Configuring your classroom: ES 1117

In the last few years, we have published several blogs devoted to showcasing room arrangements for our configurable classrooms, i.e. our Mosaic classrooms with movable tables and chairs. We compile those blogs and share them on the Classroom Spaces tab under the Resources section on the Mosaic website. Today I’ll add one more example to that growing list, as we explore Mosaic classroom ES 1117, located in the Education/Social work building on the IUPUI campus.

With seating for up to 36 students, ES 1117’s moveable tables and chairs allow instructors a number of different possibilities for how they engage with their students in the physical classrooms. Today we’ll share several options for arranging the classroom and provide suggestions for a smoother room arrangement process.

Groups of six at the screen

As ES 1117 includes six screens, one natural arrangement of the tables and chairs is to move them into groups of six by the screens. In this configuration, students sitting at their group screen can share work from their own devices using a wireless sharing app called Solstice. This arrangement also allows for easy student access to Huddleboards (large whiteboards) available to each table.

There are two easy ways to seat students in a group of six. The “Option 1” arrangement, pictured below, seats six with group access to a screen and Huddleboard, pictured to the upper right. For a little more space, move the tables farther apart as pictured in “Option 2.”

Two options for groups of 6 around collaboration screens in ES 1117

Configurations for smaller groups

In the following arrangements, the tables are grouped throughout the room and away from the screens and walls. Moving the tables closer to the center of the room allows students to more easily view instructor or student generated content on the screens and white boards (from their seats or through a “gallery walk” around the room).

Groups of Four: Arrange the tables into groups of four to create nine groups.

Groups of four creates nine groups in ES 1117

Groups of Three: Arrange tables into groups of three to make twelve groups.

Groups of three creates twelve groups in ES 1117

Groups of Two: Arrange tables into groups of two creating eighteen groups.

Putting desks in pairs creates eighteen groups in ES 1117

Reconfiguring a classroom in a short amount of time can be challenging. Here are a few helpful tips:

The tables in ES 1117 have wheels in the front, making it easy to tip the table forward and roll it to where you wish. The tables do not have wheels in the back ensuring that, once you lower the table, it remains stationary.

Desk legs in ES 1117: Stationary nobs in the back, wheels in the front.

Ask your students to arrange the room:
- Communicate the desired configuration to your students.
  Consider sharing one of the above images with students (perhaps, on a slide before class or in your Canvas course) and ask your students to begin to arrange the classroom when they arrive.
- Communicate expectations.
  Just as you expect students to prepare for class with readings or homework, let them know that you expect them to help prepare the learning environment for class meetings.
- Expect it to take a few class meetings for the process to be smooth.
  It can take a few class meetings before students can quickly and smoothly arrange furniture to the desired configuration. As you plan for your class, be sure to consider the time required to configure the room.

The configurations we’ve discussed here are just a few examples of what’s possible in ES 1117. If you’d like to share your own ideas, please add them to the comments below. To learn more about Solstice, explore these previous blogs.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.