The third teacher - creating an untraditional learning environment

Happy hump day everyone!

I was reading an article that I thought would be interesting to discuss and share with you!

Tracy Evans (2016) wrote and article called Design Thinking and Deskless Classrooms. Tracy talks about how she took a risk when it came to designing her classroom, that had huge benefits. She was standing in her bare class the night before the first day, worrying about creating a welcoming space for her students. Then she had an idea!! She thought this was not only a place where she was doing work, it is where her students come to do work. This made her think that the classroom should be designed by everyone using that space, in order to benefit the needs of all learners.

What I found most interesting was the amount of opportunities this project allowed for making links to curriculum expectations. In math you can make connections to area and perimeter, or creating scales. Additionally, the possibility of looking at the financial literacy elements, such as, how to design under a given budget.  In geography you can make links to map making (by creating a map of your classroom). Art- having students create their own designs for bulletin boards or wall decorations and considering elements of design. Social studies, and creating your own community, and leading into discussions of culture and defining environments. I can see how this might be scary, letting students decide, and not having that structure. however, I personally love this idea, since it gives students agency, and it allows for students to build a relationship with their peers and with the teacher in the first couple weeks.

Personally, I cannot imagine a classroom with no desks. However, I could imagine a space different learning environments, one being a small group of tables. Students may not choose to work at the desks, however, I personally learn best at a desk - but that could just be my conditioning of learning.

Evans (2016) discusses in her article that this project does not really have an end. Students are changing, and therefore their learning environment should be able to adapt to those changing needs as well, and this allows for that flexibility. I think as educators it is important to consider the students needs first, and your needs second. This is a great learning opportunity for all parties, and in my opinion allows for great curricular opportunities, as well as relationship building, leadership opportunities, and the development of the ideal third teacher, or learning environment.

Overall this article gets me excited for having my own class one day, and have opportunities like Evans (2016) presents. I would love to hear feedback on your opinions of deskless classrooms, and if you have every experienced an environment like presented. Please feel free to leave a comment :)