"I love your purple room!" "Thanks. It's blue." "No...it's obviously purple!" "IT'S NOT PURPLE!" "Well, then it's graple! Or maybe BLURPLE!" The friendly banter with the Custodians the week after school ended in May as I was painting my room was very entertaining. And my new nickname is Graple. Honestly, I didn't plan to transform my high school math classroom into an innovative learning space all at once. I planned to keep half of my big, bulky, classroom desks with the chairs attached, and change up the other half of my classroom. But, anyone who knows me very well knows it is impossible for me to do anything halfway...it's either all or nothing. This journey began one year ago, when I came back to teaching part-time after taking a year off. When I walked into my classroom, my first thought was, "Gag. I need to get rid of these desks." But when you're used to doing something the same way for 10 years, change tends to be pretty scary. Over the following months, I researched flexible learning spaces, innovative learning spaces, classroom redesign, makerspaces...basically anything I could get my hands on to give me an idea of how to begin a transformation, and I needed the research to back it up. But the most important thing I did was observe my kids. If you look closely, you can tell whether kids are comfortable in their learning space. Some fidget in their seats. Some complain about their backs hurting. Some, when given time to work, leave their desks with the attached chairs and choose to sit on the hard floor, because they don't want to sit in the desks any longer. Some stand. I couldn't sit in my kids' desks for 10 minutes without wanting to roll out onto the floor...and I expected my kids to be able to sit comfortably AND concentrate AND be engaged when I couldn't even do that myself? What an idiot I was. In May, it was time to have a heart-to-heart with the kids. I had four classes of freshmen, who would be looped into my classes again as sophomores. I didn't know the best way to approach the topic, but I knew their input was the most important piece of the puzzle. I started off by saying, "Hey guys, I need your help." Those four words - I NEED YOUR HELP - were magic. Their ears perked up. They looked at me like I had two heads. What teacher asks KIDS for advice? I went on to tell them my observations about our learning space. Immediately, their ideas came pouring out. I couldn't write them down fast enough. I finally had to stop them and ask if they would be open to filling out a few questions on a Google form (not mandatory). The next school day, I gave them the QR code so they could scan it and go to the form I created. Those students who didn't have their iPad or phone were grabbing sheets of notebook paper so they could give their input as well. I knew, at this point, there was NO turning back. I could no longer dig my heels in and put on my brakes. I was on the edge of that cliff, about to be pushed off into the deep water. An innovative learning space HAD to happen. Luckily, I am blessed with a wonderful Administration team who was all for the transformation. I asked my kids what colors they liked, and 84% of those who answered the survey questions listed some shade of blue, thus, the blurple paint color. Yes, I taped off, primed, and painted the room myself. It took a week. It was a b*&ch. Just being honest. I asked the kids what type of furniture made them the most comfortable. I asked what supplies they wanted. I asked them if we should keep our current desks, and why or why not. Their responses were eye-opening. And now for the controversial piece: I decided to furnish the room myself. I had items sitting at home that were collecting dust, and my classroom would be the perfect new home for them. My other (part-time) job allowed me to buy several new pieces of furniture, and I had decided a few months prior that this was the route I wanted to take. What if the District purchased my furniture and the whole experiment crashed and burned? I wanted to test the waters first. I wanted to be the guinea pig. And if it worked for my kids, then other teachers would have a resource and a jumping-off point to start making small changes in their rooms or common areas as well. And I was way, way, waaaaaaaaay out of my comfort zone! But, it's not about ME... I started with IKEA. I hate IKEA. But their prices were reasonable for what the kids had requested. My first trip to IKEA was pure fact-finding. I walked through the store, trying out the furniture, sitting in the chairs, making a fool of myself wiggling around in them to make sure they were sturdy, and took pictures of the items and their info cards that I thought would work in our classroom. I measured our classroom and brainstormed possible layouts. Once I decided on what to buy and how many of each item, I went back to IKEA, did a quick walk-through of the store again (10 minutes max - didn't want to give myself time to back out), took my list of items to a warehouse worker, and had him look up everything on my list to make sure it was in stock. That step saved a lot of wailing and gnashing of teeth that would have happened later. On my list was a variety of chairs, stools, tables (some with casters), rugs, and lamps. The furniture was to be light and easy to move, but sturdy. He printed a list of my items in order by aisle and bin number, which made picking the items extremely easy. The only bump in the road happened as we overloaded one of the carts, attempted to turn it, and all the boxes crashed into the middle of an aisle. All in all, it took my husband and I around five hours to put all the items together the next day. Everything was pretty easy to build, much to my surprise. Side note: make sure to sign up for their rewards program. I saved a bit of money and they'll give you a free meal based on how much you buy. Food tip: The Swedish meatballs are delightful. The indigestion afterward is not as delightful. I had to wash it down with a piece of chocolate cake. IKEA is bad for your health. ;) I picked up some Big Joe bean bag chairs, tray tables, and bar stools at Walmart; rubber locking mats and clipboards from Sam's Club, and found a good deal online for individual white boards and stick-on white boards for the tables. I had been hoarding stuff from Michael's since August...join their rewards program, wait for the 60% and 70% off coupons, and for the 40% off coupon for your WHOLE cart, hit the clearance aisle, take the teacher discount as well, and you'll be surprised at how much you can cheaply acquire. Oriental Trading is also a good, reasonable resource. I bought some paper decorations, geometry solids and brain break blocks. The space isn't done. It will never be done. I expect my furniture to be moved every day. I expect the kids to try new seats every day, even multiple seats at appropriate times during class. We have to have expectations in place, and classroom management has to be on point from day one. But...I cannot wait to get the kids in the classroom and hear their feedback. And yes, I am expecting both positive and negative feedback from kids and parents. I've already had my Student Council kids, some of our Cheerleaders, and a team of Teachers and Administrators for our District inservice try it out. I wish I had video recordings of their expressions as they entered the room...some were priceless. This is a continuous work in progress and learning process for all of us. I could write a few more paragraphs, but this is enough for now. Check out the picture gallery. A small sample of my favorite resources are listed below. If you have any questions, please comment or email me and I'll be happy to chat with you. If you have suggestions, I'll be happy to hear them! The worst thing is re-inventing the wheel. Teachers who keep everything to themselves grind my gears. If kids are our main focus, we need to be sharing all our insights and resources with each other - building to building, district to district, state to state, country to country. I have a fantastic PLN both local and worldwide, and they are some of my best resources. Even if you're not ready to take the swan dive into this kind of transformation for your own room, I hope you have the courage to dip a toe into the water and start transforming a corner of your space. Change IS scary. But, change IS necessary. There are grants available, donation sites you can sign up for, and if you put the word out there for what items you need, there is always someone willing to help you. P.S. - I looked at the paint can today. My paint color is Olympic Semi Gloss in BLUE Opal. I KNEW IT WAS BLUE!!!! (insert winky-sticking-out-tongue emoji here;) Resources Blogs that inspired me: Cult of Pedagogy: Classroom Eye Candy Focus 2 Achieve: Starbucks My Classroom Twitter hashtags #StarbucksMyRoom #ClassroomDesign #InnovativeLearningSpaces #FlexibleSeating #FlexibleLearning #CollaborativeSpaces Twitter people to follow Oskar Cymerman @focus2achieve Bob Dillon @ideaguy42 Periscope My video from ISTE 2016 - From the Periscope app, look for me at @sheriwhitt77, and watch the video "Mindsets & Classroom Management for Making in Every Classroom" for ideas about classroom design and makerspaces from a panel of experts. Books The Space: A Guide for Educators (Rebecca Hare, Robert Dillon)
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