Students design own classroom

LLOYD April 29, 2009 06:06 am

— Students in Michael Doran’s study skills class took extra care drawing their graph paper diagrams.
The diagrams represent a classroom — not just any classroom, but one they’ll be using next year.
Construction is expected to begin in May on a classroom addition at Greenup County High School, and Doran suggested his students help out with the design.
Starting with a rough estimate of the classroom space they’d have to work with, they recorded the dimensions of desks, chairs and file cabinets.
They shuffled cutouts representing furniture around the graph paper until they found a pleasing layout.
Then it was time to cut and glue pieces of foam-core board to make three-dimensional models of the furniture. The models they placed in 3-D mockups.
“I wanted something to give everybody a sense of ownership of the new room,” Doran said.
He gave the students a list of items that had to be included — teacher desk and seating space for eight students, for instance — and left the rest to them.
Amber Hay set up her model with all the file cabinets along one wall, study carrels along another and student desks in the center.
“I just like stuff being organized,” said Hay, a sophomore. Her design opted for individual student desks rather than team tables, reflecting her own preference for working individually.
That doesn’t necessarily mean the room will end up just as Hay imagined it. Rather, Doran will incorporate elements of each student’s design into the final layout.
Hay and a classmate, Roy Sturgill, both said they liked the hands-on assignment and appreciated a break from writing.
Designing the classrooms involved some sophisticated math skills, Doran said, including mastery of transferring measurements from one scale to another. The models were built in 1:12 scale, meaning one inch represented one foot.
Building the models taught valuable job skills, Doran said. It could even be the start of a hobby, he said.
“I’m a self-proclaimed dork,” Doran said. “I do this kind of stuff for fun.”
The new classrooms, which Doran anticipates will be ready to use by January 2010, are to be built near the back of the school near the English wing. They will replace a temporary mobile classroom.
MIKE JAMES can be reached at mjames@dailyindependent.com or at (606) 326-2652.

Photos

Greenup County High School sophomore Amber Hay works on foam core room components as her design for a classroom that'll be available later this year. The Independent

Greenup County High School freshman Roy Sturgill glues classroom components together as part of a lesson on designing new classrooms that will be available at the school later this year. The Independent