SEMO constructs new Developmental Math classroom

This summer, Southeast Missouri State University in Cape Girardeau, Missouri, engaged Color Art to develop a scheme utilizing Steelcase furniture for their new Developmental Math classroom and lab in Memorial Hall.

In service for the fall semester, the 2,600 square foot classroom with 60 computer stations will help students graduate more quickly. The labs also include a 842 square foot tutoring center with 13 computer stations and a 447 square foot math breakout room that adjoins the classroom. 

This redesign is part of SEMO's mission to assist students with more hands-on learning with hour long labs aiding a regular math lecture class. Students will now have access to electronic textbooks with interactive learning tools. Overall, the mission is to provide more students an accelerated way to earn a college degree.

The SEMO redesign includes Steelcase's Answer Modular Furniture, Frameone Computer Stations, Cobi chairs, Jenny seating and tables, Buoy seating, and other pieces. 

Click Here for more pictures of SEMO's new space!

Space Shapes Behavior at TEDxLaSierra University

An unforgettable group of visionaries, designers, educators and champions of “the possible” got together in California for TEDxLaSierra – including General Manager of Steelcase Education, Sean Corcorran. In his TED Talk, Sean exposes the importance of focusing on space and observing behavior, which allows for the kind of interactions, activities and realities we want to happen in the classroom and other learning spaces.

Outlining human instincts and behaviors around proximity, comfort and other social norms, Sean discusses the demands and experiences of today’s students and how robust research and observational prototyping results in smart designs to empower education for today.

Watch how space really does shape behavior – for education and corporate spaces – to inspire your conversations and support connections.

Steelcase Education on the Swivel Chair in U.S. News and World Report

In a recent article in U.S. News and World Report, the title asks: “A Swivel Chair: The Most Important Classroom Technology?” The reference is to the Node chair, and other Steelcase Education products that are working to dramatically support student and teachers in new ways.

Dr. Lennie Scott-Webber, director of global education environments at Steelcase is quoted throughout the piece, which shares information gathered from surveying over 300 students at four universities – along with results and photos from a classroom redesign at Ball State University.

From the article, on Node seating:

"You can have students change and switch in a fluid moment, rather than clunking around to try to get into different situations," says Scott-Webber.

From the article, on faculty benefits:

Having environments more conducive to active learning can help faculty members stay enthusiastic about their jobs and become more creative with teaching methods.

"The faculty go to work in these classrooms day in and day out. Students go through them," Scott-Webber says. "It's really important that it supports multiple kinds of disciplines and multiple ways of teaching to help stay excited about what you're doing."

You can learn even more about the insights described in this piece in a new whitepaper from Steelcase Education called How Classroom Design Affects Student Engagement.

See and share this article which elevates the proven benefits of insight-focused educational design, today.

What is Blended Learning?

You’ve probably come across the term, but what does it entail and why does it matter? Blended learning places emphasis on the students by bettering the ways in which they are taught, engaged and left to reflect and react from said learning. Blended learning counters the traditional learning model, combining online delivery of curriculum with face-to-face time.

Marisa Sergnese, a professional development leader at Steelcase Education, tells TechFaster all about Blended Learning in a recent article.

She says, “In a traditional classroom, the opportunity for feedback from instructors and other students may be limited within the classroom environment and assigned time period. In a blended learning environment, there can be continuous, ongoing feedback from multiple sources, at different points in time, that can help an instructor assist the learner to assess their understanding and adjust their learning accordingly. Such authentic assessment techniques are afforded to us as a result of a variety of technology tools that support more immediate feedback.”

See and share with your circles to spark an interesting conversation about this new model for teaching. For more information on blended learning, check out the whitepaper.

Node Mid-Back Collaborative Seating from Steelcase - Available for Order!

We’re pleased to announce availability of Node Mid-Back seating tripod models from Steelcase Education.

Node is mobile and flexible, designed for quick and easy transitions between room configurations. In active, high-density classrooms, students are often forced to move against the wall during instruction or exercises. Our Mid-Back version of Node supports active learning in situations just like these – minimizing student contact with the wall and helping them best engage with teachers and one another.

Connect with us today to learn more about this extraordinary solution for the education market.

The Unquiet Librarian: Rolling and Writing Collaborative Poetry with Verb Whiteboards

Verb supports active classrooms and various learning styles on demand, with whiteboards as the foundation for collaboration, display and presentation. Verb whiteboards were creatively used by 10th grade Language Arts students at Norcross High School in Georgia, writing collaborative poetry to share with classmates in the school’s library. Check out a great story on Verb, along with photos and a fun Vine video in this blog post by The Unquiet Librarian.

Verb whiteboards are small enough for personal use but large enough to share and work with a team, making collaboration more natural. During a year-end celebration of the Independent Reading Initiative, Language Arts teacher Darrell Cichetti and two librarians asked students to write and share their poetry with the class, making great use the new tools.

From the blog post

“One of the students, Gwenisha, quickly invented the hashtag #rollingandwriting at the beginning of our period, and it captured the spirit of our work.”

“The experience of 7th period was an exciting glimpse of the collaborative work we hope to foster with teachers and students for 2014-2015 as our physical space redesign is in full swing to support our concept of library as learning studio to not only re-imagine our role at NHS but to also help impact pedagogy and the possibilities for learning for teachers and students together.”

This is a perfect example of the major benefits of this educational solution for students and staff alike – enjoy and share today.

Act Differently: Pedagogy Tips for New Classrooms

Need some inspiration or thoughtful fodder as you design classrooms or support space planning? A set of useful tips around classroom instruction developed by Steelcase using the Human-Centered Design Research Process are yours to use and benefit from.

Interactive, flexible spaces empower users, giving permission to act differently.

The following tenets are categorized by the principles of pedagogy – the science and art of educational instruction.

Tips

• Design spaces to support fluid transitions among multiple teaching modes: lecture, team project, and discussion for both passive and active engagement.
• Design for peer-to-peer learning.
• Allow freedom of movement for instructors, enabling a “visit” with each group to offer quick assessment.
• Support the implementation of professional development, allowing for changes to teaching strategies.
• Set expectations for what an active learning environment looks like – learning is messy, things move.
• Expose students to what these future settings enable them to do!

These tips, found on page 13 in the bottom-right corner of the guide, are based on a design research approach utilized at schools and colleges across the United States and Canada. They aim to boost interactions and outputs of students and teachers alike, and will help you devise just the right space.

We hope you reflect on the power of these principles and use them to your advantage!

New Whitepaper Addresses Classroom Design

Continued research on classroom design powering student engagement encompasses a new whitepaper from Steelcase Education.

We know that the success of any student is impacted by multiple variables – from teaching style, personal motivation, to social or economic background. Yet, the physical space is still often overlooked as a key motivator in succeeding to engage students.

In an Active Learning Post-Occupancy Evaluation Survey, student engagement was analyzed by asking participants to compare their experiences in a traditional classroom with row-by-column seating to their experiences in an intentionally designed classroom for active learning.

Read more about the survey, the interesting results and the rigorous research continuing to uncover the insights needed to make change in how we learn, teach and achieve.

K-12 Markets – Steelcase Education Furnishes Spaces at 2014 ISTE and CEFPI

ISTE 2014 is one of the largest and most interactive education/tech expos in the world, and took place on June 28 – July 1. Steelcase Education created inviting spaces for guests to enjoy over the four day session – 4,500 educators convening to network and visualize better ways to spark curiosity and empower students. CEFPI’s Annual Conference and Expo – Blazing Trails and a Journey of Learning – explores new ways to ensure students have healthy, safe and resilient learning environments fit for the 21st century. Slated for October, Steelcase Education will be creating spaces at the event for attendees to converse and engage on educational issues over the three-day period.

ISTE
Steelcase presented active learning solutions in a 20x30 booth space, as well as showcased other furniture in various Oases around the convention center meant for participants and guests to use when relaxing, recharging, meeting or working. Steelcase also provided Microsoft with Node chairs for their theatre seating inside the Microsoft booth.

CEFPI
Likewise, Steelcase Education will be offering spaces and solutions that support collaboration and creative problem solving as attendees focus on empowering today’s students to succeed in a global economy at CEFPI. As attendees plot the types of spaces that support students to develop key skills, they’ll be experiencing the environments that kids of today need to excel.

Steelcase Education at CEFPI – We hope to see you there!

Friday, October 3 – Monday, October 6
Oregon Convention Center
Portland, Oregon

Thinking for Higher Education - EDUCAUSE and SCUP 2014

EDUCAUSE supports the mission of transforming higher education through information technology, and this year’s annual conference offers a community-generated program exploring top issues and trends. Steelcase Education will be there this fall, offering dynamic settings for event attendees. In addition, two large work lounge settings were outfitted for the 49th annual SCUP Conference which took place on July 12 – 16. A wide cross-section of higher education leaders came together at SCUP to network and learn to incorporate the principles of integrated planning into daily work.

SCUP
Instead of a traditional booth on the exhibit floor, two large work lounge settings were outfitted in two atrium spaces. These settings were high traffic throughout the event, perfectly located near breakout sessions and larger general sessions.

Steelcase Education at EDUCAUSE, Booth #511
Steelcase Education will be outfitting a booth, as well as the EDUCAUSE Central gathering space on September 29 to October 2, where attendees can refresh and recharge, make connections and watch the simulcast presenters in comfort. We hope to see you there!

Monday, September 29 – Thursday, October 2
Orange County Convention Center
Orlando, Florida