How School Classroom Furniture Can Improve Student Learning

June 30, 2022
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The impact school classroom furniture has on academic and social-emotional learning is undeniable. In fact, the quality of the K–12 physical environment (classrooms) is part of the “fundamental trilogy” to boost learning.

That’s according to Arch Daily, an online platform for architects, many of whom design elementary schools and high schools worldwide. Here is Arch Daily’s full thought on the formula for creating impactful learning spaces.

“There is a fundamental trilogy for successful learning: the qualifications of the teaching staff, the interest of the students, and the quality of the physical environment – the classroom.” The latter, said Arch Daily, includes quality furniture.

This blog focuses on quality school classroom furniture and what schools need to know about furniture’s leading role on the learning stage. Architects and designers get it: classroom furniture’s impact is bigger than many schools may realize.

Table of Contents

  • Why Buying Quality School Furniture (Really) Matters
  • The Impact of School Classroom Furniture
  • K–12 Classroom Furniture: Significant Learning
  • Higher-Ed Classroom Furniture: Measurable Impact
  • School Classroom Furniture Helps Social-Emotional Learning
  • School Classroom Furniture Facilitates
  • Academic Learning
  • Visual Learners
  • Auditory Learners
  • Read/Write Learners
  • Kinesthetic Learners
  • New Classroom Furniture Inspires Students and Teachers
  • Smith System Can Inspire You

Why Buying Quality School Furniture (Really) Matters

 

New School Classroom Furniture

School furniture is much more than utilitarian sitting, surfaces and storage. Architects like Chicago-based Legat Architects agree. It has designed numerous early learning centers, elementary schools, middle schools and high schools around the country, as well as individual classrooms.

“Students interact with furniture more than any other design element. They see it and touch it. They work, learn, eat, relax, socialize, and think on it.” Legat further described the role of quality school classroom furniture as an actual learning tool.

“Furniture can bring students together, or intuitively and quietly separate functions. It creates zones, provokes conversations, personalizes spaces, offers choices, and helps students relax so they can think and focus.”

Research: The Impact of School Classroom Furniture

Old Fashioned School Desk

Current research supports just how important furniture is to improving student engagement, health, focus and interaction. In fact, when classrooms and other learning environments are designed thoughtfully, they’ve been shown to facilitate student-centered learning, which leads to improved student engagement.

K–12 Classroom Furniture: Significant Learning

One Texas school district wanted to learn more about what goes into a high-impact K–12 classroom by putting its furniture to the test. The district installed modern school classroom furniture in pilot classrooms in October 2016. Prior to the installation, students in those rooms took a 10-question survey concerning the furniture in their classroom. Of the students surveyed, 43% felt that the classroom furniture had no impact on their learning.

However, after using the new furniture for three months, 88% of students felt that the new, modern furniture had helped them learn. In fact, two out of three students felt the furniture had a significant beneficial impact on their learning.

Higher-Ed Classroom Furniture: Measurable Impact

Higher-Ed Classroom Furniture

Though young minds may be the most pliable, classroom furniture has a big impact in higher-ed learning spaces, too. Dekker, Perich and Sabatini is a multidisciplinary U.S. design firm with much school-design experience. It’s blog on active-learning classrooms posed – and then answered – a challenging question: Can classroom furniture alone really lead to learning gains?

“The quick answer is no. New furnishings [alone] will not affect student achievement.” However, the author followed by saying new furniture is essential to the learning trilogy.

“When [new school classroom furniture] is coupled with the proper technology and – most importantly – a change in pedagogy, data shows very clearly that active-learning classrooms have measurable impacts on academic performance.” The blog shared these results from various colleges and universities who implemented that three-fold approach:

  • Increased classroom engagement of both students and faculty
  • Higher attendance rates (up to 90%)
  • Conceptual gains of more than 20%
  • Higher final grades of up to 10%
  • Pass rate increases from 78% to 90%
  • Failure rates for women and minorities less than one-third the standard rate

School Classroom Furniture Helps Social-Emotional Learning

School Classroom Furniture Helps Social-Emotional Learning

Educators have put a heavier emphasis on social-emotional learning (SEL) in the last decade, especially since the COVID-19 pandemic began in 2020. SEL isn’t new, though; it was propelled into pop culture in 1995 when New York Times science reporter Daniel Goleman published the book, Emotional Intelligence: Why It Can Matter More Than IQ. It’s more relevant in K–12 classrooms and schools than ever.

So, too, is creating “kind” environments, Goleman wrote. He explained how those spaces [and the furniture in them] help to encourage optimal brain development, as well as social connection and collaboration. In other words, SEL affects learning by shaping children’s developing neural circuitry, particularly the executive functions.

School Classroom Furniture Facilitates Academic Learning

At a minimum, school furniture physically supports learners with right-sized classroom chairs, student desksand/or classroom tables.

But we now know that the right furniture can improve academic outcomes. For example, quality classroom seating can help improve breathing and bloodflow to stimulate students’ brains. Students who feel they have a choice in where and how they sit (or stand, rock, lounge, etc.) in the classroom, feel more personally invested and empowered to learn.

Educators are also learning about the connection between furniture and the four learning styles: visual, auditory, kinesthetic, and reading/writing.

Visual Learners

Visual Learners

Students who have a visual learning style often like sitting in the front of the classroom. They may prefer to take a lot of notes, highlight copy, or create diagrams.

  • Furniture to support visual learners:

Planner® Studio Whiteboard

Student desks

Auditory Learners

 

Auditory learners listen carefully and often focus on the tone or the rate of speech. They can benefit from videos, audio components, and collaborative working groups filled with discussion and exchanging ideas.

  • Furniture to support auditory learners:

Collaborative learning furniture

Cafe and lounge furniture

Read/Write Learners

ReadWrite Learners

Read/write learners learn best by reading and rereading the textbook or their notes, writing and rewriting their notes, and, in general, organizing items into lists or even presentations.

  • Furniture to support auditory learners:

FlowformTM  soft seating

Kinesthetic Learners

Kinesthetic learners learn best through hands-on learning opportunities. They also need to move or be active in the classroom.

  • Furniture to support kinesthetic learners:

Silhouette® Sit + Stand desk

Flavors® four-position classroom chairs and stools

OodleTM stool

FlowformTM Soft Rocker

New Classroom Furniture Inspires Students and Teachers

New Classroom Furniture for Schools

Lastly, don’t we all ­– no matter our age – feel better in well-curated spaces that convey we’re worth the effort? According to FIRA International (formerly the Furniture Industry Research Association) in the U.K.:

“The choice of quality furniture indicates to the user (in this case, the children) that there is concern for them. Therefore, it is very likely that better furniture can create a greater feeling of belonging, and consequently, encourage the children to have a greater respect for their environment.”

Here are some other benefits that high-impact school classroom furniture delivers:

For teachers

  • Support for a flexible curriculum with multi-purpose furniture that can quickly be

      repositioned.

  • Students who feel they belong in the physical space have more willingness to collaborate, which makes the classroom more fun and comfortable for everyone.

Smith System Can Inspire You

Smith System has the full spectrum of top quality school classroom furniture needed to improve learning across the board. If your school or district is looking for a classroom refresh, contact us. Or download our catalog. Bonus: Our QuickShip Program can get quality seating, desks and storage to your door within five business days, year round.

Sources

 

https://www.archdaily.com/938717/schools-of-the-future-how-furniture-influences-learning

 

https://baylor-ir.tdl.org/bitstream/handle/2104/10794/Investigating_the_Flexible_Classroom_Environment.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y

https://blog.definedlearning.com/blog/what-are-vark-learning-styles

https://www.dpsdesign.org/blog/active-learning-classrooms

https://gdc.unicef.org/resource/how-does-social-and-emotional-development-affect-learning

https://www.legat.com/does-your-schools-furniture-support-learning-styles-and-improve-performance/

https://meteoreducation.com/what-really-goes-into-a-high-impact-k-12-classroom/

http://www.simplysweethome.com/2021/03/importance-of-school-furniture/