Skip to main content
Add as a preferred source on Google

Does Design Impact Student Success?

  • By Lisa Schmidt
  • 07/01/17

It seems logical that the spaces in which students learn can have a strong influence on their scholastic performance. Intuitively, many of us believe this. However, until recently, the evidence was fragmented. Thanks to a research paper published in the journal Building and Environment, that impact is now better understood. In the journal, the authors report that classroom design can have as much as a 25-percent impact on a student’s progress over a school year. The research found that the difference between the best- and the worst-designed classrooms could result in a full year’s worth of academic progress.

The study was conducted in 34 classrooms with over 750 student participants. Many environmental factors were studied. Beyond the expected impacts related to acoustics and air temperature/quality, some of the more intriguing elements included: color within the room, complexity (appropriate level of stimulation without being cluttered), flexibility (ability to support varied learning activities), natural and electrical light quality, and how characteristics of the room allowed a sense of ownership by the students.

While there is no silver bullet for designing the perfect classroom, the study suggests that we must think holistically when planning learning spaces. Consider designing classrooms which include furniture that is mobile and can easily be reconfigured. Choosing chairs that enable students to interact with each other, and with the instructor, can improve the opportunity for connections and building social skills. Providing a variety of furniture types can support personal choice and ownership. In summary, designs which support the institution’s teaching methods, as well as pupils’ comfort, will result in environments that set a student up for success.

This article originally appeared in the issue of .

About the Author

Lisa Schmidt, LEED-AP is the director of Strategic Initiatives at National Office Furniture. She can be reached at [email protected].

Featured

  • Esports are Growing in Popularity

    Video games and esports are a popular social hobby, and it’s one that’s accessible to a wide variety of physical ability levels. Some esport student-athletes have started to earn scholarship opportunities, and high schools are beginning to form teams equipped with the same degree of resources as their physical sports teams. However, the two have very different needs.

  • Phoenix High School Completes First Phase of Campus Renovations

    Metro Tech High School, part of the Phoenix Union High School District (PXU) in Phoenix, Ariz., recently announced the completion of the first stage of a campus renovation project, according to a news release. The school reopened a series of public-facing business operations spaces including credit union, daycare, floral, cosmetology, and culinary services. It also includes new CTE learning spaces for the school’s nursing assistant, pharmacy, and sports medicine programs.

  • University of Rochester to Break Ground on New Student Life Center

    The University of Rochester in Rochester, N.Y., recently began construction on a new Student Life building, according to a news release. The first floor will contain campus-wide gathering, program, and rehearsal space; the second floor will play home to the Greenbaum Center for Jewish Life.

  • DLR Group Announces New Mid-Atlantic Higher Education Leader

    Integrated design firm DLR Group recently announced that it has promoted Principal Shawn Gaither, AIA, LEED AP, to the role of higher education leader in the Mid-Atlantic, according to a news release. Gaither has served with the firm for more than 20 years, most recently as the national higher education business development leader.