ABSTRACT
That summer, the teachers and I brainstormed, designed, and prepared for the fall, incorporating a lot of paradigm shifting. I questioned whether every student needed a seat facing the front of the room. If sometimes students are in their seats, sometimes at a computer, sometimes conducting an experiment at a lab table, sometimes reading a book, why not design the room to be functional? The teachers agreed. In the end, the room had a discourse center with five couches (donated by parents), science lab tables, study carrels from the library for “quiet work,” computers, collaborative work tables, a smallgroup mini-lesson area, and individual desks.
