While her students and fellow teachers were on winter break, Carla Arnold was in her classroom, removing desks and chairs to let students decide seating.
She removed the traditional classroom furniture, the desks and chairs, and replaced it with new furniture which was more conducive to 21st century learning spaces.
Arnold removed every desk and chair for two weeks, dragging new furniture through Terre Town Elementary School’s empty halls, changing the way that students can learn. When the students returned, they were surprised.
A large area rug was in the center of the room, surrounded by exercise balls, milk crates and step stools. Low lying tables with pillows and work stations were throughout the room.
“My concern, at first, was that everyone would run there, and everybody would run here,” Arnold said. “Once the newness wore off after everyone had been everywhere, then it’s pretty much a natural progression now.
“The kids pick where they want to work and get their own little private space and get their thoughts together and just work. I don’t have anybody playing, or messing around. They are comfortable and enjoy it.”
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