# Bringing 20th Century Education into the 21st Century
*By Amber Jones, Tangram Director of Education*
One of the fundamental challenges in education today is trying to fit 21st century learning into 20th century buildings. The majority of legacy school facilities were designed around traditional teaching methods that no longer serve modern educational goals.
Too many students still sit in outdated furniture arranged the same way classrooms were set up in the early 1900s—rows facing forward with the teacher at the front. As our understanding of learning evolves, we must create environments that inspire students to generate ideas they might never have discovered in traditional classroom settings.
## Technology Integration That Actually Works
Fifteen years ago, classroom "technology" meant wrestling with a bulky projector and temperamental screen. Teachers had to turn off lights, close shades, and navigate equipment through cluttered aisles. Students sat in dark rooms, disconnected from their teacher and peers—hardly optimal for learning.
The introduction of flat screens transformed this experience. No more wasted time adjusting lighting, and significantly better student engagement. We now help teachers understand they have options beyond the one-size-fits-all approach.
Modern classrooms can feature triangulated media throughout the space using three screens viewable from any angle. Teachers move freely around the room using mobile pedestals, eliminating "good" and "bad" seats while keeping all students engaged.
**Finding the Digital-Analog Balance**
While technology offers tremendous benefits, maintaining balance between digital and analog methods accommodates different learning styles. Information might be shared collectively on screens and individual tablets, but there's still an important role for traditional methods.
Some students prefer taking notes by hand, using colors to organize information and stimulate memory. The key is that teachers don't need to choose between digital or analog—they can blend both approaches. Students might take handwritten notes, then use wireless connections to share them with the class for presentation and discussion.
## Collaboration Beyond the Buzzword
Everyone talks about collaboration, but at its core, it's simply shared communication—talking in small groups and brainstorming ideas together. Traditional classroom setups with forward-facing rows mirror assembly line work: sit facing forward, get instructions, do heads-down work.
When we noticed other countries surpassing American students in learning outcomes, we saw they were encouraging group work. Many American schools adopted this approach, but the furniture didn't support the teaching style. Teachers lost valuable time transitioning between focused work and collaborative activities.
Innovations in furniture design have solved this problem. Collaboration is here to stay—we see it enthusiastically embraced in the workforce, so we must teach children how to operate in collaborative environments early. This means learning to work in small groups of three to six students, understanding when to speak and when to listen, and effectively balancing individual and group work.
## Transforming Hallways into Learning Destinations
Encouraging collaboration extends beyond the classroom. Under the right circumstances, hallways can incorporate collaboration spaces outside the traditional teacher-student hierarchy, where students think freely and creatively.
For years, hallways served one purpose: getting from room to room. Our industry has been working to transform these spaces into destinations themselves. Hallways prove effective for impromptu conversations that spark spontaneous ideas.
When students enter classrooms, they follow the teacher's guided thought process. In hallways, they engage in more casual thinking with peers without classroom formality. Lounge furniture, whiteboards, mobile glass boards, and access to power create environments that activate student learning.
The challenge lies in creating hallway spaces that students will use and teachers will permit during downtime. These spaces must remain within teachers' line of sight while providing tools for students to process thoughts and ideas.
When executed properly, there's a practical incentive: hallways can nearly double usable campus space. With today's real estate costs, especially in states like California, every space needs to work harder with dual functions.
## Bringing Nature Indoors
Biophilic design incorporates natural materials, natural light, vegetation, and nature views into modern built environments. Studies consistently show that strong connections to nature enhance student development—especially critical when children spend so much time in electronic environments.
Knowing that attention capacity restores through nature contact, we must bring the outdoors back into students' worlds. We've seen a major trend toward bringing outdoor elements into educational spaces.
Childhood nature experiences support adolescent developmental processes and increase children's physical and mental health across multiple domains. Nature contact also helps form emotional bonds with wildlife and develops environmental sensitivity.
Laguna Beach Unified School District conducted a study to determine the best classroom plants. They found that snake plants (also called Mother-In-Law's Tongue) provided the most classroom oxygen while requiring minimal care throughout the year.
Nature integration doesn't require live plants or living walls. Even photographs of natural scenes or fabrics featuring leaves and flowers can be nearly as effective. Some forward-thinking schools design buildings to encourage outdoor use—garage doors can open classrooms to courtyards for group activities, using outdoor spaces for breakout sessions.
Other techniques include installing clear glass windows rather than translucent or patterned materials, and some schools construct facilities using raw natural materials.
## Training for Successful Implementation
Newer teachers often embrace these concepts readily. Recent college graduates likely experienced active learning spaces throughout their education and increased collaboration over the past decade. However, teachers from all generations can become advocates for change.
When experienced teachers test our mock-up classrooms for a few weeks, we consistently receive overwhelmingly positive feedback. But new furniture alone isn't the answer—teachers and students need training to use these resources effectively.
A classroom might feature tables, desks, and chairs at different heights, allowing students to stand, sit on chairs, sit on floors, or work at individual desks. The problem occurs when furniture isn't actively incorporated into lesson plans that let students shift between arrangements rather than staying in one setup all period.
Nothing's worse than schools outfitting new classrooms while teachers maintain old formats. Teachers need professional development on adapting curriculum and teaching styles to support multiple pedagogies throughout the school day.
While this might seem intimidating initially, when students become more engaged, results speak for themselves and teachers gravitate toward these changes.
**Training Methods**
Faculty training takes several forms—typically one-on-one or through word-of-mouth sharing. Forward-thinking principals might organize lunch-and-learn sessions with providers for product demonstrations and classroom organization strategies.
Another approach provides loaner products for two weeks before shipment, letting teachers replace old furniture with new examples for hands-on experience. We visit on delivery day to teach teachers how to use furniture most productively.
## The Future of Learning Environments
Change is transforming our schools. Learning can happen everywhere, and it's our responsibility to work with architects, designers, teachers, and administrators to provide feedback on the best ways to invest in and change learning's future.
By thoughtfully integrating technology, creating flexible collaborative spaces, maximizing real estate efficiency, and bringing nature indoors, we can positively impact how children learn and teach one another.
## Featured Projects
**YULA Boys High School (Yeshiva University of Los Angeles)** Tangram partnered with Wolcott Architecture to create mobile classrooms supporting 21st century learning, plus in-between spaces for student collaboration outside classroom time. The design incorporated natural lighting and window access.
**Withrow Elementary (Lake Elsinore Unified School District)** Working directly with the district, Tangram reimagined a second-grade classroom to create zones while maintaining specific headcount requirements. This "choice and control" concept lets students control their posture throughout the day, making zone-to-zone movement enjoyable.
**Lakeside High School (Lake Elsinore Unified School District)** This CTE classroom project accommodates different postures—from mobile seating with tables to perching-height settings and small ottomans that move throughout the classroom for private workspace at whiteboards.
**Maimonides Torah Academy (Lomita, California)** This project incorporated diverse seating and table mixes for younger classrooms plus administrative office seating solutions.
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**About the Author**
Amber Jones serves as Director of Education for Tangram Interiors, bringing expertise in training, product knowledge, and passion for creating beautiful educational spaces. She aligns team members and services to match customer business objectives while assessing, budgeting, and overseeing project scope including installation, moves, and furniture-related services.
