Kerre Woodham: Prioritising flexible classrooms is the way to go

Around about 30 years from now the AI bot, who will be presenting the 9am to midday show, will announce breathlessly that single-cell classes are to be done away with and open plan classrooms are planned for future school builds to allow greater collaboration between students and teachers. A more relaxed style of learning, yadda yadda yadda – what do you think? 0800 80 10 80, the AI bot will say, because as sure as God made little apples, this is going to come around again.  

Anybody who's been around since the 70s, perhaps earlier, will know that the great open plan versus single-cell classes debate has been going on, and on, and on for decades. Honestly, for people who preach collaboration and open minds, academics within education are awfully territorial and guard their own patch. Whole word learning versus phonics is another cracker, but we'll save that for the AI bot of the future.  

While open plan designs were originally designed to foster collaboration, they have often created challenges for schools. So it was stop the presses yesterday when the Minister of Education announced that open plan classrooms aren't meeting the needs of students and teachers. Colour me pink and call me shocked! Whoever would have thunk it? We did. We all knew it.  

They were originally intended to foster collaboration, and you can imagine a bunch of pointy heads sitting around a table saying: it'll be amazing – teachers will be able to draw support from one another, and those that perhaps aren't getting results from one student can look to another. Teachers will be able to foster the kind of energy and creativity that we need to see, and the children will be able to mingle. But no, it's been an abject disaster. It was an abject disaster in the 70s. It was an abject disaster in the 80s and it's been an epic disaster since John Key and Hekia Parata introduced them in 2011.  

Erica Stanford says in many cases, open plan classrooms reduce flexibility rather than enhance it. She says we've listened to the sector; new classrooms will no longer be open plan. But this is the good thing: they're not going back to the future again. They’re going to create classes that prioritise flexibility over open plan layouts, so the use of glass sliding doors means spaces can be open when you want to have a wider collaboration, but then they can be closed for focused learning.   

This idea doesn't mean we're going back to the prefab – the cold, uninsulated prefabs for every class that possibly you went to school in. If teachers want to open up space, they can, when they want to shut themselves off, they can. There is no one-size-fits-all for every class and that is the way it should be. The thing I really liked about Erica Stanford's announcement was the flexibility. This is a good thing. This is a very good thing. And I want to hear positive, joyous, fabulous response to this announcement from the Minister of Education, as one Minister who really understands her portfolio. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:06):
You're listening to the Carrywood and Mornings podcast from News
Talks ad B.

Speaker 2 (00:11):
Round about thirty years from now, so the year twenty
fifty five. The AI bot, who will be presenting the
nine to midday show, will announce breathlessly that single cell
classes are to be done away with and open planned
classrooms are planned for future school builds to allow greater

(00:34):
collaboration between students and teachers are more relaxed style of learning. YadA, YadA, YadA.
What do you think, oh, eight undred eighty ten eighty,
the AI bot will say, Because as sure as God
made little apples, this is going to come around again.
Anybody who's been around since gosh, the seventies, perhaps earlier

(00:57):
will know that the great open plan versus single cell
classes debate has been going on and on and on
for decades. Honestly, for people who preach collaboration and open minds,
academics within education are awfully territorial and guard their own patch.

(01:20):
Whole word learning versus phonics is another cracker, but will
save that for the AI bot of the future. While
open plan designs were originally designed to foster collaboration, they
have often created challenges for schools so it was stop
the presses yesterday when the Minister of Education announced, you

(01:43):
know what, open plan classrooms aren't meeting the needs of
students and teachers, calummy, pink and call me shocked. Oh
ever would have think it? We did. We all knew it.
Those have been there, done that. They were originally intended

(02:04):
to foster collaboration, and you can imagine a bunch of
pointy heads sitting around a table going, oh, it'll be amazing.
Teachers will be able to draw support from one another,
and those that perhaps aren't getting results from one student
can look to another teacher to be able to foster
the kind of energy and creativity that we need to see,

(02:28):
and the children will be able to mingle. And no,
it's been an abject disaster. It was an abject disaster
in the seventies, it was an abject disaster in the eighties,
and then it's been an abject disaster. When John Ky
and Hekiaparata introduce them in twenty eleven, Erica Stanford says,

(02:52):
in many cases, open plan classrooms reduce flexibility rather than
enhance it. She says, we've listened to the sector. New
classrooms will no longer be open plan. But this is
the good thing. They're not going back to the future again.
What they're doing as they're going to create classes that

(03:14):
prioritize flexibility over open plan layouts. So the use of
glass sliding doors means spaces can be open when you
want to have a wider collaboration, but then they can
be closed for focused learning. At the moment, schools are
doing workarounds where you have these great, big open hubs.

(03:37):
I mean the idea of seventy to eighty seven year olds.
I love kids. I love kids. There are very few
children I have not met that are not interesting and
fun and have a great way of seeing the world.
Seventy of the little who is in one small, confined
space on a wet, rainy Wednesday, No, thank you very much.

(04:00):
I'd be very hard pressed to find the joy in
each child if there were all of them bunched together,
you know, And imagine how hard it is for the
kids themselves. Even you're perfectly straightforward, non neurodiverse normy if
you will, finds it difficult to learn with that kind

(04:22):
of noise going on. But this idea doesn't mean we're
going back to the prefab the cold uninsulated prefabs for
every class that possibly you went to school them. If
teachers want to open up space, they can. When they
want to shut themselves off, they can. There is no

(04:44):
one size fits all for every class, and that is
the way it should be. I remember pre COVID we
were talking about bloody open bland classrooms because in a
stunning revelation, the previous labor government was all for them,
and teachers and principles rang in to say that they
desperately needed a new classroom and they couldn't have it

(05:10):
unless it was an open plan design. And they said
that doesn't work for our children. We don't care. We're
the Ministry of Education and we will tell you what
to do. No no, no. The schools no best, the
teachers no best, The principles no best. The thing I

(05:32):
really liked about Erica Stanford's announcement was the flexibility. You know,
it's not those prefab classrooms that many of us were
in in the seventies or eighties, and then you haven't
got the huge big back in the eighties and nineties
when you had the open plan classrooms, there were no

(05:53):
space dividers. I don't think they existed so for tip,
my mum was one of those teachers trying to learn
in that environment. And also if the teachers had different styles,
she said, it made it really awkward. She was really
that she worked with a new teacher and an established
teacher and they shared the same style of teaching and
discipline and that sort of thing. But she said there

(06:16):
were others within that school who rarely clashed, had completely
different styles and it was horrific for them and for
the kids. So I like the flexibility. This is a
good thing. This is a very good thing, and I
want to hear positive, joyous, fabulous response to this announcement

(06:37):
from the Minister of Education, who as one minister who
really understands her portfolio.

Speaker 1 (06:43):
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