teaching in another school (or unemployed in the worst-case scenario). Pedagogical continuity is always an advantage for everyone involved in the teaching / learning process. We create empathy, bonds, make promises, engage in long-term commitments, and give hope to our children. This short film shows a hard work plan that requires a lot of time. If I could and if I came across such a dynamic, creative and innovative team, I would do exactly the same.

Miguel Correia, Portugal

mi1kas — 2019-02-06 22:31:18 UTC

I have classes in very different classesrooms, both in terms of size and in terms of form, and although some classesrooms allow some flexibility, in others it is impossible to change something.

The video was inspiring to try to find solutions, or improvise, much more than I already do.

Jasna, Croatia

2019-02-06 23:56:01 UTC

I do not have a classroom where I can make inspiring atmosphere. But this video made me think…

Olivera, Montenegro

OliveraOlja — 2019-02-07 00:44:27 UTC

The video inspired me to try to find solutions, or improvise, much more than I do.

I have classes in very different classrooms, both in sizes and in terms of form, but although some classrooms allow some flexibility, in others it is impossible to change something, but the video is certainly inspiring to think that with small investments I improve from.
In a small space a lot of children can create a lot of noise!

FilipaGFM, Portugal

filipagfm — 2019-02-07 01:12:22 UTC

The classrooms in which I've worked were always very similar: a board, behind or next to the teacher's desk, and the students' desks facing the board. Some had computers and projectors, radios and cork boards to expose the students' works. These type of classrooms usually have space to reorder the table settings, so I can move them wherever I want. With the help of the kids, it's quick and doable. However, as shown in the video, it's hard to change the classroom setting when you have huge classes, with 30 students. Also, sometimes the digital tools dont' work or are old and unusable.

I think that this flexibility to rearrange a classroom is a great idea to change the teaching methods that are so rooted; unfortunately, in the schools where I've worked, it wasn't possible to have a classroom per subject. Just an example: if there are labs to use in Science and Chemistry lessons, how come there isn't an English lab?

It's always good to watch these examples like the one of the video and try to come up with fresh ideas (particularly if we listen to the kids) to create a more collaborative environment.

Rachel

rachelawhis_ra — 2019-02-07 05:15:45 UTC

My classroom is very flexible and interactive. We have so much space to move around, play games and do anything that can make learning better and comfortable. This video has inspired me because I understand better how I should maximize the use of my flexible classroom. I feel like I could do more.

Lalitha India,

lilyraj — 2019-02-07 06:00:50 UTC

Yes the video is definitely inspiring. If the teacher is creative she can make the best use of the space available to let the students collaborate and explore.

Cláudia de Sousa, PORTUGAL, EAST TIMOR

2019-02-07 06:28:49 UTC

The video is very inspiring, however as I said before in this course, the Portuguese school system doesn't allow teachers of all the subjects to innovate and re-imagine the layout of each classroom they enter 90 in 90 minutes.
What I try to do is to take the students out of the classroom, for instance into the library or formation room and even outside when the weather permits it.

Nițescu Emilia-Elisabeta, Romania

tomaemilia — 2019-02-07 07:23:13 UTC

I watched the video and found that she could come up with some ideas about workspaces. Because the space of my class does not allow too much furniture, then I think I will rethink the class completely.

Derya Ümüş CEM

2019-02-07 08:53:18 UTC

Depending on the size of the class, it would be appropriate to create a table layout, to choose the appropriate furniture, and to use a wheeled and lockable table. In addition, it is important to create information boards in the classroom for students.

jasenka_kuljak — 2019-02-07 09:47:52 UTC

Avatar of European Schoolnet Academy European Schoolnet Academy + 90 ● 1h

Jasenka Kuljak, Croatia

jasenka_kuljak — 2019-02-07 09:50:50 UTC

This video is very inspiring. We haven't got felxible furniture, bit it is good idea. I use collaborative learning and new technologies. We create our flexible environment.

Giorgia, Romania

giorgiagroza — 2019-02-07 09:50:54 UTC

I teach in 6 classrooms but the learning space are the same, because our educational system is old, influenced by communism and we can not change many things, especially because of material founds. I am aware that the classroom design does not encourage the collaborative or personalized learning. The learning spaces are not flexible and interactive . That s for sure that the video represents a wonderful idea how the collaborative space look like.

Ana Rita Silva, Portugal

anaritamaia_silva — 2019-02-07 10:00:23 UTC

I work in a secondary school, and I teach physics and chemistry. When I was placed in this school, I read that it would open a FCL (Future Classroom Lab) and I was really excited. The truth is that to this day, this room still doesn’t exist. If I could get this school to have an FCL I would use it without a doubt: greater student motivation for acquiring knowledge and for developing skills, combining three very important factors: technology, space and methodologies.

As far as spaces I have available for work are normal classrooms (with tables, chairs, a computer and a whiteboard) and laboratories (which by themselves already have a rigid structure because of the workbenches that are fixed). The classrooms have all projectors, but it is the only technology available to either the teacher or the student.

Sometimes I feel the need to reorganize the classrooms where I will teach. The organization of groups of students requires a space organization that allows a cooperative work among all. As the classrooms are all in the same way, rearranging the space each time I reach a different classroom becomes quite time consuming, in addition to producing some noise for the remaining adjacent rooms.

The video enthuses any teacher who wants to improve their method and the learning and motivation of their students.

As I said earlier, I loved that the Future Classroom Lab was the Classroom of the Present!

Karolina, Cro

2019-02-07 10:38:32 UTC

I use different classrooms in school, some are in "U" form, some have tables for group of four student, this video isinspiring , I will talk to my colleagues and principal about these ideas...

José Machado, Braga, PT

2019-02-07 11:13:16 UTC

At my school, most school spaces are formatted, although there may be three types of variation: in-line desks, group desks, u-shaped or open square desks. But the school has classrooms configured in another way, with the possibility of having students sitting in chairs or in pufs; the library is organized differently, with unique tables, group tables and spaces with sofas. We also have the so-called classroom of the future with special chairs and tables, removable, interactive boards and walls that are used as pedagogical resources. This video presents a well studied and well resolved case.

Mihaela Marcu, RomaniaUnfortunately, in school we have unfriendly, massive furniture that can not move and occupy almost the whole space, we do not have any technology in class, and we can only use blackboard, while very large students are dependent on notebooks.If I would arrange the space for my taste, I would have small and mobile banks to work in small groups and a generous space to display pupils' products or other materials.

mrc_mihaela — 2019-02-07 11:19:32 UTC

Ester Degennaro,Italy

esterdegennaro — 2019-02-07 12:01:29 UTC

Not always the classes have flexible classroom furniture, but we can try to make them more collaboration-friendly. Our classroom has large spaces. We have e a great TV with an overhead projector in the centre of the class, and we moved the desks in small groups 4 or 5 students. The teacher can easily move around the classroom and interact with one another. I use my projector to do my lessons, and this is visible to everybody.

Temel Gövce Mersin Turkey

temelgvce — 2019-02-07 12:05:13 UTC

My class is crowded too. I have got 34 students. Desks are unconfortable. Furniture aren't flexible. I change my class setting several time but ıt's non useful. I am using classical order. I have a television.I am using a blackboard. I would have special desks and chairs, interactive board in my class.This video is very inspiring.

Patrícia Campos, Portugal

patricia_campos1 — 2019-02-07 12:19:09 UTC

Very inspiring video! I watched all 3, to see the final result! :D

If that space had a solution having to incorporate 36 students, any space has, even my classrooms!

The possibility of having a space were students could access a white board and a computer was a good ideia.
Putting wheels in existing tables too.
One thing I think it would be easy to do in my classrooms is creating a space were students could show the work they are doing. Some of the classrooms I attend have clean walls that are textured so covering them with some fine cork or plastic with make that space available to be used.

Fernando Mota, Portugal

2019-02-07 12:52:47 UTC

• Unfortunately not ... My classrooms are "too rigid" with little or no flexibility.
• Obviously the video is very motivating when it comes to creating a collaborative classroom. I would like to have a room "only" for me and with autonomy to manipulate it, in order to create environments that facilitate learning, be it collaborative and / or personalized.

Sara, Portugal

2019-02-07 13:09:16 UTC

The rooms where I teach have various models of spatial flexibility. We have rooms with round tables, others with square tables, others with individual chairs of the steel case, in which all spaces are created and decorated by the students. These spaces have to be designed by the students so that they feel in a friendly environment.
All ideas are welcome, as these can inspire new changes or renewals of spaces.
My school has a model of curriculum flexibility that fosters all classroom changes, creating environments that lead students to become more autonomous, creative, and better human beings.

Ana Correia, Guarda, Portugal

anacorreia1 — 2019-02-07 15:06:04 UTC

I keep talking about constrains and that’s not how I usually address issues. I look at constrains to find solutions and I’ve been able to do it so far in this course. But that’s not the case here. I really can’t think of a way to address this issue unless there’s team work and a transversal dynamic.

I always work in a shared classroom. I work with the students for an hour, then, the elementary teacher takes over for the rest of the day. Sometimes the elementary teachers share my view on this need for creating flexible spaces, other times they don’t. Some rooms are big enough for the number of students, others aren’t. Some are very well equipped, others aren’t. I have extremely different scenarios in a day, and it requires a lot of imagination and sensitivity towards other teachers to intervene in such spaces.

Nevertheless, I don’t give up on changing working patterns and environments, I just can’t aim at such deep transformations. In fact, I believe different classes may need different classroom layouts. So, the only options available, in my opinion, are asking students to move desks, organize different working areas, group them in different ways each class and subtly try to reach other teachers and involve them in these different changes.

F

paduraruflorentina — 2019-02-07 15:25:51 UTC

Maria Helena , Portugal

escolasdamoita — 2019-02-07 15:56:28 UTC

This was a really interesting video with excellent ideas.
My classrooms are not flexible and interactive.
In fact, in my school all classrooms are shared with several teachers that teach different subjects, different courses and different grades. This makes changing the classroom layout or even trying to keep changes done during my classroom hours impossible. When I change the table layout to accommodate, for example group work, , I have to end class earlier to put it all back again. And, of course, this is very time consuming and tiring if you do it every time, in every class.
If I do not put it back in its original layout, somebody will complain about it.
This does not stop me from changing it whenever I think it is important to do so, as for example when we are doing a debate. I like to put the chairs in a circle so that all students can face each other. Sometimes when we do group work we keep the layout, but the students gather round one of the tables. This doesn't make it very cofortable for the students, but at least it gets "the job done".

I really would love to have such a collaborative-friendly classroom with all the resources at hand. Right now I do not even have a projector in several of the classrooms I teach, because some lamps died out and there is no money to buy new ones.
Well, I have still not given up yet. The future will tell me what to do and how to improve my students' personalized learning spaces and mainly their learning. And then, there is always our school library...

Kata, Split-Croatia

2019-02-07 16:07:35 UTC

This video inspired me to think what I can change in my classroom and make it more collaboration-friendly. In this video we saw a very good job. Well done!

2019-02-07 16:59:05 UTC

This video inspired me to think what I can change in my classroom and make it more collaboration-friendly. In this video we saw a very good job. Well done! favorite_border 0 Avatarın Yorum ekle more_vert Maria Helena , Portugal Maria Helena , Portugal This was a really interesting video with excellent ideas. My classrooms are not flexible and interactive. In fact, in my school all

Feyza, Ankara Turkey

2019-02-07 17:01:21 UTC

İnspirational video!Although the classroom environment is narrow, flexible furniture works to work in the group.

Edita, Croatia

EditaRizvan — 2019-02-07 17:13:21 UTC

Really interesting video with excellent ideas. This video gives me the idea to make my classroom flexible. My classroom is not very flexible, but I try to be, depending on the activities.

I share my classrooms with other teachers.That is why is quite difficult to change the schedule.

We have space for some activities such as dance and some games.

The students are happy to have a different schedule.

Sibel Akyılmaz Ateş,Turkey

sibelakyilmazates — 2019-02-07 17:18:33 UTC

In this video, he encouraged my classroom to think about how to make it more suitable for collaboration. I have projection in my class. Student desks are not flexible.

Paulo Almeida, Portugal & Belgium

pauloalmeida19691 — 2019-02-07 17:58:59 UTC

My classes are all taught in labs. The workbenches are fixed and there is no possibility of modifying the structure of the classroom, so they do not facilitate interactions among the students. They are distributed by queues and this makes it impossible for them to see the faces of each other, which is little promoter of social interactions.
However, once I develop collaborative work, fundamentally in pairs, students have the opportunity to interact, two by two. In this way, even the laboratory allows the development of this type of strategy, although it limits the discussion in the extended group of the class. When I want students to work in larger groups, I distribute them across different workbenches and turn the chairs around so they can interact more easily.
The video is inspiring but when the room is not just "ours", being used by other school teachers, it forces me to leave the room as I found it, so it is difficult in this context to try to promote profound changes in the rooms. The ideal would be to have removable furniture (with wheels) that would allow an organization of the space, depending on the type of work that is intended to develop, but this has high costs that the schools can not support.

Eduardo López. Spain.

2019-02-07 18:09:15 UTC

Regarding the works in the classroom, I wish I could do something similar one day but I think local autorities wouldn't give me that chance.....
The idea is brilliant, I can't complain about the flexibility and interactivity in my classrooms but most of the times I have to move from one class to another to teach English, of course watching this and reading your ideas I can make my classrooms much better, with the help of my students of course.

Mariangela, Italy

mariangela_biel — 2019-02-07 18:21:44 UTC

Desk clusters are the best way to improve the classroom set up with the available resources.

Luisa Lopes, Portugal

2019-02-07 18:39:12 UTC

I watched all the 3 videos! I must say the change of environment is amazing! Much more space for the teacher and students to walk around, there is more light, among other things.
When it comes to the school where I teach, there is no enviroment like the one presented on the video. However, my classes are small (11, 13 and 16 students per class). This allows me to organize the desks for group work quite easily.
Still, I wish we could make some changes in the rooms, making these spaces more interesting and comfortable to cause the same reaction on my students as the one shown on vídeo 3.

Döndü,Turkey

2019-02-07 18:58:41 UTC

class environment is a suitable environment for flexible work. The students collaborate and reveal original studies

Renata, Zadar

ruic_renata — 2019-02-07 19:06:20 UTC

I can' t change my classroom to much, because I share it with other colleagues. if I change position of benches (wich I do sometimes) I have to return them back as they were for the next class.

Elsa M - Portugal

elsaurbanomartins20 — 2019-02-07 19:11:03 UTC

I really loved the videos and I would love to do a classroom makeover, but as I said in other posts I don't have my own classroom or my own class. I have 11 classes with different settings that I share twice a week with their teachers. Besides our classrooms are not as large as the one in the video. We struggle to fit in 10/ 11 desks and chairs, the teacher's desk, the computer table and one bookshelf, plus jackets, schoolbags, lunch bags and some footballs.
In only two of the eleven classrooms there is an interactive board, in the others when I want to show something on the computer I have to place the screen on top of the motherboard and hope that it doesn't fall.

Teresa Lacerda, Portugal

teresalacerda — 2019-02-07 19:24:34 UTC

This year my classroom have old furniture but the space is flexible. So, I can work with different methodologies in my class. I feel privileged.
However, the other rooms in my school is not similar to my room. For this change the teachers must to understand the need to have rooms with a flexible layout of furniture.

Dana Floareș, România

floaresdana — 2019-02-07 19:27:51 UTC

Like Renata, Zadar, I can' t change the classrooms to much. Each class has its own roombe and I share it with my colleagues. Sometimes I change position of benches, but at the end of the class, we have to put the banks back together.

Neslihan, Turkiye

2019-02-07 19:40:26 UTC

Absolutely inspired. I especially liked the idea of a document camera that didn't require the teacher to turn his back on the students. Thank you for this video

Esra Duygu ERKOL BÜYÜKDİNÇ,Turkey

esraduyguerkol1 — 2019-02-07 19:48:55 UTC

YES. More efficient use of space with less goods and materials can be revealed. Common spaces allow freedom to move.

Carlos, Portugal

prof_carlospegacha — 2019-02-07 19:49:36 UTC

These three videos are very encouraging and we share the same problem, too much students in a small space... I teach in a overcrowded classroom... and this is so stressful, its impossible to walk among them...but i´ll try to find a effective design to improve collaborative and personalized learning...

Erkan ERDEN, Simav/TURKEY

benerkanerden — 2019-02-07 20:21:28 UTC

Sınıfların özelliklerine göre her sınıfın kapılarını kapladık. Öğrencileri daha özgür kılmak için sosyal yaşam etkinliği sınıfları oluşturduk.

Silvia

silvia_lopmar_2 — 2019-02-07 21:03:54 UTC

Maria, Portugal

mariatiago — 2019-02-07 21:08:37 UTC

Great inspiration to personalise the teaching and learning space ( the classroom) and the most important thing was that it was done collaboratively with the teacher, the students, experts and some community members without spending a lot of money :).

Reflecting on my classrooms and in the number of students of each class, I have to say that in some classes my mobility among the students is really difficult (backpacks, coats, bags…) but I can also say I have the possibility to modify the classroom layout, desks arrangements, or use mobile devices, according to what is best for teaching and learning although I can’t open the space to bring all students on a grade level team together for large group activities. And, whenever the students need to record some dialogues, prepare their presentation, they go to the corridor or outside the classroom to complete their tasks.

In my classrooms, as I said in the previous Module, we have the possibility to use mobile devices such as tablets, computers or mobile phones. As we have to book them in advance and sometimes they’re not available I prefer to use the mobile phones because all of them have mobile phones always with them and they are familiar with this tool too.

Sandra Gomes, Portugal

sandragomes — 2019-02-07 22:02:41 UTC

The three videos are really interesting and they illustrate how important it is to redesign our classrooms.
In a single day I teach in at least three to four different classrooms, which forces me to rearrange them whenever I need the students to work in groups. But it is feasible and I only have to put furniture back to its place at the end of each class.
And as we have seen in the first video, walking around the class is sometimes difficult because of students' satchels placed on the floor and between aisles.
I also think that whenever a teacher wants to make things work, almost everything is possible!... even if he /she doesn't have access to the ideal classroom setting.

Zdenka, Croatia

zdenka_jerkovic — 2019-02-07 22:09:19 UTC

I can't permanently change the schedule in my classroom because I share it with other colleagues.
The students are very happy to change their schedule and to work in groups.

Rebeca, Spain

rebecapeso — 2019-02-07 22:16:09 UTC

I like to change the position of the tables, depending on the activitiy. In a U shape or in groups of five

Özlem,Turkey

tyln3506 — 2019-02-07 22:49:06 UTC

The learning areas I have for my students are not flexible and interactive. Definitely, the video is inspiring. Thanks for sharing and great ideas.

Antonino, Portugal

antoninoesteves1 — 2019-02-07 22:54:21 UTC

The video was very inspiring and makes me want to deeply modify the traditional drawing classrooms. In certain rooms you can make significant changes without getting into the budget. It is possible to change the arrangement of tables and chairs as well as the storage cabinets that can allow space to work in a group and collaborative way.

Cecília, Portugal

cecijart — 2019-02-08 01:15:57 UTC

Thinking about the learning spaces of my students, I find them flexible and interactive, although the classroom is much smaller than the video shows, but also has fewer students.
The video is inspiring, but it has not brought me anything new, since I have always tried to transform the classroom in an environment of comfort and well-being, allowing interaction and to work pleasantly. I organize the classroom space in different ways, throughout the school year, in view of the goals to be achieved:
Tables in the form of “U” - at the beginning of the year, to get to know each other better, interact and dialogue; Tables in queues - in lectures; introduce a concept, a theme; information given on the board.
Tables grouped (2 tables / 4 students) - to develop a group work, a project, a production;
Tables in the form of a wing - used for most of the school year, because in addition to being liked by students, allows to switch between a direct instruction class and a collaborative learning class in a very short period of time.

Cristina Voicu/Romania

voicuelena18 — 2019-02-08 09:48:41 UTC

I do not change the furniture too much, I prefer to ask students to get their chairs and move to the students from the back or in front of his.
It is not a great solution but I cannot do other way because it will take a lot of time, it is too noisy and other teachers do not like it.

Cristina, Romania

cristina08ichim — 2019-02-08 10:23:28 UTC

In our class we can arrange the furniture in only two ways. But I try to group the children each time in another position. The video presented gives us ideas for classroom refurbishment and I think it's a good idea to involve the students.

Carla M., Portugal

carlamarinho — 2019-02-08 11:10:00 UTC

These videos were really inspiring. Like many teachers, I have to face the same problem: too many students in a tiny space. Nevertheless we can always try to change our classroom settings and provide environments in which learners work in collaboration for personalised learning.

António, Portugal

antonio_branco — 2019-02-08 11:16:34 UTC

One thing we share is there... too much kids in one class.
One other thing is that we go from classroom to classroom every hour, every class.
Can we make a traditional, and small classroom into a space of collaborative and personalized learning? Sure we can try, at least.
The most defying thing is that we must construct and deconstruct by the hour...
"Yes we can..."

Lídia, Portugal

lidiamsantossousa — 2019-02-08 11:46:45 UTC

Last week I had the opportunity to showcase and describe the learning spaces in my school, which is an artistic, music school. I pointed out the "culture" of flexibiity in terms of space rearrangement due to the nature of the school.
After I have watched the 3 phases of Steve's classroom transformation, my attention was drawn to some important aspects such as:
1) The matching of the physical environment to teaching and learning goals , which seems to be almost self-explanatory, but actually plays an important role in the efficiency of the process
2) The number and nature of "agents" involved in the remaking of that space;
designers, learner strategists, students, teachers, parents, the community (even in terms of funding)
3) The final product

As a teacher, I have always recgnized the importance of learning spaces and their adaptation to teaching and learning goals.
Never, have I had the opportunity to rely on experts' opinions to validate my options and this was new or me. I find this very relevant and empowering to education in general.
My country really needs to bring more expertise into educational matters. This is why I really detach point no. 2 (see above) as contrastive to my own experience. All observation, discussions towards reaching consensus and taking action was extremely interesting even in terms of shifting the mindset on how things should be done.
In terms of the final product, I loved the idea of the writeable walls, that would bring a lot of practical benefits to my (or any other) classroom. Also the versatility and multipurposed nature of the teacher's table, or teaching station as the principal called it in the video, would really help me in terms of efficiency because everything is at hand and that undoubtfully would leave me more room to monitor student-to-student collaboration and to intervene in terms of a student-teacher/teacher-student or teacher/students (class) interaction.
For all the above mentioned reasons, I found this video inspiring and despite probable constraints, I will try to adapt some of the showcased possibilities to my classroom.

Halil SÜNBÜL/Turkey/Osmaniye

2019-02-08 12:16:34 UTC

it is not difficult to rearrange my class. For example, it is possible to use the class of intelligence class or school library.

Brankica, Croatia

2019-02-08 12:38:27 UTC

I often rearrange my classroom, into a U shape or an arrangement for groups of four-five students, depending on the work we're doing, but I would certainly need more freedom when it comes to storage and walls..

cornelia_bascau — 2019-02-08 13:49:47 UTC

I can't arrange the furniture. I try to group the students in another position. The video was inspiring

Maria Cristina Rocha, Portugal

mcrisroch1 — 2019-02-08 14:14:03 UTC

My classroom is prepared to form groups. Nevertheless, there are colleagues that want the tables organized like it was a bus.
I would like to have tenis balls in the table's legs, to avoid the noise, better internet wireless system, more books and above all, classes with less students, around 15 maximum. This way, every single student would be allowed to have a real individual support to learn.
I love schoollibraries, and ours allowes students to read on the floor, sing and tell stories (1st to 4th grade). Every student is allowed to stay and paint, draw, read and play. That is the way classes maybe should be organized. In classroom I would love to have those big balls we use in Pilates. Kids would be more comfortable.
Maybe, sometimes, by fear and accomodation, we teachers use several arguments in order to explain the motive why we don't try to change and experiment a different way of ranging classroom and change pedagogical approaches. But having 30 students in a class, when they didn't learn yet that talking loud is noise, and noise most of the times doesn't help... it can be a challenge.

Cristina Santos

mcris_espl — 2019-02-08 15:32:15 UTC

This inspiring video gives us some ideas but we must have the right conditions to make the changes: less students, less class. In my school we have already started with some computer classes and other rooms with a new furniture layout.

Some times to solve the problem of lack of space and to many students I just ask to bring the chairs near their colleagues and work like that. It´s better than nothing and they seems to enjoy, rather than work alone.

Zekiye KAFALİ, Turkey

zekiyealan — 2019-02-08 17:42:18 UTC

I watched all 3 videos to see the result of remaking the class. It was amazing! Steve's classroom was too cramped before the changes of "Third Teacher Plus". Darker. Narrow aisles. The key areas that they focused caught my attention: display -storage - furniture - teaching zone - personality. Activating the back wall and writable walls were also bright ideas. Unfortunately, I don't have my own classroom. I mean, we share all the classrooms together with my collaeagues. Also, our classrooms aren't as large as the one showed in the video. We have a smartboard, students' desks facing the smartboard, a teacher's desk, a showboard, a hanger and a bookcase. We have nothing for storage. Despite everything, the idea of raimagining students' learning spaces as a home for exploration and creativity is breathtaking!

Alex_PT

teacheralex_dua — 2019-02-08 18:17:41 UTC

After having shared a picture of one of my classrooms last week and having watched these three inspiring videos this week, I felt I was living a world apart…

I’ve been a teacher for over 20 years and have never taught in better / different schools than in the one I’m currently teaching meaning: limited space between the rows of desks, aisles full of backpacks, traditional equipment and furniture (not movable or flexible). In spite of good intentions and awareness that schools have to change, the bar is still too low, as it is urgent to restructure classrooms, school areas, schedules and the curricula. Unlike what is showcased in the videos, no one has ever asked for my opinion or the sts’; as far as I know, no other agents have ever been at school for such coordinated effort and improvements - designers, learner strategists, not even parents, or the community in general so that the school may change (or even have further funding for changes). As much as I believe in the importance of matching the physical environment to teaching and learning goals, the truth is that having to swap classrooms all the time and teaching in 10 different rooms for about 50 minutes each time, it’s simply not viable, in the short term, to introduce deep changes.

The American Anthropologist Margaret Mead once said that “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has.” Having this in mind, these inspirational and encouraging videos have reinforced the idea that there has to be a general shift in mindset; we must start integrating collaborative learning as part of change and implement it in small steps so that we may later team up with other colleagues, at school and with other schools (at least for those who haven’t yet discovered the wonders of eTwinning and Erasmus+, of course).

João Nunes, Portugal

2019-02-08 18:45:40 UTC

Unfortunately, my classrooms don't allow me to change much. They too small for so many tables and chairs, plus students' "stuff". Once in a while, I rearrange the setting, but everything must go back to "normal" by the end of the class. So it's hard to do collaborative work. I try to do it with the bus-like setting but it's difficult for students to interact if they are not facing each other or if they just turn back on their chairs to discuss some topics with other students

Karela Georgia

2019-02-08 18:45:52 UTC

The film was really inspiring. I often rearrange my class. But I need some more space.

Alexandra Fejer

alefejer — 2019-02-08 18:58:39 UTC

I think my classroom is collaboration-friendly except of the trapezoidal shape of my desks with makes the grouping more difficult. I think the learning spaces are flexible but not really interactive.

Isabel Carioca

2019-02-08 18:59:50 UTC

Portugal

My classroom is very small but we have two large doors with glasses that provide lots of natural light. In spring and summer we open the doors and we can see the garden outside and this is very pleasant for all. Students take care of the garden. I think it will be fine if we have a white board at the classroom and more computers. There´s only one computer.

Ana Pereira, Portugal

2019-02-08 19:00:54 UTC

My classroom is equipped with some technology (computer with internet connection, wifi, video projector, interactive whiteboard), however its usual arrangement is not conducive to collaborative learning (visual contact between students, for example, is limited ). The school, however, has a school library organized in functional areas (informal reading, multimedia, reading room) and furniture adapted to various types of activities.
I found the video very interesting and an example that shows a change based on the observation of the group and the survey of real needs. The designers restructure the space in function of the study of the needs of students and teacher. Schools in Portugal have standardized spaces whose organization does not take into account the specific characteristics of the groups / classes.
Although I make changes in the classroom whenever students work in groups, the video showed that one can go further and think of organizing the space in function of other variants. Inspiring

If I use the video projector I want to have a front view, if the students paint arranging the U, if they work on a common ilustration/file /board I group four.

2019-02-08 19:08:16 UTC

Ali

2019-02-08 19:32:03 UTC

Nils / Germany

2019-02-08 19:36:02 UTC

I'd like to rearrange my classroom to become more cummunicative and flexible.

Serenella Silenzi Macerata Italy

2019-02-08 20:47:43 UTC

Most of my classrooms are very tidy, with fixed furniture and equipment. The desks and chairs are regularly distributed, the walls are very boring and nothing can be changed. There is a central computer with a multimedia interactive board, but this does not really promote collaborative learning! The video was very inspiring, the point is that in Italy teachers are not authorized to make changes of any types and burocracy is very hard. There are some flexible labs in my school but they are often overbooked. Therefore I would like to get ideas to create more collaborative learning spaces without too many changes. Could you please help me?

Ana Paula Fonseca, Portugal

2019-02-08 21:07:54 UTC

The video is the clear reflection of our reality. We have small rooms full of students, plus their schoolbags and they jackets. Sometimes, it’s quite difficult for the teacher to go down the aisles. Our classrooms ae overcrowded so they are not flexible working spaces.

After watching the video I feel like doing a makeover to my classrooms. Perhaps the “U” shape gives me a more flexible learning environment. The problem is that I have six different classes with different classrooms and all the teachers of each class works in the same environment as I do. So, it’s going to be difficult to change the classroom layout because there is always someone who will complain about the changes. Therefore, collaboration among teachers is also important.

Then, the last video showed us an incredible transformation of the space. Everybody feels frees to walk around the classroom. That made me feel really inspired to try and so some changes, even little ones that allow my students to work in a more pleasant environment.

Helena - Portugal

2019-02-08 21:32:45 UTC

I teach in a primary school and have students from 1st grade to 4th grade, so I work in four different classrooms with different layouts. Some classrooms are in groups of 4, which I like a lot because it promotes group work when needed and makes the classroom look more spacious and makes interaction easier. Some classrooms are organised in a traditional way and covers the whole area making it more difficult to move around and concentrating the focus on the teacher. All the classrooms have an intearctive board, students have their own computer or tablet. Some classes have a game corner or reading corner.

Madalena Figueiredo, Portugal

mmafg — 2019-02-08 22:18:30 UTC

I can dispose my students in group or in a U disposition., so we can see each other and sheer opinions and difficulties.

Antonija, Croatia

tonka312 — 2019-02-08 22:30:56 UTC

The video is inspiring and I would like to change how my classroom looks like, but sometimes it is difficult because I share different classrooms with different teachers.

Susana Carneiro, Portugal

susanalcarneiro — 2019-02-08 22:43:47 UTC

Is is difficult to rearrange classes when most of our students teachers still prefer to see them quietly looking at the center of a whiteboard where they can project beautifuly explained presentations...

José Teixeira, PT

2019-02-08 22:52:22 UTC

The video is really inspiring but, as I said last week, I don't have my own classroom. I have to share the classroom with the other colleagues at school and most of them, they prefer to work in the traditional configuration (three /four rows with 4 - 5 tables).
I hope to have my own classroom in the future and make it more collaboration-friendly, even without flexible classroom furniture.

Oğuz YAVUZ,TURKEY

2019-02-09 00:02:51 UTC

In my school we don't have much chance to modify our classrooms according to the needs of our students' or learning needs.

Magdalena Brzezinska, Poland

2019-02-09 01:15:04 UTC

My classroom is very flexible, but I don't think it's all that collaboration friendly. We have a huge carpet where we gather and where I sometimes teach a Big Lesson. We also have some tables and chairs and some hassocks - but I'm afraid there aren't enough for everybody to choose their preferred studying space. I also don't feel I own the place or am in control of what's going on.

Maria Zélia Nunes - Portugal

zelia_nunes — 2019-02-09 06:35:09 UTC

As a Physical Education teacher, my classes are mostly practical classes and the spaces are organized in a flexible and interactive way. The learning situations will determine the placement of material and learning space of each group.

In theoretical classes, the space is the classroom. So, the space is rearranged and tidied up at the end of each class. Sometimes we use the library, too.

Ignacio, Spain

imonclus — 2019-02-09 07:24:01 UTC

Yes, for me it has been very inspiring and suggests different changes to make groupings in a more flexible way

Gabi, Czech Republic

2019-02-09 07:59:08 UTC

The video was really inspiring. Most of my classrooms have fixed furniture and equipment. However, I try to create more collaborative learning environment without too many classrooms changes.

Lucia Italy

2019-02-09 09:09:52 UTC

It's just a dream!!!!!!!I'm very sad!!!

Isabel Pereira, Portugal

imariacpereira — 2019-02-09 09:53:53 UTC

My classroom is organized by groups of 4 students, but this organization changes whenever necessary, depending on the activity to be performed. I always have the concern to ensure that there is a free space and no tables so that we can quickly sit on the floor and energize activities that require larger material or simply debate or dialogue about something. This organization allows the necessary distance between groups facilitating interaction and mobility among all. Through the video, it is easily realized that it is not necessary to have a specific kind of furniture to make the space conducive to collaboration, although it facilitates the process. The tables organized in a circle, turned inwards, for example, allows a greater and better interaction among all, since all are in the field of vision of others, for example.

Raquel Martins, Portugal

2019-02-09 10:35:26 UTC

This short video shows a collaborative work that has borne fruit. There was a lot of planning, work but the dynamic, creative and innovative team overcame all the difficulties. It was quite inspiring for my work.
The spaces that we have available in our rooms can be interactive and flexible, it depends on each class and each teacher. For example in group classes I have the tables in order to have groups of four students. In the classes where I turn to the new technologies I place the tables in U or in line. Unfortunately, the problem of space and time that I have does not always allow me to organize the classroom in order to optimize collaborative learning. We constantly change rooms and classrooms. Still, I wish we could make some changes in the rooms, making these spaces more interesting and comfortable to cause the same reaction in my students than the one shown in video three.

Conceição Rodrigues, Portugal

ConceicaoRodrigues — 2019-02-09 10:53:42 UTC

Unfortunately our classrooms are still organized in a traditional way. The logistics that the teacher has to do to change the classroom is difficult, since we do not always have classes in the same room. During one day, I have classes in 3 or 4 different rooms. Whenever class is based on discussion of a problem, I organize the U-room before class, and in the end I return to the room and traditional way. Or when students do group work, to minimize logistics, students turn around and there are 3-4 students at a table. However, this hypothesis limits the work space on the table somewhat. In science labs an exception is observed, since they are organized by workbenches, which facilitates the accomplishment / discussion of the experimental work. Students often apply for group / peer work. This way they become more involved in learning.

Andrea, Portugal

hipozzbastos — 2019-02-09 11:22:20 UTC

My classroom most of the time is organise in a traditional way, but once a week i have access to the laboratory where we can organise the class in a different way. I have another problem... The lessons of different classes are in different classroom. I feel that the school need some changes

Eduarda Sousa, Portugal

edsfsousa — 2019-02-09 11:36:50 UTC

As I posted in the last module, our classrooms are not flexible at all. Then the truth is I just thought of "flexible" classroom as move chairs to create groups or create a U-shaped room.
Now last module was already so motivating that we are on the process of make slight changes. The school board agreed to change into simple tables with wheels. My students are sharing their views on the topic and engaged in the whole process of change. We are also going to create a small yet comfortable reading area, as no one likes to read sitting on a hard wooden chair. We aren´t designers, but we are all excited neverthless. :) Here´s a pic of my "designer", a 15-year-old kid!

Mirjana, Croatia

2019-02-09 11:38:13 UTC

Classes have a different number of students 12 to 26. Most often we deploy tables only as needed. This is the fastest way because the lesson lasts only 45 minutes, and the teachers change after a 5-minute rest, so everything must return to the state of rest after the break.

Esada Čirić-Delić, Bosnia and Herzegovina

esada_ciric — 2019-02-09 12:05:04 UTC

Absolutely the video was really inspirational. In my classrooms I have changed the position of desks to assist the group learning and also to support personalised learning particularly in times when I have children with special learning abilities.
But as Mirjana said, we are limited with 45 mintue-time frames and 5 min breaks when everything has to be put back in the traditional way.

Mª Emília Baptista, Portugal

2019-02-09 12:05:16 UTC

Although space is very important for students to learn,

the classrooms of the schools I've been through are not flexible or interactive like those in these videos.

When students work in groups, we put together two tables that form a square. When we organize debates with pros and cons we make two rows of tables face to face. In other situations, students maintain the rigidity of the traditional classroom. Usually, we use the room walls to fix information and students’works. There is a projector per room, a traditional blackboard and a box with dictionaries.

The are 45 or 90 minutes’ classes and the teacher changes the room. I've talked to some colleagues and students so that a room could be in a U-shaped, but nobody approved it.

Eugénia Abreu - Portugal

2019-02-09 12:11:52 UTC

It is undoubtedly important to create environments where students feel at ease and interested in learning. Furthermore, we should bare in mind that any place may be the ideal place to learn, either in or outdoors.

Changing a learning environment can't be done from one day to another, but the video shows that it is possible to get hold of ideas and adjust them to our working reality. New practises may indeed imply new environments!

A flexible place, together with a more dynamic lesson may promote an enriching and engaging learning process.

Sandra V.

knjiznica_tsck — 2019-02-09 12:15:07 UTC

The classroom from the video is fantastic. I looked at all three videos and was thrilled. I would also like to have white-walled walls in my classroom. I like the layout of the tables, not only for 4 students but also for 8 places. In this way, the student chooses how much he or she wants to cooperate with, or that day is working in a smaller group or alone. I like to think that I am very creative and very often recycle in the class. Some colleagues are bothered by my "mess", but I believe that the problem lies in them and the lack of their creativity.

Catarina Isabel Brito, Portugal

caty_brito_5 — 2019-02-09 12:45:17 UTC

I truly identify myself with Maria Emilia's point of view.
I wish I could have a learning space as flexible and interactive as the one shown in the video. Unfortunately, even when we want to be more " flexible" and have more "flexible" classrooms, we are always dependent on time. We don't have a single room of our own. Neither do students. So, we are always changing rooms and that is really hard to change.

Margarida - Portugal

margaridabzzz — 2019-02-09 13:00:03 UTC

I confess that what impressed me the most was the courage and the ability to develop this kind of work in a class of 36 students. At this moment I find myself doing this type of work but in a class of 20 students and we are two teachers. I believe that the existence of a "school culture" for this type of organization and work is essential to organize such large groups.
But the truth is that I wanted to try to implement this methodology also in the class where I am alone with 23 students. I have no freedom that this teacher has, my school is overcrowded, the same room is one class in the morning and another in the afternoon and we teachers also do not have our room. Any change you make has to be easily "dismantled" for the next class. However, I liked two strategies that had not yet occurred to me: the teacher's table is in the middle of the room, it's an interesting concept and it can even create interesting dynamics with different groups; the existence of white boards on various walls of the room, a very simple strategy that allows the teacher or even one of the students to explain or exemplify something "closer" to the elements of a group.

Ana, Croatia

2019-02-09 13:11:32 UTC

First of all I admire the teacher from the video managing 36 students . I have less students but also less flexibility in rearanging everything back in 45 minutes . Like I said in my posts before, the space is not my largest problem, but to organize efficient outcomes for all group members.

Amelia De Chiara, Italy

amelia_dechiara — 2019-02-09 13:35:06 UTC

This video is engaging but unfortunately we have really narrow spaces for many classrooms...so it would be eaier to rebuild the school. Our learning spaces aren't flexible and interactive.

Mara Machado_Portugal

maracamachado — 2019-02-09 13:46:53 UTC

Already in the other module had said that at the classroom level would not make major changes. I teach in a laboratory of my discipline, although I can not change the disposition of the furniture, it is well organized, it is recent, it has material that allows to carry out various activities. And as you can see from the photos I'm putting here allows interactivity, collaboration and the accomplishment of works of different nature, I love working in this space!

I think it is very important that the space where we work, where students spend most of their day, it is fundamental that it be welcoming, functional, but the great changes, such as those shown in the video, do not just go through the teacher. As my teaching space is about a laboratory I can not effectively make major changes, I also do not feel this need, there are safety rules that have to be fulfilled in the provision of equipment. In addition to the laboratory I have access to a collection where students keep their jobs, laboratory journals, material, organized here a small space for each class. I can, however, make the laboratory more "familiar", for example, create a mural where students can register what they want, what they consider important for the class, from their doubts, their goals, work plans, study visits, activities, goals achieved, break it into thematic parts, for example. Hearing the opinions of my students about this mural will be fundamental!

Adina Geczi, Romania

2019-02-09 14:54:54 UTC

I have enough space to rearrange my class anytime I feel necessary. The problem comes from the furniture, because it's way too heavy, I can't move it by myself whenever I want to.

ÖZNUR/TURKEY

oznurcamkesen — 2019-02-09 15:21:48 UTC

Sınıf düzenim, öğrenme ortamı açısından gerekli düzenleme ve esnekliğe sahiptir. Öğrenci sayısı artarsa, bu videodan ilham alırım ve gerekli düzenlemeleri yapabileceğimi düşünüyorum.

Vida, Lithuania

bavidaa — 2019-02-09 15:46:03 UTC

The video inspires. The space in my office is enough, just furniture large, heavy, inelastic.

Duygu APLADI,Turkey

duyguapladi — 2019-02-09 16:00:11 UTC

Unfortunately, our classes are not suitable for such changes.

Elsa Ramos, Portugal

elsa_ramos — 2019-02-09 16:26:44 UTC

Fortunately, I have a classroom with space to organize my class in work groups..They always work in group at the same table.
Only the funiture is not enought..for material, coats etc.
The video show us a very nice ideas to make my classroom more collaborative and motivating for learning.

Andrea, Portugal

2019-02-09 16:31:14 UTC

In my specific case it is very difficult to adjust the classroom to organise collaborative learning because I don't have a classroom of my own. As I said previously, in another post, I go to five schools and I have 9 classes. A lesson has 60 minutes and I don't have enough time, modern furniture or classroom space to rebuilt it in such a short time. Normally they work in pairs or groups of 4 because they can turn back. Besides this I always built an English Corner with the students. What is showed in the video is very interesting but very difficult to achieve.

Rute Vieira, Portugal

rutecvieira — 2019-02-09 17:08:09 UTC

Unfortunately, I don't teach always in the same classroom. I´m always changing.
The video is indeed very inspiring.

Mirela, Croatia

klaricmi — 2019-02-09 17:15:44 UTC

Video is very inspiring, I was realized that I need more bright colors in my classroom. I can not do much about the furniture but I think that there are few things I can do my own - I loved the white board on the wall, I might ask my principal to get something like that.

Manuela, Romania

manuela_iacob12 — 2019-02-09 17:33:06 UTC

În România, profesorii nu pot schimba modul în care se organizează clasa. Ei pot schimba doar poziția unor mese pentru a organiza învățarea în grup.

Lurdes - Portugal

mlurdesnljesus — 2019-02-09 18:01:05 UTC

The videos are really inspiring! The classrooms in my school are set up in a traditional way, as I mentioned before, and we change classrooms all the time. It would require a lot of work and especially financial aid to transform classrooms into more flexible and collaborative ones.

Ksenija, Croatia

ksenija_skorich — 2019-02-09 18:01:06 UTC

The video is very inspiring. Unfortunately, my school doesn't have enough clasrooms to develop the idea. After one or two lessons students change the classrooms and another teacher gets in the same classroom, so it's difficult to arange it if someone else needs a different layout.

Ivana, Croatia

2019-02-09 18:28:30 UTC

Although my classroom is conventional in design, I can move desks and chairs to make different working spaces (projects, group work), because the number of my students is not very big.

Madalena Macedo, Ponte de Lima, Portugal

2019-02-09 19:03:54 UTC

I like students to hang their projects or works on the walls of their classroom. I encourage them to take a picture of the wall when it is full to keep as a memory or simply show their families. But, yes, the environment can work as an incentive for collaborative teaching approaches or it can be discouraging for the students.

Dimitria Ayanska, Bulgaria

dimitriaayanska — 2019-02-09 19:31:57 UTC

Yes, definitely it inspired me even more than I was before. Right now I am in the middle of redecorating my room and I will pick up a lot from this video.

Heidi, Germany

hgi — 2019-02-09 19:38:48 UTC

Unfortunately I don't have a classroom of my own. I change classroom when I change classes. Every lesson in another classroom, so unfortunately I find different types of classroom, the one with tables put together for group work, the other with tables in a row and every child looking at the teacher. But I would like to have my own classroom and design it with my students would be great!!!

2019-02-09 19:53:27 UTC

This video inspires me to make your classroom environment more collaborative.

Daniela Malta

daniela_dimech — 2019-02-09 19:54:29 UTC

This video is really inspiring. I would like to make better use of the walls in my classrooms. A nice environment surely motivates students to engage themselves more

Dimitra,Greece

dimitrazoro1 — 2019-02-09 20:05:51 UTC

he video gives us many nice ideas and inspires us to create a nice place, but the money is not enough to make such renovations......

Raquel Santiago, Portugal

prof_raquelsantiago — 2019-02-09 21:16:18 UTC

The classrooms in my school aren't very flexible. Especially when we have big classes, which makes it even more difficult to rearrange. My students sit in rows of tables for two and when we work in groups, they turn around and work with the students behind them. Moving tables is not usually an option because it is time consuming and, usually ends up disturbing the classes below.

The video about planning a classroom for collaborative learning is really inspiring and I found myself dreaming of possible changes I could do to one of the classrooms I have lessons in.

The biggest problem is that, at my school, teachers don't have a fixed room. Classes usually stay in the same classroom and teachers move from room to room, every 50 minutes.

Nevertheless, we have a room which is more dedicated for teaching English, where we have a good sound system, a cupboard with dictionaries... This room and its walls were decorated and reorganised by one of my classes 4 years ago and I'd like to make it more adaptable and flexible for collaborative learning.

I imagine the following changes:

· a wall at the back with white boards where they can stand and write on, for brainstorming ideas in groups;

· tables in groups of four so teachers and students can move around freely;

· a cupboard with 5 laptops so students can work online and do research work;

· a corner with 3 bean bags for more independent learners/ those who work faster when doing individual work to sit and read or listen to podcasts...

I actually wish I could have my own classroom and be able to create an English Language Speaking and Learning zone.

Ana, Portugal

anarplcorreia — 2019-02-09 21:21:19 UTC

Having my own classroom has been a dream for as long as I've been teaching but unfortunately I change room every 50 minutes.
Having your own room has so many advantages. For starters I would never have my students in rows facing the board (which is still a blackboard, by the way), but rather in groups. And I could have different resources at hand to quickly respond to the students' needs. I would also like my room to be "decorated" to create a cosier environment and provide more visual stimulating learning.
From the classroom in the video I really liked the idea of the white wall and the fact that the teacher's desk was in the middle of the class.

Betul, Turkey

betulkrs — 2019-02-09 21:38:13 UTC

Students' own classes are flexible. The rows can be brought to the desired order. However, in the laboratory I used for the science course, we cannot change places because the tables are very heavy. But students can move their chairs wherever they want. This also leads to cooperative learning.

Ljubica Ruzhinska, Macedonia

rljubica_78 — 2019-02-09 21:50:10 UTC

As I wrote in the previous Padlet in regards to this question, I teach my lessons in different classrooms each time during the day, so redesigning my learning spaces is not always possible because of the time between lessons. However I do move and rearrange the furniture when I need and can to suit the needs for that lesson or the needs of my students.

Drazenka, Croatia

drazenka_kuzman — 2019-02-09 21:52:29 UTC

The video is inspiring. But, in my classroom we haven't flexibile furniture because of computers which are on desks.(ICT classroom). We use collaborative learning and new tools.

Antonietta Guida, Italy

miaaba — 2019-02-09 22:11:16 UTC

I teach in different classrooms in the same day so it’s a bit difficult for me to redesign learning spaces. Neverthless I always ask my students to personalise their space like a made tailored suit with images or other tools to use during the lessons.

Cândida Tavares, Portugal

2019-02-09 22:12:50 UTC

Very inspiring experience!

Sometimes when we talk about education, teaching and learning, we forget about basic things like the importance of feeling comfortable in a place.

Generally, in my school, the classes have their own classroom, and the teachers move. I think that can be also a good way to do it: personalizing a room with a group of students and empowered them over their own space. The problem is that a lot of teachers like the old way disposition of furniture and like that it’s difficult to manage and it creates some problems.
The headmasters and the direction team also should have a new perspective of the teaching process.
I would like them all to watch this video too!
To change a class's classroom, without money or with little money, I think it would be an idea to develop a project with students and perhaps parents to improve and beautify their classroom.

THOMAI GREECE

thome06 — 2019-02-09 22:31:53 UTC

The video inspired me to change the position of the groups to be more creative

Maria Arlete Leitão, Portugal

2019-02-09 22:51:22 UTC

Wouldn’t it be great if we all could have classrooms like the one we saw after the transformation in the third video, where students and teacher could work in a pleasant, bright and well-organized environment with all the necessary tools!

However, many classrooms are impersonal and uncomfortable.
I think they would be more pleasant if we teachers could have our own room, or if there was a specific room for the subject we teach.

As the majority of us, I go around the school from classroom to classroom every 90 or 45 minutes, because each class has its own room.
So, when I need to do a specific task and students have to sit in groups or need a bigger surface to work on, for instance to paint a poster, I and the students change the layout of the room and redistribute the tables.
There may be some noise at the beginning and end of the lessons when we rearrange the tables, but we have to improvise.
There is an imperious need for schools, as a whole, to rethink the layout of classrooms in order to allow really interactive learning environments.

Otília Jorge, Portugal

mariaotiliapj — 2019-02-09 22:58:08 UTC

Like many other Portuguese teachers , I have to change class every 50 minutes , not even all classes have their own classroom.
Classrooms are crowded with desks , so there isn't any room available for bookcases, or other material.
I would like to have a classroom more personalized with student's work, posters and other tools.
When I need to do a specific task we have to change the layout of the room but it involves a lot of time and noise which is not possible to do all the time.

Cristiana Oliveira - Portugal

2019-02-09 23:28:48 UTC

In the school where I teach, there has been an attempt to change the classrooms. The tables are grouped or rounded, which makes it easy to work in small groups. The direction gives us freedom to organize the room as we want; the problem is that after 50 or 100 minutes we change to anotherroom, and there may come another colleague who wants to work differently.
I found the participation of students in change very interesting!

Elisabete Ladeiro Pires

pirelisabete — 2019-02-10 00:03:49 UTC

Where I work, the learning spaces available to my students are neither flexible nor interactive. However it is not only the spaces that we have to modify.What we must change is the way we work, it's the methodologies we use.

Increasingly, I reuse the space to make the classroom collaborative and cooperative.

I am currently preparing the feast of Saint Valentine with my students. The exchange of ideas, materials, the sharing of ideas for drawings or phrases that are alluding to the theme are essential. Each student can sit where he or she is most profitable.

I'm going to start with the subject of food. The first task is to acquire the vocabulary associated with the theme. Each group will have to present a mental map (on a piece of paper or an educational application) with the lexicon of this unit in a next lesson. Groups organize their space the way they see it, knowing that each group member will have to have a specific task.

A few days ago, we reviewed and studied some irregular verbs in the present indicative. In the next class, the students organized themselves into teams to play in Kahoot !. Each group joined in a space of the room to be able to participate in the game without disturbing the other groups.

Sandrina Martins. Portugal

nani_sandrina — 2019-02-10 00:39:44 UTC

In my school the classrooms have different configurations, but the rest of the material is not adapted. We have rooms with tables grouped and others that form a "U" (good for debates in large group). However, space is underutilized and there are few resources to monetize. The tables do not have wheels and so it is difficult to change the layout of the tables for the type of work we intend to do - since we are never in the same classroom, sometimes we want to work in groups and we are in a room with the configuration "U" . There is little housekeeping, walls have nothing (no shelves, no closets, no whiteboards) and there is only one PC - on the teacher's desk.
I would like to give a new face to a science classroom, but I would always like to be in this classroom! I would like the classroom to be flexible - lab and different work areas. I think that with a well structured design and use of materials already in school, new paintings and creation of specific areas would have the ideal room to teach.

Aysel YILDIZ, Turkey

altinokaysel — 2019-02-10 00:41:23 UTC

Unfortunately, I have classes. The students are full of queues. They are studying in the binary system as Sabahçı and Lunchman. So the same class uses different students in the same day. But I keep thinking. Even minor changes can produce big differences.

Susana Peixoto, Portugal

epacsb_susanapeixoto — 2019-02-10 02:12:46 UTC

As in most Portuguese schools my classrooms are very traditional and dull. The desks are aligned in rows and the students sit facing the board. The teacher’s desk is in the front just beside the whiteboard. One good thing is that all classrooms have a white board and a videoprojector but there is only one PC assigned to the teacher. If we want the students to use computers we have to borrow them previously from the school library but very often they are not available. We can also move to one of the ICT rooms ( there are two) if there aren’t lessons at the time there. Whenever I want my students to work in group they join two desks forming a square. At the end of the lesson they have to replace the desks for the next lesson.

I was impressed to see how Steve Mattice could teach a class of 36 students in such a small room. It was very interesting to see the different stages of the designers’ intervention in his school. I particularly liked the idea of placing the teacher’s desk in the middle of the room and the fact all students were sit in group. I would like to have a more interactive classroom divided in different learning spaces where students could do Internet research (unfortunately our Wi-Fi is very slow and often dysfunctional), debate and create.

Serap OZDEMIR ORUC

sery23 — 2019-02-10 08:43:50 UTC

The video has inspired me. There is no necessarily furniture but I can place the student's desk , I can make 'u shape' and I place teacher's desk in the middle so that they see eachother easily. If we work as groups, I place the desks so that they sit face to face.

D., Croatia

2019-02-10 09:19:07 UTC

This video is inspiring. In my class furniture is not flexible but we set our "scene" feasible.

Gonca Esendemir

gesendemir — 2019-02-10 09:58:11 UTC

I don' t believe that my students are flexible and interactive, like the one shown in the video. The desks that we have are so traditional. and what students are used to is to listen the lesson that teacher talks most of the time.
In my schools teachers don' t have any of their own classes. Students have their class, and teachers all mobile from one class to other. Teachers desk is fixed on the floor so it is impossible to change its' place, also t he board and the projector are all fixed. Still from the video what came into my mind as an inspiration is to organize a lesson plan that give students time to rearrange their desks and materials. As a teacher ı can go to classroom earlier then the bell, so prompt the basic changes. Providing areas in which student can work independently, areas that group work is supported. I think giving options is always the best for students to activate their autonomy and motivation. Post-it or sticky papers always can be used on the wall, and we can remove them at the end of the lesson. so ı feel like all ı need to do is to create some time for the arrangement and for the rearrangement at the end.

Enrica - Italy

EMGe — 2019-02-10 10:07:04 UTC

In my country teachers don't have their own classroom but they move to students' classroom. So for me it is practically impossibile to arrange "my" classroom in any way different from the standard one, with the teacher's desk and with rows of students' desks.... When I ask my students to work in teams, they can move turning or moving the chairs but not more.... :(

Jagoda, Croatia

2019-02-10 10:11:56 UTC

I was really inspired with this example, because classrooms environments is rarely in focus of interest in our job. But it is very important! Sadly, even newer schools has very bad solutions in organization and utilization of school areas. In my city, I don't know even one school which is example of good planning and organization of school room. So, this leaves a lot of space for improvement and innovation (hopefully).

Luminita, Ro

adi_luminita — 2019-02-10 10:29:32 UTC

My class is also learned in the afternoon, so it is impossible to arrange my class in any way different from the standard one, with the teacher's office and with the ranks of students' banks. That is why team work is done by turning or moving the seats and returning to the initial mode after completing the activity.

În clasa mea se învață și după-amiaza, deci este imposibil să-mi aranjez clasa în orice mod diferit de cel standard, cu biroul profesorului și cu rândurile de bănci ale studenților. De aceea lucrul pe echipe se realizeaza prin rotirea sau mutarea scaunelor și revenirea la modul inițial după finalizarea activității.

Rute Vieira, Portugal

rute_sofia — 2019-02-10 10:36:15 UTC

After seeing the video, I came across the same problem: in my movement through the classroom. I often have some difficulty in reaching some students, especially when they are organized in groups, to reach certain students I have to get around almost the whole room. However, next to the interactive whiteboard, where there is some information, there is plenty of space and it is sometimes possible to bring students together (sitting on the floor) to discuss and present some ideas in a group.
Either way, the video inspired me to make the classroom environment more conducive to collaboration. I will certainly reorganize the space of the classroom with regard to the reorganization of the students' desks.

Gülümser ŞENTÜRK AKKOYUN- TURKEY

senturkgulumser — 2019-02-10 10:42:03 UTC

my class

2019-02-10 10:43:58 UTC

I love this videos, I look all of three and some others. I also love all the modular desks and other possi ilities but in my school this is only a dream. I try to make kids work in other places, possitions and I’m sure that the results are better. We go outside, we sit i the floor, we move chairs, tables... we try to create different spaces so some kids do one activity and other do another. Aurora, Slovenia

sylvie

equipa_multidisciplinar — 2019-02-10 11:00:36 UTC

In my school, almost every classrooms are organized in a traditional way. It´s difficult to teach in a well arranged and personalized room because teachers are always changing of space all the time. If teacher wants a different layout, he must arrange the room at the beginning and rearrange at the end. It will spend a lot of time, and make noise.

Tena, Croatia

2019-02-10 11:10:29 UTC

In my school every class has it's own classroom and teachers are changing classrooms. This makes organizing the classroom more difficult. If I move some of the furniture during my class I have to put it back in place every time because a colleague comes after me in this classroom.

Fontanive Cinzia, Italy

nicomd — 2019-02-10 11:18:28 UTC

In my school the teachers move from one classroom to the other. I manage to reorganize the classroom desk for group work and my students now , after a lot of practice , are quite quick to do it. Obviously it would be better to have a flexible classroom furniture

Celeste, Portugal

mcelramos — 2019-02-10 12:02:42 UTC

My working space is by no means interactive, flexible, comfortable or collaboration friendly. I, myself, hate the spaces where the students are sat like 100 years ago like in a bus. In the beginning of the year we tried to change one of the classrooms to be in circle and so that we could see all the students as in the front row...it worked for sometime but one day everything went back to the beginning. I can't change every class in the beginning and then change it again in the end, it is impossible. So, I gave up. I work with what I have and sometimes I get really frustrated.

Marta Oliveira, Portugal

martoliveira12 — 2019-02-10 12:16:50 UTC

The development process of any individual is characterised by dynamism and his/her connection with the surroundings. As such, there is a need to adapt the educational context characteristics and needs highlighted by the children, to have the possibility to build their own development and learning. Taking this into consideration, I think the spaces available for my students are, to some extent, flexible and interactive.

These surroundings must be welcoming, safe and familiar in order to encourage a sharing of ideas, on which feedback and the constant dialogue between the different pairs is valued.

The organization of the learning space fits the characteristics, needs and interests of children. In fact, the classroom presents itself as an expression of the different educational intentions to develop with the group and the dynamics of it, so it is the target of a systematic reflection. However, after viewing this video, I think as a team, and together with the group of children, we can make the classroom still more favourable to collaboration and cooperation. In fact, the space should be perceived as promoter and encourager of autonomy as well as the accountability of each student and the group, since all must be able to understand the organisation of the different areas of the room, as well as, the influence of the organization of this space in their learning.

The educational space must be an active space in which the different areas interrelate and articulate, constituting itself as a fundamental basis and learning support network group of children.

Diana Pádua, Portugal

dianapatriciapadua — 2019-02-10 12:44:09 UTC

As I've mentioned previously, the classrooms/learning spaces where I teach aren’t flexible and interactive as the ones shown in the video.

After having watched the video and read about what can be done to make our classroom more flexible and interactive I do feel inspired to try and change some things about the learning spaces where I teach. I would like to highlight a sentence in the video: “We try to match the physical classroom environment to teaching and learning goals”. I definitely think this says it all. We can’t always have the classroom set up in the same way. We should be able to arrange it so that Ss can work in bigger or smaller groups or in pairs / individually, according to learning objectives.

One thing I’ll do, is rearrange the classroom so that Ss can work in small groups and move from one group to another according to the activities that are being done.

It’s important to adapt and display desks so that the way they are displayed facilitates Ss to collaborate and interact with each other and at the same time, allows the teacher to move around the classroom and check Ss’ work and be a facilitator of the process.

I really liked the idea shown in the video of having “a gallery wall to facilitate visual listening”. Having the Ss look at different pictures on the wall and giving them dots to vote them with, sounds quite interesting to try and understand better the different ways Ss like to learn.

Renata, Croatia

renata_pintar — 2019-02-10 13:56:04 UTC

Stuents are seated 2 by 2, but it easy to make a group of four, two of them just turn around and they put two desks together. Mostly it is easy for me to make groups.

Ecem,İzmir

ecemaknt — 2019-02-10 13:56:29 UTC

My working space changes class to class in my school because every class is not a same size. So I'm kind of desparate about it. Because my working hours are limited, (they study English once a week, two lesson) I have no time for setting the class or other colleagues including head of school cant help me about that. So unfortunately it is not flexible. But yes the video has inspired me very much! If I have a chance in the future for another school, I will definitely use the ideas!

Anabela Aguiar, Portugal

anabelaguiarprof — 2019-02-10 14:12:10 UTC

Although the video is really inspiring and gives a new perspective on how a classroom can be rearranged to facilitate collaborative learning, as I don't have a classroom of my own, it is really difficult to put into practice what we have seen in the video.
As I've shared before, I try to create groups by making the students turn back and face their classmates, so they can work together.
I really liked the part where the students have a white board at hand all around the classroom for them to quickly demonstrate something to their partners. This is perhaps not a very difficult thing to do if we show this viedo to the school's principal.
Another idea that I think I will eventually put to practice is to organise a visual listening wall for them to vote with dots, as that is a good way to have a pulse on the students preferences.

Ezgi K. Turkey

ezgikiroglu — 2019-02-10 14:33:33 UTC

I work in a private school . We have two type class. One of them is big enough for 24 students. But one of them is not enough for group work. But I believe, like in these videos, there is always a solution if you really want. In my school teachers do not have a class. Students have a classes and the teachers are mobile. Because of this problem we use group work class designs for only 1 or 2 hours for each class.

Elena, Italy

teacherEB — 2019-02-10 14:47:06 UTC

Fortunately we are going to move to a new building next year and we are creating a lot of flexible spaces to encourage collaborative work. Colours will be essential to transform the school into a pleasant environment.

Yesim Y, Turkey

yyildogan — 2019-02-10 15:01:56 UTC

I'm trying to have Future Classroom Lab in my school.I hope we can do it.
On the other hand we have traditional classrooms where students sit in rows and they have no chance to move.Desks are not suitable for group work.
The video has inspired me .We don't need big budgets to make changes.

Gül SAKARYA

gulsoy_sakarya — 2019-02-10 15:09:55 UTC

Edirne-TURKEY

Our classes vary according to the age of the students. Classroom fixtures are not usable.
For this reason, I can only prepare material on walls and make changes in seating arrangements.

Celeste Simões, Portugal

2019-02-10 15:43:52 UTC

As I mentioned earlier, I don’t have 1 classroom for my students. I have 8 different classes and all of them in different places. Also, the room is not only mine, but for all the teachers (Science, History, Geography…). Sometimes the students have English in one room and then have another subject in a different room. This makes it hard (and virtually impossible) to create a personalized learning space. If you ask me what I would like to do, then undoubtedly I would change everything in the room: the size/distribution of the desks, the boards, the cabinets… even the floor!

Vlatka Čus, Croatia

vlatka_cus — 2019-02-10 15:52:09 UTC

I have some ideas how to arrange tables… and I think we need some extra space for backpacks.

Inma, Spain

inmanegrete — 2019-02-10 16:23:00 UTC

Very good idea for spatial organization of the classroom. I can rearrange students' desks to make it easier . Collab in groups sshould be a basic principle in my teaching.

Maria _ Portugal

prof_majoper — 2019-02-10 16:40:32 UTC

My classroom is used by several teachers throughout the day. When I enter the room I try to adapt the space to the activity that I will develop. I always spend several minutes at the beginning of the class to organize the space but I count on the collaboration of my students.
There are teachers who like to have tables in queues, others work in U. I various space organization depending on the activity but as I almost always work in a group, I like to work with stations.

João Teixeira, Portugal

joargui — 2019-02-10 16:56:51 UTC

The classroom I use with my students isn’t only ours, but it’s used by several teachers throughout the day, so I can’t organize the space forever, because other colleagues have other ideas. So, I try to adapt the classroom to the activity that I will develop (work group, peers work, class work). As I can use other learning spaces (school library, computers room …), I think they are flexible and interactive.

Nilüfer Parsak Adana Turkey

parsaknilufer — 2019-02-10 17:03:43 UTC

There are lots of things that can be done but unfortunately our classes are not flexible.O

Roberto, IT

roberto_giglietto — 2019-02-10 17:25:50 UTC

I only have experience of classes packed of students. It is sad, but I don't have anything to innovate spaces

Sofia Tsigara, Greece

2019-02-10 17:49:11 UTC

I can't change my class, because we can't afford it!

Sandra Viana, Portugal

sandravian — 2019-02-10 17:52:56 UTC

The classrooms where I teach are all different. There are big classrooms with 20 students and small classrooms with 28 students... Sometimes it's difficult, but it's what we have and we have to make the best of it. I don't have a classroom, students have a classroom and me and the other teachers go their space. We have to adjust to who they are and what we want them to do. With my primary students I need to move around, they need to play, sing, dance and do total physical response activities, so sometimes we go outside to the playground. With the other levels me and the other teachers go there, and we realized they need to work more in a collaborative way and we decided that putting students in groups of 4 or 5 is the best way to make their space more flexible and interactive.

Maria Pace

2019-02-10 18:16:10 UTC

An inspiring video. Due to financial issues, things in my school cannot be changed that much but what this video points out is that sometimes you don't need to break the bank to make the necessary changes.

Irena Peček, Croatia

2019-02-10 18:21:00 UTC

I really like this inspiring video. Unfortunately, my classroom is a traditional one, but I think I can implement some of these ideas.

João Pedro Rodrigues, Portugal

jpedsr — 2019-02-10 18:43:38 UTC

The video reminds me some classrooms I have, not with 36 students, but 28 to 30! To develop work group I also have them in groups of four or five, joining two desks, leaving the available space between them reduced to practically nothing. In the school where I teach, the classrooms are arranged like "trains", secretaries of two places arranged in columns repeated throughout the space. The possible flexibility is to "mess up" the existing organization and place the tables in pairs, in a U, or in a circle. At the end of the class it is necessary to leave everything as it was found, for the following school subject works. The teacher's place is limited to a desk in a corner of the classroom, with a computer, which in some classrooms, is attached to a projector. In any case, the video shows that it is possible to learn collaboratively in limited spaces and conditions, if each of us, teachers, are open to new ways of teaching, being willing to reject traditional teaching methods.

Olívia, Portugal

2019-02-10 19:02:48 UTC

This is a very inspiring video and makes us feel we have to do something to promote more collaborative learning activities for our students. Even though we don’t have a classroom for each teacher, we usually have a classroom for each class and there are some ideas we can put into practice. We already have a projector and two whiteboards in front of the class. We can use the second board for students’ ideas, plans or exercise-solving, as a group.

It inspired me to plan more group projects because when they are working in groups with the right tasks, they are surely more engaged and productive.

Maria Pinto, Portugal

2019-02-10 19:26:45 UTC

2019-02-10 19:26:52 UTC

In fact, the video is inspiring for change. But in the school where I work there is no place for the autonomy of management and adaptation of the workspace, at all. So I just change seats and tables, depending on the work; and use a locker to file documents needed for class work. I can not use the walls because the room is rotative to other groups. However, I would very much like to have a more active, and more dynamic room, where spaces and nooks can be useful for learning and doing work. Where young people can move, depending on their work and even go out responsibly; and where I could have resources available. The tables are not the most important, although, in the limit, I would also change them.

blntakshn — 2019-02-10 19:30:51 UTC

blntakshn — 2019-02-10 19:31:18 UTC

Bulent AKSAHİN,Turkey

blntakshn — 2019-02-10 19:35:51 UTC

beautiful video.time to make small changes in my class. I will combine technology with group work.I will change the classroom environment with my students.

Maria Antónia Brandão, PT

dolores_brandao — 2019-02-10 19:58:21 UTC

After seeing that amazing video and how easy is to move furnitures we can say that our school is giving some steps to a flexible classroom...but its only one classroom. Most of the teachers work in a traditional way. Some of us are open minded and we are trying to adopt new ways of work. Now, if we want to do colaborattive work we must rearrange the tables and chairs. Its give us a bit of work but is worth it! Students like a lot because they can see each others and not only they colleagues back.

Future classroom

estheriitawork — 2019-02-10 20:17:23 UTC

I loved this video and the way that all the community helped to the new outcome of the class. My English class is big and nice, but now I have more ideas to implement and try to get them done. I love the interactive walls to express themselves and collaborate, that is something that I will make my most to have, and of course, give the space a sense. There are many things I can do without spending lots of money.

Alina , Timisoara

alinajucuti — 2019-02-10 20:22:50 UTC

Elif, Turkey

elftheelf — 2019-02-10 20:45:06 UTC

In our country , teachers don't have their own classes. So 18 teachers use the sameclass during a week. Each lessons content is different. But if had my own class, I would put round tables to get my students group and provide them keep eye contact. I put the technlogicaldevices into somewhere apart from students

Marta Martins, Portugal

marta_sil_martins — 2019-02-10 20:49:27 UTC

Unfortunately the classrooms in which I teach are far from resembling those of video because they are not very flexible, interactive and with few digital resources. In addition to the fact that classrooms are used by several teachers, I can not customize them. However, I try to organize the classroom and adjust it to the activity that I intend to energize, although this forces me to spend some time in class for the purpose. The solution is to rotate or move the seats in order to promote group work.

The video is inspiring and leads us to reflect on how a classroom should be: broad, flexible; multifunctional; interactive; technological, that allows to support different types of pedagogic activities, privileging the action of the student, benefiting the motivation, the creativity and its involvement in the individual or collective construction of knowledge.

Fátima Ribeiro, Portugal

2019-02-10 21:06:56 UTC

Este vídeo é muito inspirador. Minha sala de aula é tradicional. Quando os alunos trabalham em grupos, temos que organizar a sala de maneira diferente. O layout das tabelas é diferente. No final da aula, colocamos as tabelas de volta como tradicionais.

Ignacio Spain

2019-02-10 21:53:35 UTC

We do not have so many students in the class, so we are not so crowded, and rooms do not have any other furniture. Only thing we can do is rearrange desks in different ways to gain space.

cláudia S. portugal

2019-02-10 22:18:51 UTC

My classrooms aren’t so crowded as the one in the video but the organization of the space is traditional, not flexible and doesn’t encourage collaborative learning. Moreover, I share the classroom with other colleagues so, it’s not “my “classroom. After a group work, the students and I need to put the tables and the chairs correctly (row) for the next class. But , thinking about the organization of the classroom, I understand how it would be great to try to organize the space in a different way, in order to make communication easier and learning more effective. Unfortunately, it requires time, money and more technology in our classrooms… It’s clear that we are much closer to achieving this than we were in the past

Žaklina Kvesić, Croatia

zaki_kvesic — 2019-02-10 22:55:54 UTC

Our classrooms are very small but we also don't have 36 students in one room, so it is not that difficult, but we don't have the proper funds to redecorate and make the rooms more interactive.

Sabine, Belgium

2019-02-11 07:48:32 UTC

Flexible classrooms are the future!

Dilay

dilay_tezgul — 2019-02-11 10:33:09 UTC

I have Ushaped classroom where students have eye-contact with each other. However, I learned in this module that for a better collaborative learning they can sit in groups, they can collaborate ideas on an interactive board.

Arnaud, France

arperrier — 2019-02-11 13:49:01 UTC

We don't have a lot of space in our classroom. We have two whiteboards but the long one in the back of the class in the video is fantastic. I love the idea students can have their own whiteboard to solve problems or to teach themselves.

Olinda- Portugal

olindamartins — 2019-02-11 14:07:44 UTC

The classrooms in my school are organized in rows, individually or in pairs.

When the class is too big (30 Ss)it´s difficult to reach them all. I prefer the classrooms in which they´re in pairs because I can easily reach them all and they can collaborate better. Sometimes they reorganize the desks to work in group or to present a project to the whole class, in a circle.

The video made me even more aware of the importance of organizing the classroom according to the needs of the activity.

Adela gabriela

muresan_gabriela_adela — 2019-02-11 14:22:23 UTC

I like the interactive walls to express themselves and collaborate, that is something that I will make my most to have, and of course, give the space a sense. There are many things I can do without spending lots of money.

Simona, the Czech Republic

2019-02-11 15:00:32 UTC

I do not always teach in the same room. I go to different rooms and I often see the same students in different rooms. I would like to implement some changes but as the rooms as shared, they must suit all the teachers, which would be a problem. Various subjects are taught in the same rooms

Vera Lourenço - Portugal

vera_lourenco1 — 2019-02-11 15:07:56 UTC

The learning space available to my students is not somehow flexible and interactive as it is presented in the video. The furniture is individual square desks and chairs that we can only put together whenever we intend to do group work, they do not function as workstations. But the truth is that through video confirms that it is possible to have a room with little space to turn it into a flexible and attractive learning space.

Another problem I face in my school is the lack of technology, the internet does not work, the computers in the computer room are obsolete and the students themselves do not have access to the scarce available internet. Sometimes I use students' cell phones and their data so they can do the research necessary to do some work. There are no computers for all students in the class and there are not even tablets in school.

I really enjoy being a teacher and I like my students to learn and enjoy learning. I do not work with the focus on the present but on the future. I want them to be autonomous and able to win and acquire skills that allow them to fight and succeed in their academic and professional lives.

I believe that the teacher has to be a guide and guide, demonstrating how it is possible, but the students must be able to achieve the result. If we have 21st-century students, we must have a classroom that fits the century we are in and not expect a digital room to be motivated by a 1950s classroom. It is necessary to make the space more collaborative and digital.

Laurrie

laurabrie — 2019-02-11 15:18:42 UTC

I work in different classesof diferent sizes - some are generous, while others are small - basically, I am not allowed to change the furniture, but I ask students to somehow turn to one another and form groups of 4 which is ok.

Adília, Portugal

adiliasss — 2019-02-11 15:32:23 UTC

The answer to the first question unfortunately is no. No, most of the classrooms in my school are not as flexible and interactive as the one shown in the video (part 3). But they are almost as crowded (around 30 students). Of course the three vídeos are very inspiring and, as someone said in one of the video, this is all about shifting mindsets and encourage collaborative learning. I guess that, by now, most of us teachers are really willing to change and a having a different learning space can, in fact, make all the difference. I think that students need to feel that the classroom is theirs and not the teacher's. In a nutshell it all comes down to changing from a teacher centred environment to a student centred one.

Lucrezia, Italy

edimol — 2019-02-11 17:18:20 UTC

Besides using flexible furniture in the class, I think its also important to use other areas in the school which are not usually used for lessons: a small garden or a large corridor, where students can sit on the floor in a circle or learn in the open air. For example, we created in our school a "classroom without walls" using a small part of our outside garden where we put some tree trunks which students can use to sit and read and have lessons. It is a really enjoyable place for our students.

selma meral- turkey

selmameral1988 — 2019-02-11 17:24:06 UTC

Although our class is wide, I have trouble with the material. Because I'm in different classes for 2 hours, I'm having trouble doing activity. however, I try to get an active class as best I can.

RICARDO, BOLOGNA - IT

2019-02-11 17:46:23 UTC

I think all the schools will pass by this kind of transformation…Schools are old…need to recreate the space more warm and having different ways to approach the environmental learning…unfortunately, the school I work is old.

Isabel, Portugal

2019-02-11 17:57:40 UTC

IThat is a dimention that I feel I need to improve: using space to better work in class.

Aiste, Lithuania

2019-02-11 18:48:56 UTC

Classrooms in my school are not flexible. But my class is big enough to work in groups. It will be more comfortable to have flexible furniture of course.

Yasemin, Turkey

2019-02-11 19:07:44 UTC

I have very small class with 24 students we can't even move there beside we don't have flexible furnitures but after I watched the video I have decided to change my class environment I have changed the sitting arrangement so it gives me a bit space to do enjoyable activities.

2019-02-11 19:08:58 UTC

ith us what your classroom looks like and to think about how to use learning spaces to support personalised learning. If you now think again about the learning spaces that you have available for your students, are they flexible and interactive, like the one shown in the video? Without necessarily having access to flexible classroom furniture, has the video inspired you to make your classroom environment more collaboration-friendly? Share your ideas and experiences here! Avatar de European Schoolnet Academy European Schoolnet Academy + 270 ●

Anda SIlea, Romania

andasilea1980 — 2019-02-11 19:29:24 UTC

I have a class of 26 students and I am thinking of transforming the class environment . The problem is that some other teacher have more traditional view on this subject. I will try to fix the problem, at least for my classes.

Filomena Bianco, Italy

2019-02-11 19:38:13 UTC

The videos are very inspiring but unfortunately my school is situated in an old building, with very small classrooms. All the desks are placed in rows facing the board and the teacher's desk. The perfect setting for old traditional frontal lessons. Apart from lack of space, some of my colleagues would not agree on a different layout because their lessons are still techer-centred.

Klaudija/Croatia

2019-02-11 20:19:29 UTC

Classrooms in my school are not flexible. But my class is big enough to work in groups. It will be more comfortable to have flexible furniture of course.

Dilek, Turkey

dilek_erdur83 — 2019-02-11 20:28:13 UTC

I have to teach in different classrooms and therefore it might me a proble to change the class desgin and let the students put their desks back for the upcoming lessons.

Reyhan, Turkey

reyhangndodu — 2019-02-11 21:18:15 UTC

I would prefer larger classrooms. I wish I had a reading corner, carpet and pillows. I would like many boards to hang the projects on.

Paulo Alves, Portugal

pjfalves — 2019-02-11 22:00:56 UTC

I try to change the classroom for each class (I have 11 with 30 students each). Not easy but with some effort things happen. And kids kinda like it. Is almost a quiz every day... Where do I seat with my group?

Rosa Barros, Portugal

guilhermana — 2019-02-11 22:22:30 UTC

As I have already mentioned previously, most of my classrooms are too limited and too cramped to accommodate students which means their manoeuvrability is almost impossible. Besides, I don’t have a classroom just for me. As each class has its own classroom, teachers must move around from classroom to classroom throughout their working day and according to their schedules, and it is quite impossible to personalise the classroom. Moreover, tables don’t have wheels, there is very little room from row to row and as Steve in the video, I have too many students, backpacks, jackets and much more stuff within the aisles.

As I like working in pairs/groups using peer coaching, and when a certain activity needs space rearrangement, I do it at the beginning of the class with the help of the students and then we put everything on place at the end of the class which consumes time.

If interactive means having technology inside the classroom, I would say my classrooms are interactive as we have an interactive board, a projector and wireless; but I think we are talking about a much broader concept: the one that refers to the level of interaction that really exists among the students in the class. Thus, I think that we are miles away from the desired classroom organization that fosters student’s interaction.

One thing I have learnt for sure, if I dream I can! The truth is that if we want to make a difference, we must change and facilitate a flexible and productive classroom; we must definitely try to optimize the physical characteristics and match the physical classroom environment to teaching and learning goals as much as we can. It’s up to all of us to guarantee an entire mindset shift… and yes, we can!

Semra UÇAR ŞAHMELİKOĞLU,TURKEY

semrasahmelikoglu — 2019-02-11 22:45:13 UTC

Classrooms in my school are not flexible. But my class is enough to work in groups.I would prefer larger classrooms and less student. I wish I had a reading corner, carpet and pillows. I would like many boards to hang the projects on.

Beatriz (Spain

2019-02-12 09:49:36 UTC

I don’t have a specific classroom, so I go to different ones depending on my students’ grade level. Fortunately, I don’t have so many students (the average ratio in this school is 25 students per class). I can move around without any problem, and there is room enough for students to rearrange their seats if they are working in teams. It is true, though, that there are areas in my classroom that could be used as part of the teaching- learning process, so there’s a lot of room for improvement.

Sérgio Barroso

sergiobarroso — 2019-02-12 12:00:31 UTC

I am the one every dislikes in my school when they go to my classroom after I teach there… They all have to wait because “I have to put the tables on the correct place, as I found them!”. But students are used to be furniture movers. Unfortunately some of the classrooms are to small to make more friendly environments, at some point we don’t have groups but a crowd. But noise is good, they are talking 😉

António Gomes, Portugal

AntonioGomes — 2019-02-12 14:51:22 UTC

As a teacher of ICT, the classrooms where I teach have computers, but effectively, they are not all organized in the same way and are used by other colleagues and other disciplines. Rooms that have fixed computers and are set up as in bus seats are very difficult to modify. But I have rooms where the computers are on tables leaning against the walls and in the center we have tables in a circle. In this case students can move and work more effectively, as they are free to join, circle and position where they think best.
It may be that in these rooms you can still tinker with the arrangement of the tables depending on the activities.

RABIA SHAH, PAKISTAN

2019-02-12 15:58:45 UTC

my classrooms are traditional one. not that much flexible and interactive. but when i wanted them to work in group i just take them to the lab where its easy to work in groups.

Đurđica, Croatia

durdica_lucek — 2019-02-12 16:46:06 UTC

The video has inspired me to decorate my classroom. Unfortunately my furniture is not flexibile, but my students still manage to work in small groups. I have a small classroom and I haven't got enough space.

Maria Afonso, Portugal

maria_afonso08 — 2019-02-12 18:04:33 UTC

Unfortunately, the learning spaces available to my students are completely obsolete compared to Steve's classroom.
For some time now I have been doing training on these new themes, such as collaborative learning, project work, pedagogical differentiation, and in all training I hear and see the same:
- We have to change!
I am filled with energy and motivation to create a more motivating and welcoming space for my students. But then,
I arrive at school and run into everything that is bureaucracy or problem. The school is too old, there are few classrooms or room for anything. Everything fails, the classrooms with old and broken tables and chairs, the windows, some that don't open, others that don't have blinds, old paintings, video projectors that don't work, internet too slow that doesn't even allow me to open the platform of my book publisher, equipped with beautiful activities that I can't use in the classroom, classmates who are very unwilling for a teacher to try to change the layout of the classroom, educational assistants who pretend not to see garbage piling up in the corners of classrooms and an endless array of other situations.
I continue to say that change must begin in our government. If there is no investment in schools, education becomes increasingly impoverished.
How can anyone be happy to know that I, a simple English teacher, can bring some curtains from home, some painted boxes to file material, ask for some paint cans to paint a classroom? And to do this, I'll have to get permission from the Headmaster and paint the room after hours, and beside that I am sure that the room I have paited it's not going to be my room.
No one is willing to mend it anymore!
Do I want to change? Of course I do. It's up to all of us to ensure a change of mentality.

Banu Güven, Konya/Türkiye

banuguvenster — 2019-02-12 18:33:28 UTC

Our classrooms are not very flexible. But Ican organize the desks against the students needs insort ways. Not looking good but efficent and interactive. I began to use this flexibility monday of this week and they like it much. With this reorganized desks they can feel comfortable and take the responsibility of their own learning.

Yasemin Tekbaş, Kahta, Turkey

2019-02-12 19:11:10 UTC

I've been wanting to change the class for a while. Because we have a classic class. students sitting in a row. But I have no clear idea yet. I plan to think with my students.

Gülseren Kalafat

gulserenceylan — 2019-02-12 19:45:15 UTC

To be honest, I have been really inspired about making my classroom more collaboration-friendly. But how? that's the question: would the school administration let me do so? I am sharing the same classes with the other teachers and what would they say, what kind of reaction would they give? And also, what if juts for my lessons I would do that but I am teaching only 40 minutes and would I waste of my teaching period? Lots of questions and impossibilities for now at this school.

Francesca, Italy

2019-02-12 20:38:43 UTC

I would really love to use learning spaces to support personalized learning; however, this can be done only in some of my classes, since many colleagues in my school do not like moving forniture or group work. This makes everything difficult since , if I need to move the forniture each time I have a lesson, I would waste 10 minutes at the beginning and ten minutes at the end of the lesson at least. And I teach only three hours a week per class...

Sandra Mendes-Portugal

sandrabn_13 — 2019-02-12 21:05:56 UTC

Once I tech English to 13 classes, I havent' got only one classroom or any classroom that I can call mine. It's hard to change things when other teachers define the learning space and when I'm with that class only for 2 hours per week. I can say that from the 13 classrooms that I go to, only about 4 are or look like Steve's classroom. The video is inspiring, but I cannot adjust that reality into mine, I believe it«s easier when you have your own classroom and only one class to teach.

Helena Almeida - Portugal

helena0almeida — 2019-02-12 21:48:10 UTC

I felt really inspired by the videos I’ve seen. I’ve watched part 1, part 2 and part 3, and the outcome is fantastic!

The class shown is really big! 35 students in one classroom, with one teacher, it’s hardwork! And the changes made in the classroom layout were simple but really important. At the end _it looks like a much larger room.

I thought immediately: “what can I change in my classroom tomorrow?”.

But, the problem is that I do not have one but several classrooms. And I am not the only teacher using those classrooms… so rearrenging the classroom would be something that I had to do before and after each one of my classes…

To solve that problem I think that students may only move their chairs and work on smaller desks when doing collaborative work.

I didn’t come up with more ideas to solve that problem yet, do you have any?

Engin, Türkiy

Engins — 2019-02-12 21:50:04 UTC

First of all, I got interesting ideas on how to prepare my class for work-based learning. However, the education system applied in my school does not allow classes to be designed in this way. Because we don't have a classroom system. Teachers are traveling around different classes.

Rosário Sá Pinto

rosariopinto — 2019-02-12 23:07:10 UTC

there are some really good ideas to change the classroom. But we still have to overcome one major difficulty: the traditional row organisation of our school that makes control easier (at least many teachers think so).
It is not easy to change furniture every single class therefore most of the times when we want to do something different in clas, we take our students to other spaces in school such as the library, the Maths Lab....

Edurne Andrés Crespo, Spain

edurne_andcre — 2019-02-13 06:10:31 UTC

In my case, I have no flexible and interactive spaces because where I work the teachers go from class to class to give their lessons. In my opinion, it would be better if English teachers, for instance, had our own space for the subject and could work and change the furniture according to our interests. It would be easier this way.

Anyway, the video has showed me a new perspective and has given me great ideas to propose.

Štefica

2019-02-13 09:18:31 UTC

The video inspired me to try to redesign my class for collaborative learning. However, there are more problems. The furniture in the classroom is not very flexible, and other teachers also maintain classes in my classrooms and prefer the classic row seating.
●

Christine,Malta

2019-02-13 11:17:40 UTC

The video has inspiring working spaces to support personalised learning. My only worries is classroom management and how I can arrange the classroom to suit all the different classrooms.

Tomislav, Coratia

tomislav_lecek — 2019-02-13 11:19:24 UTC

My desire is for the classroom to be a space where they feel comfortable, safe, relaxed, and motivating. I listen to their comments and try to surprise them with something new.

Rosalba from Rome

rosalba1963 — 2019-02-13 15:53:38 UTC

I wish I had a class similar to the video' s one even as it was before. I do not have a classroom of mine and in my school only two classes are equipped with the interactive board, however I do not want to complain. To make my students use technologies I make them bring their own devices and when group work is organized, they move their desks....a really flexible organization.

Berkant Türkiye

2019-02-13 18:37:52 UTC

I have classic queues that belong to one person in my classroom.grouping four groups in question solving but it is not flexible

Rui, Portugal

ruitei57 — 2019-02-13 19:37:44 UTC

I saw all the videos and I felt that the classroom organitation it´s a important thing. But, like many teachers, I have eleven classes in different rooms. To work in collaborative I need to move the furniture and create some space. The technologie issue I use the BYOD strategie and the students like it and sometimes they go work outside.

Lu

luisaltnogueira — 2019-02-13 20:42:29 UTC

The classrooms in Portugal are those of transmissive teaching. Students / classes and teachers are constantly changing rooms throughout the day.
I now recognize the importance of verbal and non-verbal communication during learning. Without much effort, my classes will be given with the U-desks so that each student can interact with all the other classmates.
The second video is enlightening regarding the learning environment, it will not be necessary to change the lay out of the room very much to have two distinct learning places, one for collaborative learning, the other for more personalized support for students who have a minor autonomy in carrying out the activities. In addition, the latter space can be occupied for relatively short periods of time.

ELVAN İNAN-TURKEY

elvaninanelvan — 2019-02-13 21:08:56 UTC

After seeing that amazing video and how easy is to move furnitures we can say that our school is giving some steps to a flexible classroom.Most of the teachers work in a traditional way. Some of us are open minded and we are trying to adopt new ways of work. Now, if we want to do colaborattive work we must rearrange the tables and chairs. Its give us a bit of work but is worth it! Students like a lot because they can see each others and not only they colleagues back.

Teresa, Lisboa

2019-02-13 22:22:21 UTC

At school we do not have a Geography room. Each class has a assigned room and the teacher moves through the various classes. As I have 4 or 5 classrooms in the same morning, I have to clean / unpack 4 or 5 times the rooms ... it is difficult but for a good behaviour and learning I do ....

Paula Cotter Cabral, Azores - Portugal

paulacotter70 — 2019-02-13 22:45:47 UTC

Creating different space organization in the classroom according to the activities chosen for the lessons is useful to improve students attention and motivation. Every now and then, I try to give a different aspect to the U-desks classroom in order to surprise the students and to promote collaborative work.

Isabel, Portimão

irodrigues — 2019-02-13 23:05:33 UTC

In my school there are laboratories that allow to flex the space, organizing it in order to enable the group work (experimental and theoretical); In an audience (semicircular, U-shaped,...); Working in pairs,....
I've tried these possibilities.

Daniela Tanu,Romania

tiganasu_daniela — 2019-02-14 13:47:31 UTC

Sunt o persoană deschisă la lucruri noi, le fac când pot, dar pentru că în clasa mea învăț în două schimburi, rearanjarea mobilierului se face în funcție de spațiu. Dar mă gândesc să fac lucruri noi într-o clasă flexibilă.

Ignacio

2019-02-14 14:55:45 UTC

No they aren't . Making changes in a classroom is very difficult because i don't remian in my class, i have different classes and consequently I cannot display the class as I wish...I only display the class as I like during the last class of the day; in it I change the position of the desk and try to make it more open

Iva, Croatia

2019-02-14 18:51:09 UTC

I think that furniture is not a necessary prerequisite for the students to work, collaborate and communicate well , but it can certainly provide an environment in which they will feel more relaxed and satisfied. My classroom is limited in size and therefore it is difficult to organize the group work among students. For this reason, I often use online collaborative tools such are google drive and office 365 tools.

Montsse, Spain

2019-02-14 19:46:13 UTC

Changing the class is not depend on my. And also I teach in ten different classes fot this reason is really difficult. Not only have you need enough space but also to be able to organize the classes.

MAHEK BUTT, PAKISTANWell our classrooms are simple rooms containing furniture according to the strength of our students. So they are not flexible or interactive. But the new systems of the institutes should be revised and the space should be created for the personalized learning. except that libraries and laboratories are the places much flexible for the purpose

2019-02-14 20:01:46 UTC

Astrid/ Italy

AstridVE — 2019-02-15 05:34:00 UTC

Don't be scared you do something! In my case I'm sure that if I would have asked my headteacher and other responsabiles they would have say ' no way let's keep things as they are' so I decided one day to try out some chances this is what came out. No one was angry, they where just suprised and bit by bit with some other teachers we introduced other modifications.

Alma S., Bosnia and Herzegovina

almasal78 — 2019-02-15 07:47:55 UTC

I don't have my own classroom, I am teaching in different classes and classroom and it is difficult to make any changes.

Burcin,Turkey

burcin_incee — 2019-02-15 09:20:45 UTC

Sure, this video encourage me to change sth about classrom but I don’t have my own classromm and as shown in the video this changings is not making on your own. This needs collegues and director that think like you

Ana Santos, Portugal

crissantos2304 — 2019-02-15 10:51:25 UTC

At my school we are not allowed to change the classes. I have to teach in six different rooms and one of them has a completely different arrangement ( that I don't like). Sometimes, supporting personalized learning is very difficult because we don't have space to move through the class.

Laila, Morocco

2019-02-15 11:05:24 UTC

This video inspires me to think about my future classrooom design! I like the idea of involving students in the whole trasformation process.

Conchi C., Spain

mccantero — 2019-02-15 11:48:34 UTC

I don´t have a classroom. I teach in different clasrooms and I must adapt my teaching to the different spaces without changing any of them.
There is only one clasroom, the one that we use for the speaking classes, that could be transformed. As we work there with reduced number of students, in that space they move around, stand up, make role plays and different activities.
The video has been inspiring to have ideas in order to make the classroom more confortable and warm for the kids.

Hello,

2019-02-15 16:32:40 UTC

unfortunately i do not have my own classroom, because as a language teacher i do every class in a different classroom. If i have planed some project based work, we simply reorganize the furniture. It seems like the students like some different table formation as usual very much.

Clara, Italy

clarag — 2019-02-15 17:52:56 UTC

The video is absolutely inspiring! I thought that, in my class, to have a collaboration-friendly space we could put the desks along the walls and use only the chairs to make circle time activities or speaking activities. The setting can be changed into islands of 4 desks for cooperative activities.

Seda, TURKEY

sedasagin — 2019-02-15 19:30:01 UTC

This video is more than inspiring but as I mentioned before we are not allowed to make any changes. But still I will talk to my manager to create more flexible class environments for our students. Because what I saw on the video encouraged and motivate to do something.

Lucia B, Italy

2019-02-15 20:47:26 UTC

Our situation would never allow the changes that I saw in the video. The administration is rigid and my colleagues like to have frontal lessons. What a pity!
The only time a class of mine rearranged their desks on a permanent basis, the students complained that they had to twist their necks all the time, in order to follow the teachers' lessons.

Ljiljana, Croatia

ljiljana_jeftimir — 2019-02-15 21:45:00 UTC

I'm not happy with the bench arrangement in my cabinet, the classroom is small and everything is tight. Computers have large chassis and take up a lot of places, and it would be better to have laptops. The benches are fixed to their fixed feet so they can not move. It's not an ideal situation. In school reform, we will improve the situation as I learned in this course. The video was great

ljiljana_jeftimir — 2019-02-15 21:47:04 UTC

Suncezgb, Croatia

2019-02-15 21:59:09 UTC

The video is inspired.
Changes are good from time to time.
The class organization have to be functional.

Maria Rizza/ Sicily

rowri — 2019-02-15 22:05:12 UTC

In my school the learnng spaces are vey different from those on the video: I have small rooms with lots of students with their schoolpack on the floor so it is difficult, better impossible to move around. I am also not allowed to make the classroom mre flexible and to move the desks in a circle , they have to be in row, so no possible for flexible learning spaces . We are also obliged not to make changes for safety reasons, as we have to obey the security rules which are established by people who are not part of the school staff and know nothing about methodology or learning strategies, Te video make me feel powerless and miserable because

Milijana, Serbia

2019-02-15 22:42:19 UTC

My classroom contains ICT devices. I could give students a different seating arrangement. Also, I would like to have flowers in the classroom and that students are nursing it.

Mafalda Lapa, Portugal

lapa_mafalda — 2019-02-15 23:46:12 UTC

I have already built an "Future Room" in my school. But it is difficult to find the money to put all the rooms ideal for learning. This idea of inviting other teachers and architects to our room so that they can give ideas seems a good starting point.

FERNANDO BAPTISTA, PORTUGAL

fnbaptista — 2019-02-15 23:46:52 UTC

In my school, the learning spaces are different from those that appear in the video, the furniture is more than 20 years old and in the 48 square meters of classroom 26 students are jostled.
However, I like to change the layout of the furniture and I think this promotes the existence of new flexible learning spaces.
With the provision of interactive whiteboards for the classrooms I have been trying to get the technologies in here and we can take the best of them out of them. Our activities are more colorful, more concretized with images that "VALUE MORE THAN THOUSAND WORDS".

The video has inspired me even more to relax space and fight the passivity of a classroom oriented only in one direction: in relation to a teacher, who must necessarily stop being the most important in a classroom.

Sophia, Greece.

SD1000 — 2019-02-16 09:52:10 UTC

Since I teach the English language, I do not have my own classroom, so moving desks and chairs back to their first place is time consuming and noisy. If I had my own classroom I would join all desks in pairs of two so that four children can be seated. If I need students to work in pairs they just pull the desks a bit apart.

2019-02-16 10:08:33 UTC
In my specific case it is very difficult to adjust the classroom to organise collaborative learning because I don't have a classroom of my own. As I said previously, in another post, I go to five schools and I have 9 classes. A lesson has 60 minutes and I don't have enough time, modern furniture or classroom space to rebuilt it in such a short time. Normally they work in pairs or groups of 4 because they can turn back. Besides this I always built an English Corner with the students. What is showed in the video is very interesting but very difficult to achieve.

Ana, Croatia

2019-02-16 10:28:30 UTC

I don't have my own classroom so to me it's difficult to change it. We do reorder our tables and chaires depending on the lesson plan but that's the most we can do in this conditions.

Tina, Croatia

2019-02-16 13:24:57 UTC

The classes are not made according to my wishes. Several teachers in my school share a classroom site and everyone has different habits. Sometimes I move my benches to do various activities. It would be easier for me to have wheeled furniture, but for now it is impossible. I asked the principal already

Havva, Turkey

2019-02-16 15:59:46 UTC

I have a traditional classroom and it is difficult to change it but this video inspired me. I will make some changes in my classroom. I will make a visual board like in the video and my students can post their ideas, feelings and pictures on it.

Marco, Italy

2019-02-16 18:09:59 UTC

I don't have my own classroom, so it's difficult to change the class as I want

Cláudia Meirinhos, Portugal

claudiameirinhos — 2019-02-16 19:15:47 UTC

In my school the furniture is not up to date or flexible as we saw in the video. There are tables for two students. For group work we put together two tables, but the students are distant. When we use only one for four students they are not comfortable.
I have already participated in courses about "The future Classroom" with different work spaces for different task to be done but this is not possible in the current room because the room is small for 24 students and does not allow this management. The purchase of materials and equipping of the rooms is not my responsibility, all this is dependent on the governmental entities. We do the best we can with what we have.

Marta Curto, Portugal

istruka — 2019-02-16 19:25:58 UTC

From what I saw I think that I could join four tables together to form working stations, but unfortunately the teacher's desk cannot be moved because of the smartboard and computer. Also we have a wall full of big windows facing the sun the whole day, so it's hard to get the students there. On the other hand, because the class has only one classroom where all the teachers go and because we all work in different ways it's hard to rearrange the classroom everytime I go to class.
In the video I really liked the fact that the teacher's desk was in a position that is almost near every student.

Rita Zurrapa, Portugal

zurrapinha — 2019-02-16 21:01:58 UTC

I would like to have better conditions but I don't, so I have to work with what I have and a good imagination can help.

Sónia Guerreiro, Portugal

soniaioguerreiro — 2019-02-16 21:59:29 UTC

Has I assumed before, the most importante are the people! When there are professionals well-intentionated and motivated, everything is possible. I apply the activities from the project “Ainda me salta a tampa” in the sport classroom (because of the caracteristics of the classroom: without furniture). It happens that this classroom ti wasn’t available for a few times, so we went to an ordinary classroom and adapted the space to our needs and interests.

Lídia Mota, Portugal

sanchesmlidia — 2019-02-16 23:21:24 UTC

I don´t consider my learning spaces interactive or flexile. The video was inspiring, I don´t have many opportunities to change spaces, but I enjoy see the video and some of the ideas.

Filiz Bilici/TURKEY

filizlenirken — 2019-02-17 09:56:21 UTC

I like working in groups in my class. Because my students like this method. I think they feel more comfortable in this way and they can express more easily.

Marta Tarantino, Italy

martatarantino — 2019-02-17 10:10:28 UTC

In my opinion the shift to a flexible conception of the spaces as well as the times and the ways of learning has to be taken for granted. I mean that teachers , administrators, stakeholders are required to adopt a perspective of continuous change in order to always be able to deal with the challenges that contemporary world force our students to cope with. The Future Classroom Lab represents to me an ideal space and seems kind of an evolution of the old ateliers. A huge amount of research on education flows into this conception of the spaces, the times and the ways of learning. I've been trying organizing my classroom space by dividing it in various zones each of them dedicated to a different learning activity and/or learning style. It's not easy, unfortunately, because I can't make important decisions on my own. As a matter of fact, this kind of choices implies a learning and teaching vision to be shared by all the actors of an educational institution: principals, teachers, stakeholders.

ı need better conditions for furniture but ı have new ideas which can be done by project based

2019-02-17 12:47:14 UTC

Süheyla,TURKEY

2019-02-17 13:10:07 UTC

Collaborative, I know it's very helpful for us to work with a group.I want it fit in my class.

Renata, Croatia

2019-02-17 13:25:13 UTC

Sometimes we work in the classroom, sometimes, when we collaborative work with students from other classes, we work in large space in the school such us sport hall, conference hall or kitchen, dependly what we are doing.

İsmail Çağlayan ÖZKAYA,Mugla,Turkey

2019-02-17 16:32:55 UTC

i have seen first time that there are classroom designers. im my country most of our classrooms are similar. it's a little bit hard for us to do this, because there are so many bureaucracy.

Faruk Yıldız, Turkey

omfayildiz — 2019-02-17 17:07:56 UTC

Because my class is a computer lab, computers are desktops and the class is small, we can't make much changes. The video we watched really inspired me. I don't have enough lockers in my classroom, but instead I can use cloud repositories, I don't have enough boards in my class, but I can use a padlet, I don't have a group of 3-4 people around a table, but I can use social sharing apps. There are many more tools like "Module2.6 Tools for personalized learning".

Adelaide Jordão, Portugal

adelaidejordao3 — 2019-02-17 17:23:39 UTC

My school was founded (more than) 150 years ago. It has grown according to the growth of the community where it belongs. Fifteen of the school's classrooms are located in an annex building, considered a provisional building for more than 30 years.
The furniture of the classrooms is the usual: tables of two places, distributed by rows (we all know the school model of the industrial revolution) and four or five computers. I think the learning spaces that I have available for my students may be flexible and interactive. We do not have modular furniture? Patience. We can put together two tables for work groups of 4 elements, we can build a circle with tables, form and lean the tables on the walls to free space in the center of the room ...
Creativity, imagination and the will to change are a good start!

Sebahat Yalçın,Turkey

2019-02-17 18:21:02 UTC

Several teachers use the same classroom at my school .However the number of students and the size of our classroom are suitable for a flexible classroom.So I changed the places of desks with my students since I have learnt the advantages of the flexible classroom through this course.My colleagues and pupıls liked it!Now they are more flexible and interactive.

Ivo Cruz, Portugal

2019-02-17 20:06:20 UTC

The learning spaces available to my students are not flexible and interactive as shown in the video. We usually have a traditional room with rows of tables of two students facing the teacher. As the teacher is not always in the same room and with the same class, if you want to organize the available space you have to do it in a quick way so that you leave it as it was for the next teacher and do not waste the little time available for your class.

Cristina (Spain)

cristinagomezdi — 2019-02-17 20:40:33 UTC

I only have 5 big tables surrounded by chairs… so for me is very difficult to redesign my class… In contrast we have plenty of space, so sometimes we just move the chairs and use all the walls to show our jobs to the others.

Jorge Estrela, Portuga

2019-02-17 20:56:27 UTC

I have always preferred the U layout classrooms, but this type of organization is not always possible because of the size of the classroom, the school furniture and the number of students. Although not always the U layout is the most suitable, it is easier to change this classroom, according to the activity to be developed. This is not the case with the traditional layout of portuguese classrooms.
After viewing the video on flexible and interactive classroom environments, I put into practice a different way of organizing the classroom in order to achieve the learning forms chosen by the class / students. For this, I defined group work zones, peer work zones, and individual work zones / tutorials.

Elena Quiles

elena_quiles — 2019-02-17 22:09:44 UTC

In general, I don't see flexibility in the sense of learning spaces in schools and when students have to work in group, it takes a lot of time to organize everything. However, I consider that it is key to having access to flexible classroom furniture to achieve effective learning and collaborative work.

In Italy

carmenromero19031978 — 2019-02-17 22:24:33 UTC

Carmen Romero

carmenromero19031978 — 2019-02-17 22:36:34 UTC

The learning spaces that we have available are not that flexible and interactive. In Italian secondary schools teachers don’t usually have their own class but they move from one classroom to the other when they teach. And most of the teachers like the traditional setting so that’s the way classrooms are like. Whenever we move tables and chairs, we have to put them back as they were and this is time consuming.

But yes, the video was very inspiring and I’d like to use some ideas like finding a space where we can display and share ideas, for example. And I agree, if it’s tidy, it’s much easier to work in a place

Daniela Popovici, Romania

2019-02-17 23:32:22 UTC

Most of the teachers in my school move from room to room (each class of students has a specifically assigned room; some of the rooms have modular desks that can be re positioned

Miguel A. (Burgos, Spain)

2019-02-17 23:56:14 UTC

In my classroom the students are distributed in teams of 4. These are alternated every so often (they themselves want to make changes to interact with other classmates).

M.sahin Turkey MERSİN

2019-02-18 07:05:06 UTC

OUR CLASSROOMS ARE ORGANIZED ACCORDING TO THE NUMBER OF STUDENTS IN THE SCHOOL OF HEARING IMPAIRED.our lines have ergonomical structure makes our work easier

Silvia Canali - Italy

silvia_canali77 — 2019-02-18 08:02:33 UTC

I change the learning space according to the activities we are running. The classroom is very big (this is very unusual, we are lucky). We usually work in groups (5 teams - total 25 students). We realized this year an area for our "Book Club" with shelves made by the students, a sofa and pillows. We use this area for the "circle time", students can decide to stay there for developing projects.

F.Gulcin/Turkey

2019-02-18 11:05:51 UTC

Kindergarten classes provide learning centers with more flexible learning areas. however, in other levels, the number of students in the classroom is very high, so teachers could not provide learning areas and flexibility in the classroom. but it is still not impossible to make every point of the class into an active and functional space as we see in the video. I think we should get professional help.

Līga Kraukle, Latvia

kraukle_liigak — 2019-02-18 11:10:13 UTC

I share my classroom with other teachers, but there is o problem to rearrange it, if necessary.

Sorina R, Romania

2019-02-18 13:46:14 UTC

Like I said last week, my classroom is very small, but I try to make the most of my space. I put together a reading corner and I change the position of the desks whenerver necesarry. However, I cannot always let them like this, because the students have to have a comfortable position looking at the whiteboard and/or screen.

Serge from Belgium

digit_fs21 — 2019-02-18 17:45:39 UTC

As an I teacher i'm stuck with fixed computers on fixed tables. Since my first lesson at that school I would changed the way tables are positioned in the classroom. The use of laptops should make that true together with tables on wheels

Ceyda, Türkiye

2019-02-18 18:43:48 UTC

Unfortunately, we have really high number of students around 50 in one class and small classrooms. so this introduced module may not be possible for us to apply:(

Elizabeth, Malta

2019-02-18 20:31:56 UTC

I am happy to say that our children have learning spaces which allow them to work in a collaborative environment. They are grouped according with mixed capabilities of 5 to each group.

ElenaF

2019-02-18 20:44:27 UTC

Fortunately, I have a classroon big and I work with 5 students I don`t have problems

GÖKSEL BABACAN, TURKEY.

2019-02-18 21:18:32 UTC

36 students, 18 fixed desks, and a monitor. all ı have in my class.

Murat A, Macedonia

2019-02-18 21:27:15 UTC

This is a very inspiring video and makes us feel we have to do something to promote more collaborative learning activities for our students

Rukiye ,Turkey

86mrscabalar — 2019-02-18 21:57:18 UTC

yes this video insipired me but I haven 't got my own classroom. we have a smart board in the classroom. we use portable desks to make a group work. I rearrange seating order before my lesson.

Rui, Portugal

ruimbtc — 2019-02-18 22:43:21 UTC

The space that my students and I have in is not in any way similar to those described in the video. However, the video is quite inspiring.
In my school there are no spaces with specific furniture and it is always very difficult to modify the configuration of the rooms.
For this reason, when I need more flexibility, I divide the classes into groups and the students can move from one place to another, go to the library or other spaces outside the classroom.
In order for this work to work, it is always necessary to coordinate the activities with the teacher librarian, or other teacher available.

Çölban-Turkey

huguette08 — 2019-02-18 22:50:35 UTC

Classroom kindergarten, our work environment and our program are flexible. My students are able to prepare an environment in which they can work freely. They are able to work easily with each other. Smart board, computer in the classroom

Sunčica, Croatia

s_remenar — 2019-02-18 23:01:40 UTC

The videos have definitely inspired me to visualise a better organized classroom, but still there is a problem of permission from the head of the school to do so, and other teacher's opinion (we share all classrooms). So, inspired and sad, I feel in the same time.

Dunja

quince6219 — 2019-02-19 07:53:49 UTC

I am definitely going to visit edutopia for more ideas. I really have to activate the back wall and provide more eye contact among the students.

Lurdes Costa, Portugal

lmlcost — 2019-02-19 15:16:13 UTC

Amazing how we can do so much with so little. In my school, I change classroom every 50 or 100 minutes. The same group has several classrooms, but yes, I think, even so, we can rearrange them to be more flexible and enjoyable.

Tanja, Croatia

2019-02-19 15:35:37 UTC

I haven't got my classroom. I share it with other teachers.

Sara,Spain

sacedofuentes — 2019-02-19 15:38:56 UTC

The video was very inspiring. Sometimes we don't dedicate enough time to the arrangement of the class and it's a good idea to be able to vary it from time to time or find a suitable arrangement for different activities.

Maria d.c., Italy

mariadecarlo — 2019-02-19 16:43:34 UTC

Beautiful video that also motivates me as a teacher. Unfortunately, my school reality is a thousand light years away from what is seen in the video. My school's classrooms have only desks and chairs. The walls are dirty and in some classes there are some maps. At the wall is the traditional blackboard. I try to activate collaborative dynamics by moving the desks and making the students work in groups of 4. But the environment does not stimulate the study and pleasure of being in the classroom. Sometimes I write sentences that pupils hang on the wall .... but it is very very little compared to what it should be. I will try to talk with the school manager to see if it is possible to bring recycled material in the classroom and / or useful for a more stimulating environment to study.

Anna Grignetti, Italy

annagrignetti — 2019-02-19 16:44:51 UTC

The video is very interesting. In my school reality is very different. My school's classrooms are small and have only desks, arranged in rows, and traditional blackboards. Although I try to move the desks to make pupils work in small groups, the environment is not favorable. We should make it more welcoming by working in collaboration with other teachers on a more flexible arrangement of the desks.

Susan Rees, Spain

2019-02-19 17:16:44 UTC

Interesting video, great ideas that could be useful o redesign the classrooms I use, but with the class teachers' permission... I get pupils to move into groups if their class isn't organised that was when I go in, but it would be easier if they were always sat in groups. Edutopia has given me some great ideas

GİZEM T.TURKEY

elttakacgizem — 2019-02-19 17:26:42 UTC

In our school we dont have flexible classes but at the end of the perıod we will have a language class which have desk suitable for group works so I m happy.The thing that is interetinng in the video is their idea of reusing the materials.

Urmi,Sweden

urmimalabanerjee — 2019-02-19 18:27:07 UTC

Amazing to see how with a little bit of effort, students can work better.
The video is very inspiring. I will try something like that in my class.

Meltem,Turkey

meltemakdeniz — 2019-02-19 18:39:55 UTC

The video is really motivating. We should definitely create a collaboration-friendly classrooms with my colleagues. It will be a difficult task but we will try.

Nurettin Aykan-Turkiye

nurettin_aykan — 2019-02-19 19:17:01 UTC

My class is flexible. The seating arrangement can be quickly converted to an information source, from group work to therapy, and even to game layout. Our students have their own chairs, cushions and even pads. We are very happy to change the technological infrastructure to a full class direct learning environment and we are very happy here.

Burcu, turkey

2019-02-19 19:24:08 UTC

My classrooms are not flexible and we can’t make many differences. Mobility is prevented by the classroom environment. It is not very comfortable. But this video is motivating and inspiring. We can start by little changes at first.

Oktay, Turkey

aoktaykoc — 2019-02-19 19:27:01 UTC

Teachers in Turkey don't have their own classrooms, teachers go to the classroom of students at each lesson period therefore it is not easy to have a flexible classroom. We as teachers sometimes ask students to sit in a circle. Group work is rare and most of the teachers do not prefer group working. Teacher are not flexible and classrooms are not flexible either.

Maria Valencia, Spain

mgarcia58 — 2019-02-19 19:40:41 UTC

We have a wide classroom and can change from chairs to a big round table when is needed according to ther activities we have planned.

Emilia A/Romania

teacherro — 2019-02-19 19:48:37 UTC

I enjoyed the video and it gave me some ideas for changes in the classroom.In my school most of the classes aren't very spacious and flexible but from time to time we can work in pairs or in groups.I think it's very important to create a friendly atmosphere in the classroom.

Gamze U. Ç. Turkey

2019-02-19 20:37:52 UTC

I havent heard about 'Third Teacher Plus' it is really ineresting and efffective job. I wish we could do such works in our classrooms in my school, but it is not possible. in our classroom we have single chair and table for each student. It is a little bit flexible that they can change their places in the classroom during group activities. and classes are not so crowded and have more spaces.

yes,of course and yes ı can learning program too ,my ideas improve ,this program and this video too change my ideas about kids, seating and learning strategies

nazlinry — 2019-02-19 22:23:35 UTC

Claudya, Romania

claudia_neacsa — 2019-02-19 23:19:39 UTC

I liked very much the way they worked to get ideas....
In my school, the furniture is not flexible...

A

2019-02-20 00:01:46 UTC

My classroom is not flexible and I can’t make many differences. Mobility is prevented by the classroom environment. It is not very comfortable. But this video is motivating and inspiring. We can start by little changes at first.

Andreia Bento, Portugal

andreiabento2 — 2019-02-20 00:14:35 UTC

In Portugal, in most schools, it is not the students who go to the teacher's room to have a class, but rather the opposite. It is the teachers who, every 45 or 90 minutes, change rooms to go to teach in the room that is assigned to each class.
As most teachers still prefer the "traditional" classroom organization, with students sitting in rows facing the board, the solution for creating collaborative spaces is to lose some of the time from the beginning of the lesson to drag furniture and part of the final time to restore everything as it was, without achieving great efficiency in the organization of people and spaces ...

Jasmina, Serbia

jasmina_micic — 2019-02-20 00:43:57 UTC

Very inspiring video! Of course, as a math teacher I am fascinated with ELMO document camera. It is pretty much easier in that way. I often use interactive smartboard and try to inspire my student to take a part in a teaching process more by themselves.

Maro, Cyprus

mconstantinou1 — 2019-02-20 06:56:04 UTC

My classroom is not flexible, but I try to make it comfortable for all students to enhance their learning.

Sónia Ferreira, Gaia

sonjaf — 2019-02-20 09:12:48 UTC

the ideas are great, nonetheless they are difficult to implement, because is the teacher that change rooms. And yes the video is very inspiring. Little changes can make a lot of difference.

mine selvi

2019-02-20 16:52:16 UTC

my classes aren't flexible and we aren't allowed to move the chairs and desks but this video is inspiring for me and I hope I will do that when I have the chance

Cafer ŞAHMELİKOĞLU, Turkey

2019-02-20 18:29:05 UTC

The classroom environment is comfortable, flexible and interactive. We're still doing our best to create a comfortable environment in the classroom. Last week we did class painting in the corridor. Together with my students we make learning corners in our class. I love this very much. Because we have so much fun.

Josip, Croatia

2019-02-20 18:35:33 UTC

Classrooms in my school are not flexible, but with some personal touch we can do miracles.

Cátia Sousa

catia_diana_sousa — 2019-02-20 18:59:01 UTC

I think that, effectively, my classroom is great and very adaptable. However, it is always possible to get better. This video shows that, with small, creative, cheap and handmade ideas, we can operate big changes.

Maria Amalia, Greece

maria_amaliav — 2019-02-20 20:19:53 UTC

I was inspired by the video,I think that by small changes i.e. furniture rearrangements my class can be more

Noelle

2019-02-20 20:36:23 UTC

I just loved those videos; I think that from now on I will sit down and look at every aspect of my classroom before I even start the school year. In my case the "if you don't use it, toss it" was very useful advice, because I tend to keep everything and that makes the classroom and the shelves really messy.

Rania, Greece

rlambou2 — 2019-02-20 21:55:43 UTC

Classrooms are not student-friendly but they could change with creativity.

Sónia Pereira, Portugal

soniapereira — 2019-02-21 00:16:04 UTC

In my school, classes are very small and almost always with 30 students. Wi fi and computers are rare...Very dificult to encourage teachers to work in a diferent way, but I know a few and they have been doing an excelent job!

Gamze Siper/Turkey

gamzesiper — 2019-02-21 10:37:07 UTC

Our classrooms are enemy of personalized learning even I work in a private school. We have recourse but we need to decide together with other teachers, that is the hardest part. Classrooms are not available for making them more flexible or interactive, I use science laboratory for group works or hands on activities but all furniture is stationary in there, so I can’t make it flexible. Of course it inspires me, we are teachers when we see something useful and make difference in our students’ lives, they inspire us.

Vítor Silva - Portugal

vitorlousilva — 2019-02-22 00:16:26 UTC

My school is building a single flexible and multi-valued learning space where it will be easy to change the layout of the room quickly and easily and with differentiated pedagogical goals, where it will be easy to work in groups. As a rule I can not change my classroom much because I share with other classmates. If I change the position of the tables, I have to put them back in the starting position at the end of the lesson.

MariaMarrone, Italy

2019-02-22 17:39:44 UTC

Although with a few tools we organize flexible spaces, depending on the activities we have the desks for collaborative learning, for the debate, etc. Starting from the month of May we will experiment classrooms with spaces already prepared and equipped - three classrooms for each class.
1. Classroom of Knowledge,
2 Classroom of collaborative learning
3 Classroom of Citizenship

Ania. Poland

anajas11 — 2019-02-22 21:22:28 UTC

I work with knots. We have a large room, a lot of space for play and learning. Some of the furniture and fittings do not change their place, but they are and we can arrange the space freely. However, the places at the tables are permanent, at this age it is a good solution. Changing seats would cause a mess.

teachereltp2015 — 2019-02-23 10:10:52 UTC

As a part of a teacher training course we were asked to recreate our classroom in a new functional way. The goal was to start rethinking our models of teaching and to become more open-minded for different teaching methodology. It works!

Nadezhda, Bulgaria

teachereltp2015 — 2019-02-23 10:12:22 UTC

As a part of a teacher training course we were asked to recreate our classroom in a new functional way. The goal was to start rethinking our models of teaching and to become more open-minded for different teaching methodology. It works!

Iva Naranđa, Croatia

2019-02-24 08:40:26 UTC

My classroom is small and it is used by several teachers for different subjects, it is difficult to match everything. This video inspired me to do some small changes in my classroom and to make my classroom environment more collaboration-friendly.

Iva Naranđa,

2019-02-24 08:40:52 UTC

António Faria, Portugal

2019-02-25 01:41:40 UTC

My Biology and Geology class is very flexible because the tables are two students and both tables and chairs have wheels, allowing to assemble the class in other ways.

Mevludiye Tekerkaya, Turk

2019-02-25 05:29:45 UTC

I have an English classroom, so I can use it how it is suitable. There are flexible options about the seats. so the students feel themselves relaxed.

Amália Rebolo,Portugal

2019-02-25 16:36:00 UTC

The classroom is small for the number of students. Any way we work in groups of 4 or 5 and try to go around going to hall the groups in order to help them but the children have to be very quiet. Maybe we can change something in order to have more moving possibilities, it is something I have to discuss t«with the other teachers in the classroom.

Güler SHAIKH, Turkey

2019-02-25 16:40:46 UTC

Unfortunately, I don't have avalable classes but I do my best to create an atmosphere for my students to collaborate.

Maria P., Greece

petropouloum — 2019-02-25 21:44:13 UTC

I have a very big classroom with lot of computers, almost one computer per child. Next month, we will put a projector with a permanent monitor in the front wall next to my office. In the middle of the class I have created room for collaboration. Two desktops joined together with four chairs, so a small group can work alone if it’s necessary. The video (parts1-3) was an inspiration for me and I will try to find other tips to make my classroom environment more collaboration-friendly.

Patrícia Correia

2019-02-26 17:06:42 UTC

A minha sala tem uma dimensão razoável para o número de alunos. Existe um computador ligado à Internet, um projector fixo no tecto e uma tela branca que recolhe. É possível organizar as mesas em grupo e passar pelo meio delas. No entanto, outros professores leccionam na mesma sala logo temos que arrumar as mesas no fim da aula.

Mari

marinastmircic — 2019-02-26 22:35:38 UTC

Angela, Italy

2019-02-27 11:13:55 UTC

My school has classes quite numerous; some classrooms are small. I understand that it is important, for cooperative learning, arrange the desks in groups, not in file. The Chair should be structured to interact.
Hi everyone!

Nina, Romania

petraru_olaru_nina — 2019-02-27 18:05:40 UTC

Unfortunately, I am not allowed to change many things in a classroom.....just the desks and chairs. We use posters for the walls, too. I am going to use round table discussions and arrange the desks for group activities.

Maria , Portugal

isabel_ribeiro00_ir — 2019-02-27 19:55:22 UTC

My rooms have the teacher's table and the students' desks. They are not very flexible because we do not have access to new technologies. For a total of 400 students there is a room where teaching can be more flexible.

bülent yavuz çelik our spaces are not much flexible and interactive.Yes,the video is definitely an inspiration to me.

oc_may_haz — 2019-03-14 20:58:05 UTC

N

projemaili2 — 2019-04-19 18:21:33 UTC

Nevzat CAN

nutirigan21 — 2019-04-19 18:22:54 UTC

Our seating is U-shaped. We have room for the event in the middle of the class. We have a smart board.

özden coşar türkiye

ozdencosar — 2019-05-14 11:26:22 UTC

yes

Safaa_Egypt

sfmohamed6 — 2019-05-25 13:57:10 UTC

Students sit in pairs on desks. For groups, three desks are grouped to make a T-shape.