The Rectangles of my Mind

The Rectangles of my Mind

by | Jul 25, 2024 | Tables | 0 comments

Individual rectangle desks are a mobile and modular instructional strategy for using student classroom furniture to create both individual work space as well as a variety of group work configurations.

… Like a circle in a spiralLike a wheel within a wheelNever ending or beginningOn an ever-spinning reelAs the images unwindLike the circles that you findIn the windmills of your mind.

–Alan and Marilyn Bergman, The Windmills of Your Mind

A Little History

The 1960’s and the All-in-one Desk Combo

My 1960’s childhood desk from probably 1st grade – 8th grade was a single unit seat attached to a rounded rectangular angled desk top. The maple laminate top opened from the bottom from a long front hinge to reveal a tub-like cavity for books and stuff. I can’t stress enough “the stuff” part- candy wrappers, baseball cards, marbles, etc. along with the California issued text books for that grade.

A teacher would say, “Get out your math books,” followed by 30 students simultaneously opening their creaking desk lids, then rifling through papers, books and “the stuff” to locate that math textbook usually found at the bottom of the pile. Many of my teachers would make their class clean up their desk tubs every Friday afternoon which if you times that by say your elementary school years, probably equals too many hours wasted on that one activity alone.

These desks were like mini-tanks with the tub and base legs all made out of U.S. steel. All designed not to move an inch from the industrial-straight rows of the factory to the corn rows growing in the fields. Now this wasn’t all bad. I do remember a margin of personal space lost in later configurations, so let’s hold that thought for later in the year 2020.

The 1980’s-90’s and the Two Student 24″x48″ Desk with Dual Book Boxes

Sometime in the 1980’s, somebody came up with the old idea of cramming two students right next to other in 24 inches of personal space. Maybe it’s just me being from California where the minimum size for all public education 1st-12th grade classrooms is only 960 square feet. Even in 2024, most California school districts still build their new classrooms to the State’s minimum requirement. So if you take 36 students in a typical California secondary classroom you can get 18 of these desks with 36 chairs with little to no room to spare in that minimum sized space.

Most teachers who still have these desks in the 2020’s now turn the book box side away from students. Some even tape them shut with cardboard as to eliminate the book box as “trash can” experience. In fact, teacher feedback has cured me of suggesting the student desk “book box” or “tote” storage, for any grade. In 2024, many elementary teachers prefer “cubbies” for managing personal student storage. Now, most elementary and secondary students come to school with their own backpacks. Like many teachers, I’m a big fan of the backpack hook option for each student desk.

The 2000’s and the Shapes Craze

Around 2008, as an Educational Technology Resource Teacher I (and thousands of other educators close to a funding source) started changing up traditional classroom furniture to compliment the fact that many school districts were almost at the tipping point of one-to-one mobile device computing. Not to mention a national movement towards collaborative and project-based learning coupled with National and Common Core Standards.

Actually, in the late 90’s and early 2000’s trapezoid and then triangle desks started appearing in classrooms. By the 2010’s, every K-12 furniture manufacturer had almost every kind of shape you can imagine in their roster. I was all in, and tried many different shaped desks in K-12 learning spaces.

Eventually for me, it came down to observing even some of the most progressive young teachers getting frustrated putting together the puzzle piece furniture for group work. Maybe I was wasting their time and patience, if not also eating up their precious 960 sq. ft. of space.

The 2020’s and my Covid Epiphany

In 2014, I was so into creating collaborative student work groups that I called my early consulting business, Collaborative Learning Spaces, then Groupwerk®. But in 2020, we all added “social distancing” to our collective vocabulary. For me, Covid-19 was a game changer in how we needed to design K-12 learning spaces for the present and for the future. Rest assured, that future will certainly include pandemics and/or other local, state and national public health conditions.

I came to realize that we needed to get back to smaller simpler individual desks. One, smaller desks that could be easily moved to provide space, individual work, and social distancing. Two, these same individual desks could also be brought back together to form a variety of small to medium work groups shapes. I thought of the rectangle shape, and in the windmills of my mind, drew four desks coming together as a pinwheel.

The Rectangular Desk

The rectangle shape takes us to the past, present and future. It’s long and short sides give it a mobile and modular flexibility in both form and function.

Here, I’m going to focus on the Wisconsin Bench (WB) Plymouth series of rectangular desks, and then show you five familiar group work configurations that any teacher and class can easily set up or reset.

WB Plymouth and Plymouth II (with Belly Curve) Rectangular Desk Top Models

WB Plymouth Rectangular Desk Top Sizes and Laminates

The Plymouth Desks come in three table top sizes:

  • 20″ x 27.5″ – Standard sitting classroom leg adjustment sizes
  • 20 x 28.5″ – Some sitting, and sit to stand leg adjustment sizes
  • 24″ x 36″ – This size works well for larger rooms such or makerspaces. The larger table top is also ideal as an ADA desk.

WB Plymouth Leg Options with Rock ‘n’ Roll Names

D&D Learning Spaces loves WB student desks because they provide three different leg models that I personally memory associate with my own rock ‘n’ roll youth.

  1. ELO – Remember them as, “spider legs.”
    Musically, if you grew up in the 70’s, you’ll remember ELO as “Electric Light Orchestra.”
  2. ELP – Remember them as “pin legs.”
    Musically, ELP is “Emerson, Lake and Palmer,” a big 1970’s band.
  3. ELS – Remember them as  either “screw-adjustable legs” or “fixed legs.”
    Musically, ELS is “Electric Lady Studios” in New York where Jimi Hendrix recorded.

Height Adjustable Ranges with Glides or Caster Options

Note – The EJA basically stands for elementary grades leg height-adjustable range.
The ADJ basically stands for secondary grades leg height adjustable range.

The Rectangles of My Mind

Let’s finish with five popular classroom configurations using a rectangular desk shape. Here we will show a classroom/learning studio with up to 36 students, including:

32 – (20″ x  28.5″) Plymouth sized desks, and

4 – (24″ x 36″) Plymouth sized ADA desks.

This inspiration comes from D&D’s work with the stakeholders for the new construction of Compton High School, set to open in 2025.

and… Let’s end with the traditional classroom configuration that I started with in first grade way way back in 1961, and still popular today at many high schools.

Related Product Links

… and a song from 1969

The Benefits of Flexible Furniture in the Classroom

The Benefits of Flexible Furniture in the Classroom

by | Sep 19, 2022 | Learning Space Design | 0 comments

Flexible Learning Spaces

The terms, flexible seating, flexible furniture, and flexible classroom are really the end product of the pedagogical change from teacher-centered learning to student-centered learning. A learner-centered environment embodies practices that optimize the students’ movement from whole-group instruction to smaller groupings, to personalized spaces.

A flexible learning space is designed to morph classroom activities into different learning configurations by using furniture, materials, tools and technology. It becomes an essential part of learning and teaching by enhancing both the students’ and teacher’s sensory input, physical movement, and psychological well-being.

I like to use the term, mobile and modular (or mobimod for short) to describe the live action of a classroom moving from one activity to the next. Imagine a fourth grade classroom working on a paper airplane building project in small groups, and then, the students easily move their “mobimod” furniture to the walls to make room for a square dancing activity happening five minutes later, in the same space.

To optimize such a flexible design, these face-to-face learning spaces utilize five categories of furniture and technology to enhance student movement, which in turn helps to spark their motivation, engagement, and creativity.

  1. Seating and Movement
    Sitting with subtle movement while working independently or in groups

  2. Modular Sitting Tables
    Sitting at shaped tables that optimize space while working in groups or independently
  3. Sit to Stand Tables and Movement
    Having a standing option to weight-transfer while working independently or in groups
  4. AV & Visual Communications
    Walls that talk using audio, video and visuals with a variety of fixed and mobile displays, and boards

  5. Mobile Storage
    Bin and cabinet places organized and optimized for stacking and mobility. Personalized storage for each student, and for the variety of room materials, books, tools and technology

From Classroom to Learning Studio

As a child in the 20th century, you probably attended K-12 classrooms where all the desks and chairs were the same, probably in rows, facing the front chalkboard. As 21st century learning and teaching practices support literacy, STEAM, project-based learning, critical thinking, and collaborative learning, the curriculum has been transformed. What hasn’t evolved as much is the physically furnished classroom in this century. Stationary single or double desks and 4-legged chairs still make up most classrooms today designed for single activity whole-group instruction.

Change is often a slow process especially when considering the budget realities in changing out whole classrooms of furniture. However, in the last ten years many more teachers and administrators have moved together to sync their 21st century curriculum with a sprinkling of flexible furniture and technology in their classrooms. I call this process, “transitions to transformation” as the physical classroom evolves into what many are now calling, “Learning Studios.” As we move forward in the 2020’s, I see classrooms becoming learning studios as pedagogy and physical space converge to enhance student creativity, expression, and understanding.

Flexible Learning Space Assets

  • Emulates the world of work – In the real world, adults work in teams. Project-based tasks are what most women and men do everyday at their jobs. In the 21st century, office space has transformed how people work in face-to-face environments that also facilitates online activities as well. Educators are empowered as designers to create learning spaces that now includes a broader mix of hard and soft furniture not only made for schools. This new mix includes furniture from office and work, hotel and restaurant, and home and living space environments.
  • Designers of their space – A teacher working with her/his students should be the designers of their learning space. With a variety of district standard flexible furniture, the classroom design is often the first class project of the school year.
  • A Social and Emotional Safe Nest – When students walk into a classroom, they need a safe place to land. Cozy is cool- both a physical and emotional feeling. Many students need the comfort of a welcoming classroom to serve as a springboard for the deep-dive of learning with a class of peers.
  • Living with Covid – As collaborative teams had become standard practice in pre-covid classrooms, the pandemic has created learning challenges that include the furniture. Flexible shape desks and tables that can both be configured for group work, or can easily be reconfigured for social distancing space and individualized seating.

To flex minds, we need to flex classroom space. Learning spaces in the 2020’s need non-traditional eclectic designs to create a positive learning environment. The key to a flexible learning space combines a student’s need to fidget, rock, swivel, stretch, stand, and even get horizontal with mobile and modular furniture and technology. Subtle self-movement and weight transfer keeps our brains stimulated and helps prevent mental fatigue within a contained space. It’s really simple, physical movement sparks the mind to enhance one’s motivation, engagement, and creativity that opens paths for learning.

Resources

The Chair King of Rock and Roll

The Chair King of Rock and Roll

by | Aug 22, 2022 | Seating | 0 comments

While sitting, the majority of K-12 students spend most of their school day in “stupid chairs.”

Let me clarify. I’m not saying all chairs are “stupid,” just the typical traditional district standard four-legged chair found in most K-12 classrooms in the United States. You know this classroom chair, you’ve sat in its many generic forms of hard plastic many…many times. The four-legged chair is touted more for its stacking ability, rather than its actual sitting function. It’s the ire of Dr. Deiter Breithecker, a leading health and kinetics scientist, a very smart fellow who has got me using the “stupid” word here (my mother would not approve).

Dr. Breithecker is worth the 7:46 minute run time of this video. I’ll even speculate that he will inspire you to start looking differently at seating options for K-12 students, and yourself. I’ll catch you on the flip side with a couple of exceptional chair options worthy of a crown.

Dr. Breithecker’s last words in the video, “Even a smart chair is the worst chair if you use it…for hours.” As I research and write (like this blog) in my home office, I practice my normal work routine of sitting for about 20-25 minutes. Then, using my sit/stand desk, I raise it and stand for about 20-25 minutes. I then might go downstairs to talk to my wife or maybe outside to tend to the succulents, then back to work, repeat.

I’m lucky, I have an ergonomic task chair and a sit/stand desk to keep my body in motion, that in turn, helps keep my mind in motion. When I was a K-12 student back in the middle of the 20th century I could only have dreamed of such options, you too?

As a teacher and now learning environment designer, I’ve sat and tested many K-12 chairs for classrooms. I’ve been looking for the optimal plastic shell student chair that is both durable and ergonomically flexible for young people.  In 2022, I’ve had the opportunity to work for D&D Integrated Solutions, a leading advocate and furniture dealer for VS America. In experiencing VS’s impressive seating and table options, the good folks at D&D have led me to the “Panto” line of chairs designed by Verner Panton for VS.

Eureka!!!

Here I showcase two essential Panto models I see as the crown jewels for K-12 student classroom chairs.

The PantoSwing-LuPo

This chair is a forward flexing cantilever, and the only cantilever (that I’m aware of) that begins at the 12″ pre-school size. The PantoSwing comes in six different graduated sizes 12″, 13″, 15″, 17″, 18″, and 20,” and is a true comprehensive seating solution.

I featured the PantoSwing in my recent post, Back to the Future with Cantilever Chairs. In the video above, Dr. Breithecker illustrates the dynamic linear back and forth movement that the cantilever chair provides; and in my opinion is the immediate replacement for the four-legged rigid chair that goes through all K-12 years. This chair swings! The PantoSwing is worthy of its place on the chair throne.

The PantoMove-LuPo

It joins the crown with four progressive Panto shell sizes typically starting at middle school to adult. (The PantoMove-Plus also comes in a task stool model.)

As a standard swivel task chair, it comes in two different pneumatic gas spring height-adjustment models, 13-16.75″ (Medium seat shell)  and 16.5-21.5″ (Large seat shell). It has a standard star foot frame with casters, but really all comparisons with other student task chairs ends here.

The PantoMove is really in a class (or I’ll say flexible classroom) by itself. It’s ergonomically superior to all other student chairs in both its poly shell design and exceptional ability to rock and roll. By rock and roll, I’m referring to the PantoMove’s patented 3D Rocker Mechanism housed directly under the seat.

Rock and Roll Baby

The PantoMove literally goes to a whole other level of motion with “Rock” – moving forward and backward at 6 degrees, and “Roll” – moving side to side at 3 degrees in a gentle all-round 360 degree motion. The 3D Rocker flows in a ball in socket-like motion providing a full range of hip motion in the seat. This hip motion allows for subtle weight transfer as students are not going to fall off this chair. For me, it’s the sitting version of the “Elvis Pelvis” and I’m calling the PantoMove-LuPo,
“The Chair King of Rock and Roll.”

Now let’s take the PantoMove-LuPo for a test drive.
Note- “LuPo” means the seat shell is made from double-walled, structured polypropylene for comfortable seating with an air cushion effect.

In this short video, no translation is required-

Let’s finish with this 3:00 minute product demonstration video from the good people at VS America. And, that task chair I mentioned earlier that works with my sit/stand desk in my home office, is of course my very own PantoMove-LuPo.

Resources/Inspiration

Back to the Future with Cantilever Chairs

Back to the Future with Cantilever Chairs

by | Jul 7, 2022 | Seating | 0 comments

“Movement and exercise are essential fundamental requirements. Children especially need plenty of exercise for the harmonious development of body and mind. Constant rhythmic alternation between the static and the dynamic, between pressure and relief of pressure, between tension and relaxation can provide the conditions for balanced physical and mental wellbeing.”
–Dr. Dieter Breithecker, Federal Institute for the Development of Posture and Exercise, Germany

Traditional K-12 classrooms come equipped with all the same student desks and chairs. The common student chair since the 1980’s is a metal 4-legged chair with a rigid plastic back and seat that slightly slopes back putting the student in a passive inactive posture. This stacking chair is appropriately sized as a district standard at 12, 14, 16, and 18 inches from the floor to the seat, and most often purchased in dark navy blue. Many school furniture companies still make this chair in the 2020’s, but like any business they are going to continue to supply a product as long as there is a demand.

However, we at D&D Learning Spaces support new district standard seating options for students that move from static seating to dynamic seating. This transformation begins with a ‘modernist’ design from the 1920’s called the “cantilever chair.”

A Little History

The cantilever chair was first developed at the German Bauhaus Art School in the mid-1920’s by two architects, Marcel Breuer and Mart Stam.

A cantilever chair is a chair whose seating and framework are not supported by the typical arrangement of 4 legs, but instead is held erect and aloft by a single leg or legs that are attached to one end of a chair’s seat and bent in an L shape, thus also serving as the chair’s supporting base.
–Wikipedia

Marcel Breuer was the first to bend tubular steel in one continuous frame that created a subtle backward-flexing motion. In 1928, he created the cane ‘Cesca Chair’ named after his daughter Francesca and is considered a modernist classic in design and function to this day.

‘Forward-Flexing’ Cantilever Student Chairs

In this century, school furniture manufacturers started making ‘forward-flexing’ cantilever student chairs with a Z shape designed frame with a sturdy crossbar between the front legs. This new design, facilitates a student’s forward leaning motion compared to the backward rocking motion of Breuer’s original cantilever chair.

The VS PantoSwing-Lupo shown here is a fantastic alternative to the traditional 4-legged student chair as it’s stackable (5 high). The Panto shell is made of a double wall of polypropylene that creates an air-cushion effect for a comfortable sitting posture. It’s ergonomic back lumbar and forward leaning seat support, puts a student in an active learning posture, ready to think and create.

Additionally, it meets a district’s standard sizing requirements in that it begins at preschool level and moves up to adult with six different graduated sizes 12″, 13″, 15″, 17″, 18″, and 20,” a true comprehensive seating solution.

Check out this quick video to see its features, and to see the forward flexing quality of cantilever chairs in general.

In addition to the VS PantoSwing-Lupo,  D&D Learning Spaces™ provides two more forward-flexing cantilever chair options for school districts.

Sconnie Cantilever Chair Colors

The Wisconsin Bench (WB) Sconnie Cantilever shown above is a forward-flexing chair that was added just last year to their product line.  I like that it does not have the horizontal floor stabilizing bar as students have a little more open space with their feet on the floor. Currently, it comes in six standard colors with a smooth silver metal frame finish. The size options are 14, 16, and 18 inches. WB tells me that the ‘Sconnie’ shell will be expanding to other types of seating like task and cafe chairs, so look for the color options to grow as well.

Paragon Emoji Cantilever Chair - PurpleThe Paragon Emoji Cantilever is a forward-flexing chair with a right angular back legs design compared to the VS PantoSwing-Lupo. It comes in 3 sizes: 14, 16, and 18 inches and is a stylish K-12 stacking seating solution for K-12 schools. Paragon also has 16 color shell options and 5 metal frame color options to choose from.

 

The Cantilever Chair Full Circle

Let’s end this post at the beginning. I started with Marcel Breuer’s Cresa backward-flexing cantilever chair and I would like to now feature a 21st century version, the VS Jumper Air Meet. The Jumper Air Meet is also a backward-flexing cantilever chair designed primarily for older students and adults at 18″ inches high. This chair works great as a meeting or Wellness Center chair where gentle rocking by the participants is always a good thing.

Like all VS Jumper® products the seat shell is made from double-walled, structured polypropylene (Air) for comfortable seating with air cushion effect. Its available in L and XL sizes. This chair is also optionally available with an upholstered seat or all-round upholstery consisting of the plastic core with a taut fabric cover.

I’m such a fan of cantilever chairs that I have a set of four backward-flexing patio chairs in my backyard. So in any activity, let’s get back to the future with forward and backward flexing cantilever chairs!

Resources

  • Dr. Dieter Breithecker video – Importance of Dynamic Sitting

  • Dr. Dieter Breithecker video – Dangers of Sitting

 

D&D Learning Spaces Cantilever Chair Links

      This Chair Rocks! The VS Hokki Wobble Stool

      This Chair Rocks! The VS Hokki Wobble Stool

      by | Jun 2, 2022 | Seating | 0 comments

      For music, everything you need to know about Rock ‘n’ Roll is right there in the title. It’s a complete sensory experience. So complete that as a genre it has now transcended multiple generations since the 1950’s. In the world of school furniture, there is a category (or genre if you will) called, “Wobble Stools.” Everything you need to know about wobble stools is also in the title.

      Now if I had to pick a person who embodied Rock ‘n’ Roll it would be Chuck Berry. He was an original, the guy who literally created human movement through his electric guitar, the real deal. If there is ever a hall of fame for flexible furniture, the VS Hokki Stool would be a founding member, a complete original in design and function, and as VS says, “bodies and minds in motion.”

      There have been many imitators to the original VS Hokki stool but quality in design and durability are key elements to putting a piece of furniture in a K-12 school environment.

      Currently in the United States, there are classrooms  using student desks and chairs  that are twenty years old. With that in mind, you have to think that if a wobble stool is worthy of a school district purchase, it must stand the test of time.

      At D&D Learning Spaces, we feel the VS Hokki stool is the best wobble stool, period.

      In recent years, the wobble stool has gained status as a viable school chair for K-12 students with a growing number of educators and parents wanting this solution for their children in classrooms. It is no secret that many teachers are not waiting for their school district to provide their classrooms with flexible furniture. Instead, they are taking the initiative themselves. The ‘Flexible Furniture Movement’ has in large part been an organic process that is self-started and self-funded by teachers and parents.

      All of this is very close to me being a former teacher myself. I have two daughters who are currently K-12 classroom teachers. They are both slowly and steadily crafting their engaging flexible classroom environments, on their own.

      Now both of my daughters have been through what I’ll call, “the penny wise and pound foolish phase” of buying bean bag chairs, yoga balls, floor-gaming chairs, and some cheap ‘put together’ furniture. All of which have either gone flat or broken down within a year or two.

      My daughter Katie, who teaches third grade recently said to me, “I’m done with all the cheap online furniture that I paid for out of pocket.” And my other daughter, Shawna who teaches sixth grade has concluded that she’s “Now going to spend her classroom budget on one quality table or a couple of quality chairs a year.” Shawna by the way is still using the two VS Hokki Stools that D&D Learning Spaces donated to her several years back. Yes, dad hooked her up, but also never underestimate the resourcefulness of a teacher!

      Why do students and teachers love VS Hokki stools so much?

      • The first time students sit on a Hokki stool they instantly learn how to gently rock their hips, rolling the convex bottom side to side and front to back. It’s rock and roll baby!
      • Sitting on the Hokki is stimulating where movement is natural and unrestricted in a 360 degree rotation. It is made with a polypropylene shell, ergonomically curved seat, and slip-resistant base, all made with 100% recyclable materials.
      • The Hokki comes in fixed heights from 12” 15”, 18”, 20”, and 24.”
      • The Hokki+ Height Adjustable comes in two sizes- 15” to 19 3/4” or 19 3/4” to 26 3/4”. It  has pneumatic height adjustment with an anti-twist protector, resulting in overall stability and seating comfort. The adjustment mechanism is immediately accessible and can be triggered from any position with one hand.

      • The Hokki design creates a slim profile compared to other student chairs. It is easy to stack and can even hang from the end of a table.
      • The Hokki stool compliments mobile and modular  classrooms that do not have all the same desks and chairs. It provides students a seating option to actively move their bodies compared to passive seating chairs.
      • And most importantly, Hokki stools are not just for young children. Think of children, young people, and adults all using Hokki wobble stools at school, home and work. This chair simply rocks!

       

      Resources