How to Design Learning Environments That Drive Deeper Student Engagement

For students to succeed academically, they must be invested in their education and stimulated by learning activities. In other words, they must be fully engaged in the learning process.

Although educators already understand this, Australian researcher Amy Berry has developed a new way of thinking about student engagement. Berry’s model describes a continuum of engagement with peers and the learning activity, ranging from actively disengaged on one end of the scale to actively engaged on the other.

The question becomes, “Do we want students to merely comply or be actively engaged in their learning process?” For educators, the goal is not just to ensure that students are participating in the learning process by complying with instruction; it’s to encourage active or even proactive participation by having students drive their own learning. Educators must help students build their self-efficacy and their belief in themselves to build agency for learning. When we help students build agency, they speak up for how and what they learn.

It’s interesting that Berry should describe this ideal state of engagement as “driving” the learning because it recalls Dan Pink and his seminal work, Drive.

Pink identified three essential factors that motivate us to put forth our best effort: autonomy, mastery, and purpose. To put it another way, giving students choices in how they learn, helping them achieve mastery of the content, and making sure their education is meaningful to them are all critical strategies for getting students to reach this highest level of engagement, where they’re setting goals for their learning and seeking out new challenges for themselves.

Obviously, the design of a learning activity plays a fundamental role in driving student engagement. Activities in which students are empowered to choose what topics they’ll focus on and how they’ll demonstrate their learning, as well as projects that make a real impact within the community, are likely to engage students more deeply.

It’s not by accident that Berry refers to the learning “experience” within her model, as this involves more than just the activity itself. The learning experience also includes the environment where this activity takes place—and how it either helps or hinders learning.

The right learning environment connects students with their peers, facilitates active learning, and strengthens students’ engagement in their education. Here are four key ways to design and equip high-quality learning environments supporting deeper student engagement.

Give Students Choices in Where to Sit and Work

Empowering students with choices applies not just to the work they do, but also where they sit. For instance, there should be different seating styles—such as traditional desks and chairs, stools that swivel or rock, soft seating options, hightop tables, perch stools, and perhaps even standing desks—to give students choices in where to work so they can learn most effectively.

Some students might prefer a wobble stool that lets them move in place while they work. If students have sensory processing issues, this can help calm them and allow them to focus. Other students might be sensitive to certain types of materials, and offering a variety of seating options with different fabrics and surface types ensures they’ll have somewhere to sit that will be comfortable for them.

Foam furniture, like the NeoLounge® Rocker Ottoman, is a simple way to add a fun and creative group learning area to any classroom or learning space. Active seating, like the Safco Runtz Swivel Ball Chair or the Classroom Select Neolink® Square Swivel Stool, promotes active movement throughout the day to help students stay healthy and engaged.

Furnishing learning spaces with a variety of seating options can accommodate different student needs and preferences. Empowering students to choose their own seating gives them a say in how they learn, which makes them more engaged and invested in their education.

Design Highly Flexible Environments that Support Active and Collaborative Learning

It’s no secret that different types of learning activities are best supported by different arrangements of the physical space.

For instance, arranging desks or tables in a large circle or “U” shape makes discussions involving the entire class easier, because every student can see every other student in the class. On the other hand, arranging desks or tables in small groups— with three or four students each facing each other—facilitates small-group collaboration and interaction.

Because there might be times when teachers will want to use each of these instructional strategies in their classrooms, versatility is an important consideration when designing classrooms to support active and engaging learning.

Ideally, students should be able to shift seamlessly from one type of learning activity to another. This can be accomplished by furnishing learning spaces with movable, flexible furniture that can easily be arranged into various configurations to support a wide variety of learning tasks. The more students can own the movement of the environment, the more they can advocate for their learning.

For example, desks, tables, and chairs with builtin casters can easily be moved around the room. Consider using a “wheelbarrow” style for casters. This allows the desks to be easily moved but stay stationary as needed. Desks that fit together in multiple configurations can support different group sizes for collaborative learning.

Take Inspiration from Modern Workplaces to Make Learning More Relevant for Students

Just as the assignments students complete in class should be modeled on the kinds of tasks they’ll encounter in the real world, the learning environment should resemble the workplaces they’re likely to experience when they graduate. This will prepare students more effectively for their future and give them physical reminders to show that their learning has a larger purpose than simply earning a grade.

In a modern workplace environment, employees are rarely tethered to their desks. Much of the work is collaborative in nature, so organizations are designing their office spaces with plenty of “huddle spaces” and other flexible, open common areas where workers can gather in small, impromptu groups to share and discuss ideas.

Schools can replicate these workplace environments by creating flexible learning spaces where students can work individually or in groups as the assignment demands. These spaces can include mobile whiteboards, writeable surfaces, and other tools to support brainstorming and collaborative problem-solving.

To resemble a modern workplace, learning spaces should also be equipped with future-ready tools such as mobile computers or tablets, industry-specific equipment, and presentation devices, like interactive whiteboards and displays, as well as the infrastructure needed for students to use these technologies effectively—such as readily accessible charging options and data ports. Students should be able to charge their devices conveniently so learning can continue uninterrupted.

Consider What Classrooms Will Need to Support Hands-On Learning Experiences

Hands-on learning and exploration are important elements of an engaging and meaningful education, but they require an environment that is intentionally designed to support student creativity and innovation.

For instance, what tools and materials will students use to engage in hands-on learning? These might include age-appropriate math manipulatives, ELA manipulatives, STEM learning kits, or robotics and coding kits.

Also, how will you safely and securely store these materials when they’re not in use? If space is limited, consider how you might use mobile carts to store and transport equipment and materials from one location to another. Mobile units can provide storage, define space, or even create traffic flow patterns in the classroom.

The Keys to Deeper Engagement

To engage students more deeply in their education, schools should give them choices in how they learn, make sure lessons and activities are relevant and meaningful to their lives, and provide active, collaborative, and hands-on learning experiences.

The design of a learning space plays an important role in supporting these strategies. School Specialty’s Projects By Design® team can help you design, furnish, and equip learning environments that drive deeper student engagement. To learn more, go to our Projects by Design website.

Dr. Sue Ann Highland is the National Education Strategist for School Specialty. As an Education Strategist, she uses her expertise in educational initiatives and administrative leadership to help teachers and leaders to transform teaching and learning.

In addition to her work at School Specialty, Highland has also served as a change and improvement consultant to more than many Colorado business and educational institutions since 2004. In this capacity, she enhanced personnel performance, streamlined organizational operations and introduced process improvements that enhance productivity for companies and schools. She also has several years experience in managing a team that transforms learning environments for districts.

Highland derives her expertise from over 25 years in education, with half of those years in rural districts. She has worked as an Organizational Development Director, an elementary school principal and a school district’s Director of Federal Programs, Curriculum and Instruction. In these positions, Highland was responsible for professional development and daily management as well as for leading initiatives and evaluating staff performance and results. She specializes in improvement, turnaround, and change management.

Highland received a Master of Arts in Educational Leadership and Policy Studies from the University of Northern Colorado and a Ph.D. in Industrial and Organizational Psychology from Grand Canyon University.