Monday, September 19, 2016

Making Space For Learning In the LRC!

Goodrich School was lucky enough to be given a budget to redesign the library learning space. This redesign began as a collaborative effort through a team of teachers to define how the space might be used for the benefit of both the students, staff and parents of our school. The top priority that came out of those meetings was a flexible learning environment that gives the room the ability to be used for a variety of different functions. Glass boards are on wheels and can be moved around the room to allow for them to be used in different locations. A teaming table allows students to sit on chairs that rock while they work collaboratively with or without their Chrome Books.


The Teaming table and glass boards let students visually show their work


With budget in hand it was time to go to work exploring the possibilities! By moving the book cases to the outer perimeter of the room we were able to find a large area that could provide more flexible uses. This area now contains write-able tables, chairs and standing desks. All of these items can be moved to open up the room to large groups of students.


Write on tables allow students to brainstorm and collaborate

The addition of a small stage next to the Smart Board allows students to present to their classmates and it's a fun place to sit!


The stage is a fun place to perform and work




Browser bins allow young students to choose


Changing the everybody books to a browser style shelf has allowed our younger students to see the covers of the books they are choosing. In the past, the students who were not yet reading struggled to choose a book as they only had the spines to look at. This eliminates that problem and makes the whole process of choosing books more child friendly. 

Color Coding the shelves has also helped students to become more independent in the library. They look to the red shelves for non fiction, turquoise for fiction and the yellow shelves hold the series. The color of each section is determined by the end cap of the unit and makes it much easier for students to find what they are looking for.


Shelves are color coded for ease of use


Maker space tables allow students to explore learning in a creative way

We are looking forward to seeing more and more students using the space both as a class and independently. The redesign encourages students to create, collaborate and use both critical thinking and creativity with resources that are on hand.












1 comment:

  1. It looks very good! It looks like a lot of thought went into choosing a design and layout that would encourage great thinking and brainstorming.

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