Trends that are Shaping the Classroom

With back-to-school around the corner, schools are preparing environments that help students and staff thrive in the new year. Throughout the 2024-25 school year, we have identified several trends that educators are using to make the learning space inclusive, flexible, and sustainable for every learner.

Inclusivity

With 1 in 5-6 children being neurodivergent, inclusivity in school design is leading the way for design trends in the new school year. Educators are striving to create environments where all students can thrive and learn in a manner that suits them best.

Educators and administrators are embracing comprehensive designs for education settings by providing students, especially those with sensory sensitivities who may find it difficult to focus in a regular classroom setting, with designated spaces where they can learn without external stimuli and find alternative ways to participate in school.

Wellness centers and re-imagined Media Centers are collaborative spaces that defy the rules of a traditional classroom. These centers allow educators and students to craft spaces within the space, zones that can match each student's needs. Study pods offer students places to learn, isolated from external stimuli. Open floor plans allow students to move around, keeping their bodies busy so their minds can focus. Movable Furniture enables learning from anywhere in the space, offering a change of pace from a traditional classroom. These spaces enable learning for every type of student and all needs.

Here's how we would support Educators in reimagining a media center:

• For individuals with hyperactivity or sensory processing disorders, acoustic solutions can be extremely beneficial for creating "quiet spaces". These spaces allow students to retreat and concentrate and focus without outside distractions. Our Control Shelving Units feature noise-reducing PET panels to create a productive environment in any workplace.

• For individuals who find it difficult to sit still or those with ADHD, mobile boards, like our EZ mobile, allow students to learn from different environments. Changing environments promotes positive learning. EZ mobiles feature visually dynamic Glassboards and Whiteboards that allow stand-up and mobile collaboration and idea sharing.

   

Holistic Design

Holistic school design focuses on students, staff, and environmental well-being. With the average American spending 8,884 hours over nine years to complete their primary and secondary education, ensuring that they are spending that time in an environment that is not only good for them but also the environment is pivotal.

By incorporating natural daylight solutions and biophilic elements into an environment, schools can enhance air quality and create a healthier, more focused learning environment. And by incorporating high-tech solutions to keep the products that teachers and students use bacteria and virus-free, schools can ensure that they are providing a healthy environment for safe learning.

Additionally, with the safety of the planet in mind, choosing sustainable sourcing practices can not only lower carbon emissions but also ensure that classrooms are equipped with durable and high-quality products that can support both learning and long-term environmental goals.

From long-term warranties to eco-friendly sourcing and products, we have crafted an array of products that fit seamlessly into sustainable school design trends. Here are a few:

• With micro silver technology incorporated into our M4 Hygienic Porcelain Whiteboards, students and staff are protected against the spread of germs. The porcelain writing surface has an additive of micro silver particles that are slowly released over the lifetime of the product and eliminates bacteria and viruses within 24 hours of contact.

• Our cutting-edge Aria Glassboard exemplifies sustainability and innovation. With a BIFMA LEVEL® 2 certification, Aria boasts extremely sustainable production practices and ensures that classrooms meet their sustainability goals.

   

Outdoor Learning

Sometimes students just need to escape the classroom and learn in a different environment to increase engagement and focus. Schools are finding new ways to incorporate outdoor learning into their lesson plans, space design, and curriculum.

The benefits of being outside not only provide health benefits to students but can also support greater focus and engagement because of a change of environment. During the COVID-19 pandemic, classes had to be held outside due to necessity, but now educators and students prefer the non-traditional ways of learning, often taking the classroom outside.

With a new emphasis on space and furniture that can accommodate these needs, products must keep up; this is where we come in. Here are some of our outdoor solutions that allow educators to escape the four walls of a classroom:

• Easily transforming from indoor to outdoor use, from standing collaboration to sit-down learning, GRVT is a mobile collaboration hub that can support learning in any environment and setting. It features a mobile Glassboard that transforms into a table, along with storage space for seating, creating a picnic table-like station wherever you want to go.

• Collaboration is never defined by four walls. Preserve is the perfect place to let your ideas grow. Featuring outdoor-rated glass, Preserve is the definition of durability, creating a permanent outside space for teachers to take the class out of the classroom at any point.

   

Flexible Spaces

Flexible spaces aren't just physically flexible-- they empower students to customize their learning experience.

Flexible seating, collaboration spaces, and open classrooms can allow students to make what they need out of a space.

Furniture on wheels has spearheaded this initiative. With desks and chairs on wheels, students can craft a space that is suited to their needs. With Mobile whiteboards and mobile visual communications, students can form a classroom into a place where they can collaborate to their needs.

Our innovative solutions can enable students to create a space with intention, that is not only flexible, but optimal. Here are some solutions that can enable spaces to be exactly what students need:

• Collaboration should be on students' and educators' terms, and with Pointe Mobile, collaboration can be moved anywhere in the classroom. Multiple boards can be daisy chained together to create a flexible partition, perfect for dynamic environments.

• One of our newest products, the Flyte Duo, features a dual-sided whiteboard with ultra-light construction. With both gloss and matte surfaces, Flyte gives consumers more utility within the same amount of space and is perfectly adaptable to any environment and learning style.

   

With industry leading lead times--and most products shipping in less than ten days-it's not too late to start aligning your education spaces with these trends. Explore our Product Builder Tool to customize solutions tailored to your students' and staff's needs.