In Dynamically Different Classrooms: Create spaces that spark learning, Claire Gadsby and Jan Evans provide teachers with a visually striking masterclass on how to maximise the potential of every cubic inch of the learning environment.
Re-formatted in July 2023, complete with additional photographs.
Classrooms are private places. A lucky few – consultants and inspectors among them – get to visit hundreds of classrooms a year, yet many teachers never get the opportunity to see how other practitioners 'do it'.
In Dynamically Different Classrooms, however, experienced educators Claire and Jan take away the guesswork by inviting teachers into a unique journey of classroom discovery that shows them how to design and use the space within their classroom in such a way that enhances their pupils' learning experiences.
Bursting with a rich variety of practical ideas, this inspiring guide to the great indoors talks you through the 'clue corners', 'ceiling circuits' and 'windows of opportunity' waiting to be discovered in your classroom and shares 148 high-impact techniques proven to boost pupils' engagement, long-term learning and progress.
The techniques are dispersed across five chapters – each covering a specified aspect of the classroom (e.g. wall displays) – and are colour-coded to cross-reference with the following six key themes in order to help you navigate your own pathway through the chapters according to your development priorities:
- Metacognition and self-regulated learning
- Emotional engagement
- Retrieval and revision
- Responsive teaching
- Oracy and 'word wealth'
- Collaborative learning.
The strategies can be adapted for use with all age groups and will stimulate busy teachers to reimagine the learning space through a more creative lens. Each theme is underpinned by robust research in the book's introduction, in which the authors discuss the key findings and explore how effective classroom design can help unlock the potential of various pedagogical approaches.
The book also features a range of illuminating case studies from various schools across the UK, and is beautifully decorated with full-colour photographs that capture the techniques in action to make it even easier for you to adopt and adapt these design principles in your own dynamically different classroom.
Suitable for teachers, trainees, teaching assistants and senior leaders in both primary and secondary schools.
