Innovative Classrooms (2016-17)

This collaborative fellowship is researching and advancing the ways classroom environments can be optimized for student engagement and collaboration.

Two classrooms are being used as experimental laboratories to pilot new furniture. In the Middle School, students and teachers are piloting the Bernie desk out of Stanford Design School. In addition, students are experimenting with various seating options, including nontraditional bean bags and wooden cubes. In the Upper School, several faculty members are teaching their classes in a room equipped with Node Chairs, an innovative and arrangeable set of desks designed by IDEO.

Both Brian and Tia serve as resident experts in brain-based classroom design, and invite faculty to experiment with practical adjustments to classrooms throughout the School. In addition, Brian and Tia are working on a long term proposal for updating furniture throughout classrooms on campus.