Tuesday, November 17, 2015

Get students involved in renovating classrooms?



I've been speaking with a lot of schools recently about renovating classrooms. 

It's a task mostly taken on by adults.

What about getting kids involved?

It can be a multidisciplinary project that could bring some great rewards, seen and unseen.

Grab some paper and something to write with for drafting ideas (or a whiteboard). Divide up into groups and come up with some basic guidelines.


  1. Reduce storage: ID things that can / should go!
  2. Remove clutter: See item 1!
  3. Clean: Yup. It's important.
  4. Paint: There's more to learning than 'institutional beige' and primary school colors!
  5. Emphasize collaborative workspace: whiteboards, shuffle tables. Draft a floor plan with your group
  6. Lighting ideas
  7. Explore new furniture options
  8. ... and maybe flooring?

Then go!


What if classrooms moved toward 'learning spaces'  and
looked more like this?
Options: Make it a timed challenge. Ask kids to look up information on the web and display it things they find.

Renovations don't have to take a lot of money. Options 1-5 above take very little in fact.

Get kids invested in refitting and renovating... and we might get to hear what it's like for them to be in these classrooms all day ; )