Transforming teacher pedagogy to maximize 21st century skills through the learning environment

As schools redesign learning environments and equip classrooms with flexible furniture, it is imperative to examine this impact on teacher pedagogy and student learning. We investigated if classrooms equipped with flexible furniture provided students more opportunities to engage in collaboration, communication, critical thinking skills, and creativity. A between-groups research design was used; classrooms were assigned to one of two groups: The intervention group received professional development (PD) and flexible furniture for eight weeks (n = 4 classrooms), and the control group maintained traditional furniture (n = 10 classrooms). Total recruitment included 327 students in grades two to four, with a random selection of 42 students. Classrooms were observed biweekly for eight weeks. Results of a series of independent sample t-test demonstrated teachers in classrooms with flexible furniture provided more opportunities for students to participate and actively engage in 21st century learning skills.teacher pedagogyflexible furnitureactive learning environmen