The start of another school year often means a new look for some students, but they’re not the only ones with a new look this year as classrooms across campus have been revamped with new furniture, including new desks, rolling chairs, and whiteboard tables.
The new furniture, including single tables that seat multiple students, have had varying impacts on classroom layouts.
“My classroom layout is similar to what it was before, because I had always had the desks for students in groups,” math teacher Julia Ridgway said. “But the layout of my room seems a little more spacious, and it definitely makes things more flexible to move around for different activities.”
For some students, the new furniture is a welcome change.
“I like how the new furniture looks because it’s refreshing to have classrooms that look different,” senior Sophie Yang said. “I do like how the chairs and desks have wheels so they move around easily.”
To Ridgway, the new furniture is beneficial to classrooms, both for student morale and collaborative work.
“The different chair types are fun for students to try out and make sitting at a desk or table more enjoyable,” she said. “Having the white board tables are awesome, because students can draw or solve problems on the table, without needing a mini white board or making the desks messy. I think the tables that can roll easily, can make for great stations and collaborative work.”
Although there are many benefits according to some teachers, there are some concerns with the collaborative work spaces.
“I think one downside is that when we need to take tests and quizzes, having multiple students sitting next to each other at the small tables, will be difficult for fitting cheater beaters, papers and tools needed and potential cheating off each other,” Ridgway said. “Some of us teachers are a little worried about that.”
For some classes where students remain seated for a majority of class time, some of the new seating may have potential drawbacks, according to art teacher Emily deLarios.
“We have stools now, which are harder for students to sit for 90 minutes because they have no backs,” she said. “It won’t impact my teaching because there wasn’t much change in layout or flexibility, but students will be more uncomfortable in the stools.”
