Class = Room with Sawtooth Benching
ICT has become central to the school curriculum, often little thought is given to the layout of classrooms where the subject is taught. Traditional ICT suites are often arranged in rows with the students facing the teacher, chaotic cabling and little space for written work.
With increased demand for classroom layouts which offer students the space they need and allow teachers to remain in control of the learning environment, Innova Design Group set about transforming ICT Suites with the introduction of saw-tooth benching.
The sawtooth design
Inspired by the way phone booths at Berlin airport accommodated suitcases, Innova’s designers created ICT suites with angled, sawtooth desking to maximise the students’ workspace whilst making the room more manageable for the teacher.
What are the benefits of sawtooth benching?
- Saw-tooth benching is ergonomically designed to maximise comfort, encouraging productivity and learning. Students who sit at uncomfortable desks tend to have shorter attention spans, limiting the learning process.
- The angled saw-tooth benching takes full advantage of space, giving students more elbow room with individual spaces rather than sitting side by side where left handed and right handed users can clash. With more room to work, students sit comfortably, which increases their concentration and engagement with learning.
- Angled benching is also flexible to suit a variety of teaching styles. The teacher has the option to have students facing towards them or away from them so they can see the student’s screens. This allows the teacher to control the learning environment, with short lines of communication to ensure students remain on task and focussed on learning.
- Improving classroom design can have positive results on academic performance and behaviour, and with ICT likely to play a significant role in students’ future careers, creating a learning environment where the subject can be studied in comfort and without distraction is a simple and effective way to guarantee positive engagement and increased productivity.
Click here to read a case study from ICT teacher Katie Rennie.