Term

Summer 2017

Capstone

Capstone Project

Degree Name

MAT

Facilitator(s)

Maggie Struck

Content Expert

Chantelle Miller

Abstract

Despite the vast amount of research around the development of modern instructional practices in public education, there is little motivation into adapting the classroom environment to match. This has resulted in a persisting passive model of teaching due to common misconceptions about how students learn and the impacts of classroom design. The purpose of this capstone project is to present the significant influences of the classroom environment by investigating the research question, how can physical classroom design be used to facilitate the implementation of modern teaching practices and create the most effective instructional environment for student learning? Contemporary teaching and learning methods were researched in addition to the classroom design parameters that could facilitate these processes, before concluding the necessity for flexibility both in pedagogy and environment. This capstone discovered that the classroom furniture is the most effective way to facilitate this and create more active student-centered learning. Through the presentation of this research, as well as examples of modern and future furniture designs, this project demonstrates the possibilities and effects of a flexible classroom design. Notwithstanding the evidence, this research and the resulting furniture designs are only effective if used by the very education professionals that will be responsible for instituting a more active student-centered learning environment.

Project Type

Presentation & Design

Keywords

Classroom Environment

dc_type

text

dc_publisher

DigitalCommons@Hamline

dc_format

application/pdf

dc_source

School of Education Student Capstone Theses and Dissertations

Included in

Education Commons

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