A 21st Century Classroom

What should a 21st century classroom look like?

Slate Magazine’s Hive (curated by EWA Public Editor Linda Perlstein) worked to answer the question through crowdsourcing. It called on its readers to submit ideas and then vote on them. You can read about the top five selected by Slate readers and by a panel of judges.

Then Slate went one step further and brought an audience together on Monday evening to brainstorm about solving the dilemma of a classroom that really hasn’t changed much in 100 years. A panel launched the discussion and included Jim Shelton of the U.S. Department of Education, Denver School of Science and Technology founder David Greenberg, Arizona State University professor Leana Archambault and University of Maryland architectural educator Isaac Williams. It was moderated by Justin Cohen, head of Mass Insight’s turnaround initiative.

The audience question that crystalized the effort of the night came from Karim Kai Logue, founder of the Mathalicious curriculum. “Is the question delivering content in a better package or delivering better content?” he asked. The answer: this was about a better package, Archambault said.

Greenberg had gotten bond issue financing for his charter school but then ran into a roadblock. The district regulations called for construction and design of a school that would last 100 years.

“We have an ongoing debate on what the school should be,” he said. “We want to be the Walmart of schools, where we can move around the parts.”

The school has galleries, classrooms, workrooms and other flexible configurations. Organizers also asked the students what they wanted. “Besides Abercrombie colors,” Greenberg kidded, the girls wanted nooks where they could break out into smaller groups. The students asked for softer furniture and carpets on the floor so they could sprawl with laptops.

The audience broke out into smaller groups. My own particular group, facilitated by Slate columnist Emily Yoffe, looked at how to design a classroom to accommodate differing abilities, including the physically disabled, English-language learners, gifted students and mentally challenged. Other groups looked at designing an innovative classroom for under $1,000; rethinking classroom furniture; using the outdoors; and implementing pie-in-the-sky technology.

First off, Jo Anna Hunt, who works for Blackboard Inc., noted how students in wheelchairs are unable to navigate classrooms. The aisles are too narrow and the table heights are fixed. Fairfax County, Va. elementary school teacher Chris McAuliffe pointed out having adjustable tables and chairs helped not only the handicapped but kids of all sizes. Christian Schaefer, who works for a D.C. charter school, wanted flexibility in his classroom so students could group tables together. He went on record hating the current chairs with affixed desk.

Robert Ohneiser, an attorney and a Loudon County, Va., School Board member, noted his district was bringing in Promethean Interactive Whiteboards. However, others in the group were more skeptical, especially teachers who had experience with them. Would such a board make a bad teacher better, they wondered.

But everyone was in agreement that technology could be beneficial if used in the right way.

Susan Traiman, public policy director for the Business Roundtable, pointed out that even traditional classrooms can benefit from technology. A Stanford University professor made his lectures interactive by requiring his students to email him the answer to a question he posed during his lecture, she said.

Questions reporters might think about:

• Are your schools looking at flexible arrangements and experimentation with classrooms?
  
• What type of online learning do they use? Are laptops or other technology provided to low-income students who might otherwise miss such opportunities?
  
• If teachers are using smart boards or other technology, what type of professional development have they received?